 "Summer Mantel")
Summer for us, as is for many people, is about the beach. Our destination is always Long Beach Island, NJ. Not to be confused with the “Jersey Shore”, it is a peaceful, fun and family oriented place. I originally set out to do a patriotic / Americana theme, but I kept ending up back at the beach.
Yeah, I know, the lamp shade is totally crooked.
My starting point was to bring back my old barn door I have used in the past. However, this time, I turned it around. The side that I usually use is more of a brown, but this side is a beautiful beachy gray that made me think of old boardwalks.
Pretty much everything I used we had around. When digging for some zinc mason jar caps, I found these mason jar lids and they made me think of sea glass.
When we are at the beach we study the tide charts to know when it is low tide so that we can hunt for sea glass. It is a family tradition that I love.
We had the piece of heavy rope, which has a nautical feel, that I draped across the top. I glued or tied shells and the mason jar lids to pieces of twine and tied them to the heavy rope instead of doing a traditional wreath.
I am not sure what those branchy things are but felt they had a beachy feel as well. I had some additional shells and a blue bottle that I added as well.
Summer is a time of lingering, lighting candles and relaxing. I added a few candles between the blue mason jars. The mason jars also remind me of sea glass, plus I have such a love for them I thought they brought a nice bit of color.
I love my ladders too, so I just propped one up against the front of the fireplace since we aren’t planning on using it anytime soon.
If you would like to see my other summer projects, hop on over to this page!
And if you would like to see another idea for a summer mantel, you can visit here.
Thanks for stopping by and come and visit The Lettered Cottage to see all of the other great summer mantels.
and at
I will also be sharing at some of the parties in my party tab above so please take a moment to visit!
Take care,
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Laura that is magazine worthy. Like your family we are regulars at the beach all summer, Point Lookout, Long Island, NY, so similar to LBI. Nice to be following a fellow East Coast blogger. Your mantel is truly gorgeous.
I love all these pictures. It looks really beautiful. Love the colors.
Kat
Love, love, love!!!! I love everything about your mantel. It’s fabulicious!!! I’ll probably do a beachy theme mantel after the 4th of July. For now, mine is patriotic.
Cute mantel! I too, love the beach!
Love this look! So glad I found your blog! You take beautiful pictures. What kind of camera do you use?
It is so pretty Laura! I love the garland, it is perfect! Your mantels are still one of my favorites.
I hope that you are doing well and that you have a wonderful weekend!!
XO
Laura,
I grew up in Ocean County and still have a home on LBI.
Your mantel is beautiful. Truly reflects the serenity one only finds at the shore.
Deborah
This is stunning! I love aqua! Inspired today.
Saw this on The CSI Project. Love it! So very pretty.
Love it!
Laura LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!!
Hi, I’m stopping over from TLC linky party. I LOVE this mantle and your blog. Totally my style. I’m linky #6 or you can see my mantles here: http://www.yummymummykitchen.com/2011/05/pistachio-mascarpone-gelato-summer.html
Oh my gosh!! I love it!!
lovely! i love the string of sea finds… so pretty!
Yours is my favorite of all the mantels on the tour
I love this and the colors!! Beautiful!!
Love it!
i love this mantel. i love the old weathered look of it and the fact that it has such a pretty crisp white backdrop. it makes it feel even more like a relaxing day at the beach. i am totally jealous of the cool calm feeling in there right now. : )
Just love what you did with your mantel! So simple with the jars, but the texture is awesome. I think the “beachy” theme is a big hit this year. Great job!
Have a great weekend
this is soooo pretty. Simple, and serene:)
Very nice! Love this.
Sherry
LUV IT!!!!! What a clever and beautiful use of that barnwood and your beachy treasures!
xoxo laurie
Hi Laura – found you at The Lettered Cottage. I LOVE the wood – how cool! The garland is so colorful and beachy too – great job! I grew up about 10 minutes from LBI – I live in GA now, but have a trip planed up there at the end of June. I cannot wait to sit on the beach!!
– Jenn @ Social Salutations
Laura I just love this! I am a huge fan of hunting for sea glass, just glass in general. So so pretty! I used to live in Alaska and I have a bottle filled with sea glass from over 40 years ago, such a treasure!
Stopping over from TLC link party. Your mantel is gorgeous!!! I love the beach and sea glass. Thanks for sharing! It gives me some ideas for my home.
Gorgeous! I love the use of the jar lids!
Thanks so much Beth, hope you have a great holiday weekend. Been following you Twitter updates, can’t wait to see what you are working on. We are doing a major overhaul on our veggie / fruit garden, hot sticky work. Take care, Laura
I love the barn door and how you draped the garland over it -great idea! Also think the lids are a great addition! I can’t wait to feature all these wonderful beachy vignettes on my blog next week!
This is absolutely beautiful! I adore the greys and blues–gorgeous! Love, love, love. Bravo, girl!
Thanks so much! You are too kind! Thanks, Laura
Love the blue shades against the greyish background of the old door. Great ideas!
