Decor: Awkward Corner Mantle and Planter Shelf Ideas

We bought our house about a year and a half ago. I fell in love with our house when we first looked at it. It is perfect! We moved in and started decorating and I came to my corner mantle and planter shelf. Can I just say, these things are awkward and hard to decorate. I looked at the corner mantle everyday trying to figure out what to do with it. I asked friends and family for ideas, scoured Pinterest for anything ideas I could use. NOTHING! I couldn't find anything. So, I just started putting things up there and trying to figure out what would work. I want to share my ideas with you so that you, hopefully, don't have to struggle like I did.

When we moved into our house, it was just before Thanksgiving. I figured I would start decorating with Christmas decorations. On top of our mantle, we have two lights that create a really cool effect. When I decorate that mantle, I use items that are different heights so they can create a shadow with the lights. Here is what I do at Christmas:

I use the branches to give it height, while the wine glasses have a neat reflection. You can coordinate this with whatever colors you use for your Christmas decorations. I got the branches at Joann's and used some ribbon on the vase. Then I just added in some of my tree decorations.

Next, I had to figure out what to do the rest of the winter. All I did was take off the bows and ornaments. The colors work for Valentine's Day. You could even hang some hearts from the mantle.

For spring, I was at a loss. I knew I wanted something with flowers but nothing seemed right. I had been seeing a lot of people painting wine and beer bottles. So, I started collecting bottles. I used spray paint, just chose two colors that worked in my living room and some rubber bands. I used two wine bottles and three beer bottles.

As you can see from the picture, I did them in opposite colors. I painted the base color first, then put the rubber bands on and painted the second color. Again, I just bought some flowers at Joann's and added a few candles (the same ones I used at Christmas). I key with the mantle is to have balance. You don't want one side to be too heavy.

Next, I decided to do a mantle for Fall/Thanksgiving. For this one, I just used more flowers from Joann's, some candles, ribbons, and some foam pumpkins. Again, I used the same candles from before, but I added some ribbon around them. I taped the ribbon so I could easily remove it and use the candles again.

Basically, just spread things out so they are evenly balanced. At Thanksgiving, I added a banner to hang from the mantle saying Happy Thanksgiving.

Now to move on to the planter shelf. I hate the planter shelf, it is a waste of space, it's hard to dust, and it is impossible to decorate. I didn't want to put plants on the shelf because they just look so tacky, in my opinion, and they get dusty too. Basically, what I figured out is that you can put anything up there. Make sure things are different sizes and heights. Blend textures and colors. I still would like to add some things to mine, but here is what I have so far.

If you have any ideas, things your have done, please share! I am always looking for new things and the options on Pinterest are limited. One idea I have heard but have not tried it to put a mirror across the back of the mantle. This will make the room feel bigger. I look forward to seeing all your ideas!

Happy Wandering : )

Brooke