Category Archives: antlers

Chalkboard Frame with Deer Silhouette

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I recently stumbled upon a new blog and it’s love.  I discovered City Farmhouse on Pinterest, and after clicking over to the photo’s source, fell down the rabbit hole.  An hour later, I’d completely stalked her entire house, and trust me when I tell you… it’s AMAZING.  What I love the most is that she’s really into up-cycling furniture and decor she already has… I mean how pretty is her living room all done up for Christmas??

A lot of it is found furniture that she’s slapped some paint on, recovered, or made-over in some fabulously creative way.  A girl after my own heart, since money isn’t exactly growing on trees around here…

The coffee table is a prime example of her creativity… the table is originally from Ikea, and she painted it and nailed wooden slats down after giving them an aged finish.  I’ve thought of doing this exact project SO. MANY. TIMES. But I’ve been too lazy, and I felt really unsure of if it would turn out… seeing her gorgeous home has totally inspired me to go for it.

Baby steps though… before I tackle this coffee table makeover, I have a smaller project in mind.

As you well know, I’m kind of obsessed with the idea of mounted antlers… I’ve posted about it twice already (here and here).

It hasn’t been something I’ve actively pursued though because I’m really on the fence about having real antlers in our house (flashbacks of Bambi are haunting me) and in all honesty, I think that a resin deer head would be way too much for our small space.

That said, I saw Jen’s chalkboard stag silhouette and was sold. Game over.

Her full tutorial can be found here, but it consists of a few simple steps… get a frame (with glass), paint the glass with chalkboard paint (after priming), trace the outline of a stag and color it in…
Voila!
So SO awesome, right??  I prefer the thickness of the wood on the chalkboard frame that hangs above her mantel a bit better, but this would be such a fun project to test out, and it’s virtually risk free.  The deer head is temporary – just erase it when you’re sick of it, and there you have it!
I NEED to try this out soon!  No clue where I’ll hang it just yet, but that can be sorted out later!

Brilliant, right??

Mini Mounted Antlers

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Sooo… it looks like the antler craze isn’t going anywhere, and call me crazy, but I’m still really digging rooms that include mounted antlers… after our five days of “Indian Summer” last week, it’s feeling a lot like fall.  The nights are getting colder, the leaves are starting to change, and the jammed up cars on our street every morning tell me that all the kiddos are back in school!  I love that mounted antlers are sort of the toned down, gentrified version of the mounted moose head, and brings just a hint of hunting lodge rustic to an otherwise citified space.  Kind of the perfect season decor to welcome autumn, and lead into winter!

One of my favorite examples…

Cool right? It’s “backwoods rednecks” meets “civilized city folk”.  Ha!
The thing I like most about the mounted antlers is that there are no beady animal eyes staring you down… and no fur… just a clean leather mount.
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And just look at how lovely these are on a simple white mount against the dark putty colored paint…
Does anyone else totally adore Erin Gates of Elements of Style??  Remember this post about her trip to Brimfield antique show??  And this awesome display of antlers??
It’s clear I like the look of mounted antlers, but did anyone else know that these bad boys are expensive??? They can easily run up to several hundred dollars each!  That’s not going to fly…

I did a little search on Etsy, and came up with a few affordable options (affordable meaning, anything under $100)…

This one is $59 dollars… not bad, but I really dont like the fact that the screws are literally going through this poor deer’s scull…

This one is a definite improvement, however the plaid would pretty much completely clash with the look and feel of everything else in our house… and for $100, it better be perfect.

These ones areMUCH more my speed… it’s ~$110 for all three, but they are faux, so no poor little deer had to die, AND they are white… so clean and pretty.

And this one is perhaps my favorite… a faux deer mount made of resin… well hello there little guy.  I’d love this even more in white, and he’d look quite dapper (I think) dressed up for the holidays – perhaps with a jaunty wreath around his neck… kind of like this:

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So what’s your verdict? Are antlers still in, or are they out??  Or in your opinion, were they NEVER in??
Happy Friday!
xo

Mounted Deer Heads… OH yeahhh

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Is it me, or is anything with an antler trendy as heck right now?!

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I’ve personally never been into anything that came from a carcass, but between my new obsession with anything faux fur, and my growing desire to purchase something with antlers to put on the wall, I am getting slightly worried!

I’ve been seeing photos of mounted antlers and animal heads (both real and fake) making a statement everywhere from Target, to ZGallerie, to Urban Outfitters to the pages of House Beautiful, and while I never thought I’d say this… I really want one too!

How awesome is that white lacquer deer head mounted on those rich dark walls??

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I also love this rustic grouping above that FABULOUS console (look at those gorgeous turned legs!!)  I have to say, Restoration Hardware definitely has a “look” – right?? I could tell this image (sourced through Pinterest) originally came from the Restoration Fall Catalog.

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While this look has turned into a bit of an obsession for me, I draw the line at anything taxidermied.  My uncle is an avid hunter, and all the moose and elk heads always freaked me out as a child…

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I am pretty sure that the mounted (fake) deer heads could very easily become one of those “what the hell was I thinking” moments…  also, Kris will likely think I’ve lost my mind if I even try to bring one of these guys home, but I still secretly love this trend.