Took a little break from the mantle this week to pull together some of the decor pieces for the living room! I want to share a little today about what I decided on for lighting and styling the mantle.

lighting

This is the one room in the house with no wired lighting - I say no wired instead of no overhead because several rooms have walls sconces as their only light sources but this one has nothing at all. It’s not necessarily unusual for a house of this age but it is challenging! I started with a floor lamp as that seemed to be the mostly likely option for a living room. I searched quite a bit but my favourite was this tripod lamp from Project 62 at Target and I was able to pick it up on a trip to the States back in the fall. Good thing since I wouldn’t be getting down there now!

Honestly the little corner of the room with our bookshelf, lamp, and thriving pothos plant (her name is Gretchen) is straight ahead of me when I sit on the couch and my absolute favourite view. So cozy and bright at the same time!

We spent a while with just the floor lamp and while the lighting was cozy and warm - perfect for watching TV and movies or drinking our morning coffee on the couch, it wasn’t quite bright enough for the times we want to read or work in the living room. The couch is so wide that there’s not room for end tables or another floor lamp in the room so we needed another option. I landed on plug-in wall sconces that could go on either side of the art above the couch but I wanted something that would blend into the wall when we weren’t using it, and be affordable since they weren’t in my original budget for the space. I ended up with two of the IKEA NYMÅNE sconces. They’re barely noticeable when off and give off a TON of light. It’s so much nicer and brighter in the living room. I just need the cords on the wall to relax a bit so I can straighten them and fasten them to tidy it up a little.

styling

I know it’s silly but styling the mantle has been one of the things I’m most preoccupied with for this project since I’m honestly just not sure what to put on it. I’ve been hunting for a big vintage mirror to hang above it but I haven’t had luck over the past few months. This weekend on a whim I tried Facebook Marketplace one last time and found a gorgeous hard wood mirror from a vintage Canadian-made dresser for $20! Honestly felt like the steal of the century considering the other options I’ve been looking at! It’s wood and some parts of it have seen better days so I’m still debating whether to just clean up the frame a bit and leave it wood or to give it a brass finish.

I’ll likely add a plant or two, some books, and then I’d really like some candlesticks to finish off the mantle. I was hunting Value Villages for a few months pre-pandemic for some brass candlestick holders but I also think I need something with some differing heights. I’ve found a couple sets I like from different stores, here’s a little of what I’m thinking:

https://www.cb2.ca/3-piece-roundabout-taper-candle-holder-set/s486452

The biggest issue I could find with thrift store candlestick holders was that they normally came in a pair the same height where I wanted two or three in different heights. I couldn’t find any that looked close enough to each other or far enough apart to be a fun mis-match. If you have any good sources for these little decor pieces let me know!

Anyways, lots to pull together in this last week sourcing a few more things, cleaning up the mirror, and finishing the mantle! Cross your fingers for some more good luck on Facebook Marketplace and that I can get this done in time! As usual make sure to check out what the other guest and featured participants are doing as we approach the finish line over on the One Room Challenge blog!