Thanks so much! Enjoy your Holiday weekend! Laura
This is gorgeous! Simple, clean… perfect. I stumbled this post and am following you.
Your awesome mantel is featured here -thank!
Your seashell and sea glass bunting is AMAZING!!! I wish that I could make something similar, but sadly I have no place to hang something like that. Maybe someday. Thank you for the inspiration!
Thanks for visiting my blog—I have really enjoyed looking through your posts and seeing the amazing transformations you have made for clients and such. I especially love this mantel idea–I LOVE mason jars and think this is so great! I’ll definitely be adding your site to my “reader”.
Love that startfish garland. Just beautiful. Actually the whole mantel is gorgeous! Isn’t it funny how we notice those little things, like the lampshade, when looking at our photos.
Have a great weekend!!
Your garland is amazing! And the mason jars are such the perfect finishing touch. Love everything you did here. Coming over from the Shabby Nest and your newest follower!
Jeanine
Your garland looks like a mermaid’s beautiful necklace! Absolutely georgeous!
NOT lying here when I say this is the most ab fab mantel I have ever seen. Beautiful
I just love your summer mantle. We live on the Maine coast and always enjoys hunting the beach at low tide for sanddollars and sea glass. Love the little ladder propped up against the fireplace for summer too. You’ve given me lots of mantle-decorating inspiration…thanks!
Cheryl
This is so awesome! The wood, rope, string, accessories, everything has a reason to be there and it’s beautiful!
Shared this on FJI Facebook for SNS 84.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Funky-Junk-Interiors/175378011140#!/photo.php?fbid=10150265431816141&set=a.192514281140.164586.175378011140&type=1&theater
Donna
Beautiful mantel, very beachy and chic
Formally from Jersey, I miss the beach here in Tennessee! You did a great job! I too have a beach mantel so I can dream of the salty air and sand between my toes! I am a new follower!
dreaming-n-color.blogspot.com
Your blog is beautiful…love the beach themes/decor!!
Beautiful! I live at the beach & love the look! Visiting from A Diamond In The Stuff.
This is spectacular. Just gorgeous. It is really one of the best mantel’s I have seen. I LOVE it.
I was visiting Debbie at Love of the Sea, and saw your mantle. I fell in love with it. It’s the neatest thing ever!!
I have an old weathered gate, and lots of shells from our trip to Sanibel Island in April and May.
I’ve wanted something beachy for a fireplace screen, and your design inspired me to try this.
Instead of mason jar caps, I used small vintage bottles. I absolutely love it!!!
Thank you for sharing your gorgeous mantle!!!
LOVE your blog!
Debbie@lakehouse
This is absolutely fabulous and you are my new favorite blog!!! You have a new subscriber. Have a lovely weekend.
I agree with another commenter that your post looks like a magazine article! Everything is just SO beautiful and tasteful and creative. You should win a prize of some type for this. Your photography and text added to some of the photos just elevates the look even more (if possible…so great to begin with).
This is beautiful! I love the pop of color from the mason jar lids and I love all the browns from the twine and rope!
this is so inventive, I’ve never seen a garland quite like this ~ truly unique! Makes such a pretty focal point in your lovely room. Visiting from the CSI Project
LOL! I had to laugh at your LBI/Jersey Shore comment. I have spent a few summers at LBI and absolutely love it. It is so not Jersey Shore but unfortunately, that dang show has ruined the beautiful shore’s rep.
Great Blog, beauitful photos. I live on a beach in Santa Barbara CA and I can say you captured the colors of the sea beauitfully. My friend and I are working on a similar projct but mine is going to be with heavy ribbon mixed with delicate ribbon & hang over my antique headboard as I have no mantel in my little house by the sea. I have a large collection of shells my Mom started in the 30′s from all over the US beaches. I am going to incorporate them with some local sea glass and driftwood pieces I collect. You gave me inspiration! Thank you,
Really, really gorgeous, going to mimick in my own home, but was wondering what type of glue you used to attach the twine to the glass lids?? Thanks!
I came across this on pinterest and fell in love! I am a photographer planning a Christmas in July styled shoot day! And guess what? It’s on LBI! I was so excited when you mentioned you spend your summers here! I have lived here for 25 of my 30 years and couldn’t imagine being anywhere else! I am going to use this an inspiration. Thank you!
I live on the beach in laguna beach, ca and enjoy decorating my beach house in coasal decor , lots of good ideas here, happy to find you thanks
I am featuring your mantle on June 13 at http://www.decor2adoreable.com
Cheri
Gorgeous! It looks like it should be on the cover of a magazine. Just beautiful, Laura!
{pinned it!}
xo Becca
Love this!!!! Thanks for sharing….so doing this for my beach spear room
I love this mantle!! So pretty, love the rustic mixed with old blue style jars. And love your cute ‘banner’!! Simply gorgeous!
Debbie
SUPER cute!! I love this idea for a summer mantle!!!
Anna
I love all the amazing elements in that mantel … it just feels like a serene moment at the beach!
I love this mantel, Laura! So gorgeous – and I adore what you did with those mason jar lids!!