Amber B Design Studio

Interior Design & Decoration for the South Florida region

Project Design Now Reveal!!

by Filed Under: accessories and vignettes, amber b design, amber b design at home, before and after, blog, design, mantle, personal design style


The time is here… the reveal of two different spring mantels for Project Design!! You may have seen several of us bloggers hinting on social media {#ProjectDesignNow} about our spring mantels. We have styled them two ways and today is reveal day!! I want to thank Mary Ann of Classic Casual Home and Cindy of Rough Luxe Lifestyle for including me in this fabulous group!

 

A gray circle with the words project design in it.

 

Our mantel is located in our family room and it’s always fun to make some changes and switch it up every now and then. Here is a full look at Option 1…

Spring Mantel Option 1…

A close up of a clock on the wall

 

A close up of a clock on the wall

 

A close up of a clock on the wall

 

A living room with brown couches and fireplace

 

A living room with a couch and fireplace

All Photos above by Sarah Heppell Photography

For mantel option 1, I went with a mixture of vintage and new and meaningful pieces with modern accessories. Starting from the right side, the “B” signifies the first letter in our last name. That is placed in front of a special print from the etsy shop, Pretty Smitten. The print says Be Smitten Every Day. I love its message and that pretty rose quartz background! I like to layer and add texture on mantels, so this beaded jar adds some interesting pattern and is unique. I also like to add round shapes to a mantel, so the clock was an old Target find and does just that. The mini windsor bench holds a special place in my heart, as I found it at an antique market when Mike and I lived in Germany. I will never part with it! And good old Zeus is next to the windsor bench. My kids named him and he is a great find from Target. I often put real ferns and small plants inside, but today- it’s one of the faux succulents that Target carries. {I am seeing a pattern here, that I shop at Target often!} 🙂

Spring Mantel Option 2…

A fireplace with a mirror above it and a bench in front of the fire place.

A mirror sitting on top of a mantle.

A mirror sitting on top of a mantle.

A mirror and some vases on top of a mantle.

A green ball and some gold letters on top of a white mantle.

A blue and white vase sitting on top of a table.

A mirror, vase and other objects are on the mantle.

For mantel option 2, I also went with a mix of vintage and new. Starting with the right side again, I included the same “B” accessory from the first mantel. That is the only thing I kept for this option. I layered it in front of a spotted print I found at Target. I was so glad I scooped that up when I did, as about a week later, it was gone! I have always loved a hint of animal print somewhere, and this reminded me of cheetah spots. I found a green glass buoy from Home Goods. I like that it reminds me of the water and spring and summer activities. The rope detail adds some texture and interest. The ’round’ element that I love to add to mantels is now seen in both the buoy and this Federal mirror, which was a Christmas gift from my mom. It is the Ken Fulk Federal mirror from Pottery Barn and I love the vintage vibe it brings to the space. Not to mention that stunning aged brass! Adding a mirror to the mantel has been fun, as it reflects our ceiling pendant. The blue and white urns were antique shop finds. I decided to put a faux palm leaf from Pottery Barn inside the smaller urn, to bring a touch of nature to the mantel. I could also switch it out for fresh flowers, if I could remember to keep fresh water inside!

So there you have it! My spring mantel styled two ways! Which option would you choose???

Here are some tips to changing up your mantel for spring, or any time of the year:

Mantel Styling Tips

Add meaningful pieces and a mix of vintage and new to bring a collected over time style to your mantel

Layer pieces in front of each other and stand back every now and then to access what you have and what you need to add

Add different shapes, such as a round mirror, clock and mix that with a square or rectangle frame

I hope this got you ready to add some spring touches to your mantel! Now it’s the fun part… let’s check out the amazing bloggers who have transformed their mantels! They are such a talented group of ladies and I have been thrilled to be a part of this with them. Show these ladies some love:

ciao! newport beach
classic • casual • home
Dimples and Tangles
Garden Home and Party
Katiedid
Lisa Mende Design
Lucy Williams Interiors
Rough Luxe Lifestyle
The Pink Pagoda

A gray circle with the words project design in it.

