Junk on the Mantel and Vintage Chair Redo

Well hello.  So today I had a little fun playing with my mantel decor.  Can you believe I still had a tiny Christmas Tree in a glass hurricane vase with fake snow up there?  Couple more months and there would be no need to change it.  I've been meaning to update it but it sorta got away from me.  Today was the day.  I wanted to stage a couple of chairs I just finished and I thought the mantel would make a nice backdrop.  The chairs have a Restoration Hardware vibe to them so I thought I'd go with it and create a neutral industrial feel.   

I busted out my best junk.  My newest is the rusty wheel pulley on the left.  I picked it up the other day with two antique upholstered chairs and six railroad spikes.  The gal that owns the store wanted to know what what the heck I was doing with such random things.  Of course I didn't think they were random at all.

The chairs I painted with Shutter Gray Milk Paint, distressed, then waxed with clear and dark wax.  I tried to paint them cleanly and not distress but I couldn't.  The heart wants what the heart wants.

  
The outside back and seats are done in a cream canvas fabric.    

For the backs I used reproduction grain sacks.  On line they look a little lighter colored then they actually are but I am still happy with them.  I used the seams from the burlap sacks to cover the staples instead of welting. 

 Just for fun here's the before.

So do you change your mantel decor with the seasons?  If so have you changed to fall yet? ;)




To see more about the mantle check these posts out: 
DIY Mantel tutorial
Herringbone Faux Mantel insert

Update: 
I tweaked the mantle.

I swapped the glass ball jar for a rusty urn and added a pop of green with some moss. 

To see more about the mantle check these posts out: 
DIY Mantel tutorial
Herringbone Faux Mantel insert