Now that we’ve lived in this house for a few years, we’ve not only made our way through the house room by room, we’ve gotten a better feel for how we use and actually live in the spaces.  Our only tv stays in the living room, but we had considered putting a second in the nook to the left of the family room fireplace.

After discussing the impending basement remodel, we’ve since agreed on creating a designated ‘theater’ room in the darker basement instead.  With that settled, and a new cabinet in the kitchen for a bar area, the single shelf seemed tall and awkward.

In a matter of minutes, Ben installed a second shelf, centered in the area.  The second matching shelf has created a display space for family photos.  Rather than touching up the old paint color around the new shelf, I worked myself up to repaint the room to match the adjacent living room and kitchen.  Painting around 8 doors, two windows, and the fireplace isn’t my favorite pastime, but the heart wants what it wants.

Naturally, I couldn’t just paint the walls gray, I should freshen up the white on everything first, no?  So that’s what I did, creating a nice flow through the open rooms.

With all the extra stuff on the shelves, I kept the mantle simple to balance.

I’m still undecided whether it’s too full or just enough, but I love having a spot to display and rotate old photos.

Having all my favorites out in the open makes my heart happy, remembering how small my babies were.

Everything’s a mixture: old frames, black and white photos mixed with color, open photo holders.

One holder is a tiny wooden easel, a second a vintage floral frog, and a stump on the bottom.

Funny how a shelf that took a few minutes to build sets about so much change.  Any projects like that pop up for you recently?