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NOT AGAIN!

It has been pointed out to me that I change my decor more than the average person.  There might be some truth to that, but I don't think I'm that far from the average mark. However, if you read my last post about rearranging the area above my mantel in the dining room, and then I told you this post is about rearranging the area around the mantel in my dining room, you might be suspect that I am guilty of obsessive redecorating.  Hear me out on this one.

This is what things looked like at the end of my last post in mid July.



This is what it looked like three weeks later.

At 4:10 AM the mirror detached from the backing board and careened to the floor while lashing out at everything in it's path. (Quite a startling sound in the dark of night) It embedded one of the antlers into the mantel and landed on top of the other one.

The candles and candle sticks went flying.

One candlestick was broken but for now hot glue is holding it together.

It slashed the caned back of this chair and

gave it some nasty wounds as it fought it's way to the floor.

The mirrored hearth took a smashing blow as did the wood trim and hardwood floor.

The mirror self destructed and has been buried in the dumpster.

That sums up the damages except for the mantel that endured a few scrapes from the mirror on the loose.

That brings me to the best possible reason to be redoing the area above and beyond the mantel.  Well, maybe "best" is a poor choice of words.  "No-other-choice" sums it up better.

After taking care of the obvious vacuuming of pulverized glass and removal of the larger broken shards, I was faced with a lack of inspiration.  I roamed Home Goods and even brought a mirror home only to return it the next day.  Too expected! Then I explored the antique/resale malls and came up empty handed.  Too period!  Then I was reminded of the Refind Room.  That's where I found a mirror that might work.  The price was right, so even if it didn't work over the mantel it could work somewhere else.
That same day, and because it is very close to the Refind Room, I stopped at Anotol's Fabric.  Why?
Well, because after trying to get the torn chair back to stick together with Mod Podge and paint, I gave up on salvaging it.  Instead I was considering having the backs upholstered.  It would all depend on finding a fabric that would complement the intense pink of the seats.

That is where I found this fabric.

Just wild enough to grab me and the color wasn't bad either.

Next I got two bids on removing the caning, adding the padding and my upholstery fabric.  There was a $90 difference between the two bids for the matching chairs  An easy choice since I have used both upholsterers before and was satisfied with their work.

The wall over the mantel needed to be patched and repainted. The mantel itself needed the scrapes sanded and the entire top repainted.

I removed the rope from the mirror and hung it on two hooks instead.


My brother, Dan, replaced all the trim around the hearth and spliced in a narrow strip of mirror after cutting out the smashed section.  I still have to fill the deep cut in the floor and add a little stain to that area.

I would have published this post much earlier but I was waiting for the chairs to be finished.  They were dropped off yesterday and I have to admit they are a bit on the wild side, but I'm OK with that.

Everything is pretty much back in place.  Maybe just a little more tweaking with what is on the mantel top. A couple pale bluish pumpkins for a fall centerpiece on the table and I am ready for company.



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