Having it both ways

So I took another pass at the mantel, using mostly the same objects as before but incorporating a couple of very basic styling tips: the idea of creating visual triangles, and the idea of creating arrangements with odd numbers of objects.

I switched out the white candles for green ones to add a little more color and contrast (yellow candles to match the daffodils would have been even better, but I don't have any on hand). Other than that, all I added was the two taller brass candlesticks on the right -- these belonged to my man's grandparents so you see I am still sticking to objects of significance.



I find our mantel really tricky to decorate because it is so shallow. A lot of tutorials recommend "layering" objects from back to front, but there is just not room for this strategy as far as i have been able to figure out.

Looking at these pictures today I can also see that the picture above the mantel is probably a bit undersized, but I'm not ready to move on from Big Raven yet.



You can probably also see that the surface of the mantel is uneven -- aside from the grooves between the bricks, the bricks themselves are not evenly laid and form hills and hollows that further limit how things can be placed without looking seriously wonky. Vexing!

All that said, I rather like the result and the hint that with a little extra thought maybe I can have it both ways -- meaningfulness and aesthetics. Though if you can see how to rearrange these things to improve the look, please do comment, I'm all ears!