Decorating for Easter without a mantle!

Although we are (heatwave notwithstanding!) now into autumn, I just love the spring pastel colours of Easter decorations. Now that Easter is less than a month away, I felt I could give into my urge to set up some Easter decorations. One of the only things I wish I could change about this house is that I don't have any sort of mantle. When we built this house, the plans originally had a fireplace, but since it rarely gets super cold here, we decided to remove it and turn the space to a built in cabinet instead. Can you guess that I regret that decision over and over again? I love decorated mantles and I love seasonal decor, and a mantle just seems to perfect to display bits and pieces to their best advantage. But, since I don't have one, I have created two tables in the entry way to satisfy my needs!

The first table is tucked into a little corner between our entry way and our lounge room, so anyone coming into my house will walk right past this.

For this table I wanted something fun and whimsical and I think I really achieved that. The table started with the three potted plants I already had on this table. I have started buying my indoor plants at Ikea. They are surprisingly good quality - the leafy plants have been going strong now for over 4 months, and when I say I have a black thumb I am not kidding. Also, I love fresh flowers in the house, but cut flowers rapidly add up since they have to be replaced at least weekly. These orchids at Ikea are around $20, and if you pick carefully and make sure they have lots of buds, they will last a few months as well before they stop flowering. I literally have them all over the house, in almost every room!

I created this "Easter Tree" with a painted wood tree I had stored away, and a mix of painted and glittered eggs. I bought a packet of painted eggs ready-made from Bed Bath n Table, and then shamelessly copied them using techniques I gleaned from watching Martha. The little chicken egg cup and the cute spring bunnies I picked up at a little gift store a few years ago.

The bunny candy dish was from the same gift store, and the bunny picture was a bargain window decal I found the other day at the dollar store and applied to the glass in the frame. The little sachets were quickly whipped up from some fabric in my scrap stash, and tied with some ribbon.

My second table is tucked into a niche in our entry way. For this table I was going for a more sophisticated vibe. It's not quite where I want it yet, but it will do for this year. The candles, vase and lotus vase are usually on this table and I added the little potted faux plant since I felt it needed a little bit of greenery.

The white porcelain tealight holder (filled with eggs) and the bird were a Christmas present last year from DH, and can usually be found in the dining room. The little ceramic bunnies were from my collection, and I bought the larger bunny just the other day from Bed Bath n Table. The speckled eggs were also from Bed Bath n Table. They were just gorgeous and came in pink, yellow and neutral. It's such a shame they didn't come in robin's egg blue (my favourite colour), because then they would've been even more perfect!

I also found this adorable little bird and nest. This pic doesn't do it any justice at all; the bird is just too, too cute.

Slowly, slowly, I am planning to build up my collection of seasonal decor. I have my Christmas pieces pretty much sorted, and I'm going to keep my eye out after Easter for the sales and see if I can add some more pieces for the "sophisticated" table, in particular.

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