Spring Mantel: The Design Process

I found myself with a little bit of time on my hands one day at the end of February, so I walked into my favorite junk haunt looking for treasures. The owner of the establishment was out of town; in her place, was her dear friend. I meandered down the aisles and just couldn’t find anything that sang to my heart. I asked her if I could take a trip over the warehouse to look for goodies as well. At that point, she hadn’t opened the warehouse yet and asked if I could wait. In a fit of impatience, I nearly left. But something told me to wait her out.

And I’m so glad that I did!

As I walked around the corner of the warehouse, I spotted this sweet little farm sign and knew I had just found treasure. I nearly spit out my water when she told me it was only $25. Of course, I only had $23 in cash, which she happily took before sending me on my way.

As I prepare to take down my spring decor to add some summer touches before the upcoming Memorial Day weekend, I wanted to offer one final look at my spring mantel and walk you through my design process just a bit. My design choices hinge on the graphic design principle of visual hierarchy, the idea of visually arranging items of varying sizes in order to best capture the viewer’s attention.

Step 1: Add an anchor piece.

There should always be something dominant to draw in the eye. When I stumbled on this farm sign, I knew right away that it would serve as my mantel’s anchor point.

Step 2: Add a secondary piece. 

From there, add in a secondary element. This should be something “large-ish” but scaled down from the anchor piece. Typically, I try to use my secondary element to add in a little bit of height to offset what is typically a horizontal anchor piece. I loved the idea of filling an old watering can with stems of faux flowers. The magnolia tree right outside the window provided the perfect inspiration! I snagged these stems from Target on clearance two years ago at the end of the spring season. Because of the corn graphic on the left of the sign, I decided to place the magnolia stems and bucket to the right.

Step 3: Add fillers.

Because I knew I really wanted to let the farm sign “breathe,” I wasn’t interested in filling the mantel to the brim with pieces. I stuck to my spring theme, and sprinkled in a few small things to try to balance it out. Two vintage industrial bobbins streaked with green and yellow paint brought in a bit of symmetry. I threw in a few spring-colored books, a garden hand tiller, an old sprinkler head, and a sweet little vintage flash card to tie it all together. I’m not someone who desires total symmetry in my design, but I do try to achieve “balance” in a really unscientific way: I don’t want to look at something and feel like I need to cock my head to the side as I take it all in.

I really don’t have a home for this sign after I take it down; the rest of the walls of the cottage are already claimed. I might haul this guy back out again in the fall because farm-themed items totally work for harvest visuals, right?

Cheers from the cottage,

Colleen