Summer Mantle Decor - Shiny and "Sandy"

Now, you might think I’m going to be talking about beachy summer mantle decor, complete with seashells and sand in a pretty bottle, with the reference to “sandy.”

But nope.

It’s a different kind of “Sandy.”

Want the song stuck in your head all day? GO WATCH IT HERE.

Gotcha.

Anyway, our summer mantle really isn’t Grease-themed or anything. That would be super silly. I think it’s a fun musical, but I’m not crazy for it or anything.

I just really liked the sentiment of how wonderful summer nights are. Long, warm, and usually, at least on the weekend, full of fun stuff like ice cream and s’mores or vacation. Or birthday cakes. You get the idea.

And the shiny part comes from all the gold. Something about the hot sun always makes me drawn to gold accents, whether that means jewelry or home accessories. I used the little flower pot I showed you yesterday, in THIS POST, as well as the DIY gold and teal candlestick holders, which you can read about, HERE.

I also added some gold spray paint to a vintage blue jar,because I can. I just stuck some cuttings from our shrubs in it as a vase.

I also pulled my fun pom pom tree branches out of storage in the basement to use again. Those just make me happy. Find the tutorial for those, HERE.

Several years ago, I would have added a bunch more little items when styling and choosing summer mantle decor for the new season, or maybe a garland and a banner or some other decorations. But my taste is moving to be more and more minimalistic as the rest of our house gets more cluttered with toys and such.

Although I realize one basket of toys and one basket of books really isn’t that much clutter…when it’s all tidy like it was for the this photo. It doesn’t always look like that though. In fact, the ottomans are usually pushed to the edge of the love seat to keep Will out of the corners, and the toys are usually on the couch to keep him from dumping the entire thing out at one time.

And the quilt covering the hearth isn’t necessarily fashionable, but it helps protect our teetery little boy, at least a little bit. I’m looking into other solutions, too, but for now, I like it. It was made for us by Wyatt’s mom and even though I chose the fabric to match him nursery, I like it in the living room, too.

All in all, a super quick little freshening up of our summer mantle decor. And we didn’t even have to go the beach to collect sand or shells.

Although a beach vacation sounds pretty good about right now, don’t you think? Or would you have preferred to see our mantle decked out in pink satin and black leather? Maybe with a Rydell High pendant?

P.S. Remember when our mantle used to look like this?