Project Decorate: The Mantle

You might have seen this picture in last week's post about some around-the-house decorating we've been doing as we prepare to have our family over to the house and start settling in.  A few weeks ago I bought an "E" and an "A" in a pretty green color. I'd wanted and ampersand to go in the middle, but had no such luck. At least not until a week or so later at another store when I found this black ampersand from the same collection.  All was well with the world, except the color. We don't have a lot of black in the living room and it's just too harsh of a color to have in the middle of the mantle right now.  

But I bought it anyway, knowing that I could do something to it.  But mixing the same green color was not an option. Acrylic paint is what I have and what I planned to use, but if there is anything that my 2D design class taught me it's that it's nearly impossible to mix exact matching colors with acrylic without wanting to scratch your eyes out. It's infuriating and a home DIY project should not be that. 

It took some planning and a little bit of back and forth, but I decided on a sort of neutral peachy-brown color. Something that goes well with the green letters, but also with the flow and colors of the room. Turns out, it worked!  

The mantle is still a work in progress, we need something with some height, and definitely something to fill that big blank space above it (maybe a wedding picture on canvas?) but for now, I'm super happy with how my letter's came out...and especially my ampersand. 
Can't wait to share some more exciting decorating projects!
XO