Autumn Home Tour ~ My Pantle

This folks, is my PANTLE.
It's not a mantle ...nope, don't have one of those to decorate.
It's not a 'fantle', a shelf acting as a faux mantle.
This is my piano acting as a mantle ... thus, we have my pantle.
My purty pantle ;)

And just let me tell you about my piano.
James had it delivered to our front door on my 27th birthday, a complete & total surprise.
He had the delivery fella to call him as he was pulling in our neighborhood.
James then quickly called me, acting as if he was just calling to tell me 'happy birthday'.
What he really wanted to do was hear my reaction to this huge birthday surprise over the phone.
I said, "Oh my word ...someone's ringing the doorbell at 9 a.m. & I'm still in my pjs!"
He responded that I better go answer the door ... & I thought that maybe I was getting a flower delivery.
When I opened the door, the fella didn't have any flowers in his hand,
but he said he was indeed making a delivery.
He said, "Ma'am, I'm bringing you a piano!"
I literally thought I was going to jump out of my skin with excitement!
We hadn't talked about getting a piano & we certainly didn't have the extra money to buy one,
but James wanted me to have a piano.
He got it at the same place that my Dad bought my Mom's piano many years ago, & from the same fella.

Shortly after getting the piano, I began giving lessons & did so for several years.
Some of my students drove nearly 2 hours for lessons.
I also taught all three of our sons how to play on this piano.
To this day, this birthday surprise is one of my very favorite memories & needless to say,
this piano means so much to me.

Now, back to decorating.
Because of the height, it's easy for my piano to act as a mantle & I always decorate it accordingly.
Here's the look I've gone with for this fall season.

I used one of my favorite pieces ever as the jumping off point:  my old window.
I draped a piece of burlap, trimmed out with 3 buttons, over the top edge.
{The burlap was a basket liner in our anniversary basket from our church ...
my very talented friend, Tammy, made it.}
On top, I added my 'Be Thankful' ...it's another of my favorites.
I stapled the grapevine wreath to the other corner to complete the window look.

On the piano, the star attraction is the scale.
I had been wanting one for several months & on our anniversary trip {in July}, I found two!
This one came from an antique barn in Berlin, Ohio.

Here it is before I decided on where I wanted it & what I wanted on top.

This is the label that is on each side.

It was priced at $15 & I was pleased as punch to get it.
It works & is in great shape ... with just enough nicks & scratches to give it character.

I decided this old crayon box was right at home on top.
Can't remember where I got it, but I've had it for years.
I like that it says 'Liberty' because that's my husband's hometown.

 

 This country star completes the look.

This pile of old books is on the opposite end of the 'pantle' ... aren't these fabulous?
The top two & the bottom one are books I picked up at yard sales through the years.

The second one from the bottom was a gift from my sweet friend, Carissa {Garrett's girlfriend}.
Here it is ... I'll treasure this always.

The great big book is an very old Bible that James bought for himself on our anniversary trip.
{We have a nice collection of old Bibles.}
He bought it in an antique store outside of Berlin
{the same place I bought my other scale ~pics to come later}.

There is not a single date in the whole Bible, so we are unsure of it's exact age.

The pumpkin topping the books was burnt orange ... until last year when I spray painted it heirloom white.

This glass globe/candle holder filled with corn kernels is the perfect spot for this round candle.

I bought it to use for the boys' graduation open house & then, it was a candy jar.
Check out this versatile piece all filled with pixie stix  here.

I added a strand of Christmas lights to the grapevine spiral tree & it's the perfect warm glow in the evening.
On the other side of the piano is a wooden country church, attempting to hide my stacks of songbooks.
Since it doesn't do such a great job, I didn't take a close-up.
There's quite a stash back there.

Hope you enjoyed part 1 of our living room.
I'll show you the rest tomorrow since this post about the 'pantle' has gotten quite long.

~Blessings

lamps ~ Christmas Tree Shoppe

runner, country star, &  fleur de lis ~ Old Time Pottery

globe/candle holder ~ Goodwill

{Sharing over at Savvy Southern Style}