Mantel Makeover

Before: Note the driftwood-esque mantel and mismatched stained and abused brick.

After: We painted the brick in Ashen and Stone Grey, added trim moulding to the mantel and bookshelves and painted them white.

Simple Art: cut up toilet paper tubes into slices(they automatically compress into petal shapes when cut), paint, and glue onto a foam board. Cost - $3.50 including paint.
See the tutorial on MoneySavingMom.

We wanted a traditional yet fresh feel for this room that acts primarily as a piano practice room and homeschool book depository. I wanted to keep the mantel simple and uncluttered. Once the bookshelves dry completely, the clutter will inevitably return.

The total makeover cost was less than $30. We bought the trim at Jabara's Damaged Freight , a couple pieces from Sutherland's, and used a few leftover pieces from previous projects.

The paint is our exterior house paint that we received a partial grant from the city for.

We used hardly any of it, we didn't paint the grout, just the brick.    

The white paint for the mantel and bookshelves we already had from when we moved.

I painted the clock and bought the little bowl and ball set(did you notice they have the same pattern as the "art"?) from Target for >$4.