A New ‘Smitten’ Print in My Family Room!

by Filed Under: art, design, family room, mantle, personal design style, styling


I am super excited to show you an amazing new print that graces my family room mantel! I was recently contacted by a representative from Pretty Smitten, an on line stationary, home and gift shop to preview one of their gorgeous prints from their new art print line. I jumped at the chance, since I have already loved and admired their chic patterns, personalized notepads and monogrammed gifts. It was a tough decision, since they are all so fun, but this is the print I chose…

shop here
And here it is, all styled up in my family room…

The orange, coral, pink and brown from this print works so well with the room’s color scheme. I chose a driftwood style frame to balance against the chic look in the print. This room has a bit of a rustic touch, so I thought it created a nice balance. The frame has an 8×10 opening, which is a perfect size for this print. Overall, I am totally smitten with my new art piece! I already have my eye on some other great prints from her shop! If you haven’t checked out the site yet, stop over to see all of the gorgeous options at an amazing price point. Owner and creator, Elizabeth Johnson founded her shop as a creative outlet after the birth of her son. Her business quickly grew to include more gift items and after the birth of her two girls, Pretty Smitten continues to expand. This new print line is a beautiful addition to her creative, chic style! Her shop also includes trays, phone cases, personalized placemats and trays, just to name a few! 
Start your shopping HERE and have fun!

Our Fall Mantel

by Filed Under: fall colors, fall fix ups, family room, mantle, shelf styling


As promised, here are the pictures of our fall mantel. I kept some of the things as is… the wall clock, the windsor chair and ‘B’ candle. The new changes include branches from our front yard birch tree, a leaf plate and a mossy stone bird. Here is our nature inspired, fall mantel…

I also switched around some art and moved the graphic art piece from our wall to the mantel. I think it adds a modern touch to the natural, traditional elements. You may also notice the little plastic sticky pieces that are on the top of the mantel. A while back, I had a huge mirror on this mantel, and those sticky pieces were there to prevent the mirror from sliding. I should take them down, since I don’t need them anymore. Should have done that before the pictures…  🙂

I love it when I can decorate using free things from around the house. The branches were easy to clip down from the tree, were free and instantly add a nature inspired accessory to the mantel.

Do you change out your mantel with the seasons?

Changes to My Mantle

by Filed Under: fall fix ups, mantle


After a few years of looking at the same set up on my mantle, I was ready for a change! I love the layered look and I know I wanted to layer some prints for added depth. I cannot believe I forgot- but I didn’t take before pictures! What kind of a blogger am I? Here is what I came up with:

Most of the pieces are sentimental and carry meaning, while a couple are just for fun and were inexpensive art solutions! Starting from the left, the mini windsor bench was a flea market find when we lived in Germany that I bought for 15 euros! I always smile when I see it and remember our fond memories living in Europe. The sketch drawing next to that was also a purchase in Germany and shows one of the fun cities we lived near. The two clocks were gifts from the hubby! I always love and cherish the gifts that were bought as a complete surprise, with no help from me. He’s got great taste! (Well helllloooo- he chose me, right! ha just kidding!) Ok, back to it- the sketch drawing on the right shows a colliseum in Italy’s beautiful city of Verona. It still stands today, and we were able to walk around inside. The framed “art” pieces behind that are actually just decorative scrapbook paper that I bought and framed as art! Scrapbook paper can be an inexpensive art solution and look pretty good when matted and framed. And the frames with matting are from wal mart for only $10 each!  (As a side note- the little rubber stoppers can be seen in these images, but not when looking at them from the floor. They are just there to hold the pictures in place!)

This is the to do list for this room:

– paint the walls Alaskan Husky by benjamin moore. It’s a very light, gray/blue color. It can almost appear white at certain times of the day. I am so excited for this project!

– add two wide horizontal stripes to this one wall and use one shade lighter on the color swatch for the stripes. I will wait a couple months after painting to add stripes, because the paint needs time to cure. If I do it right away, the painter’s tape will likely take off the new paint on the walls. (And I have no problem waiting a couple months- it takes forever for me to complete a project, anyway!)

What fall projects will you tackle???