No Mantle? No Problem!

With the holidays coming, I started thinking I'd really like to have a mantel to decorate.  Problem is, I don't have a fireplace and I have no room for an actual mantel.  In fact, the place I really wanted to put the mantel is way too small for any mantel I've run across.  What to do?  If only I had a sort of tall-ish piece of furniture that is sort of small but has a nice top.... hmm.  Wait a minute!  What about the crappy dresser in the garage?  I bought this little dresser off Craigslist a few months ago for $20.  I didn't look very close when I picked it up, just pulled out the top couple drawers and looked it up and down, said ok and loaded it up.  Not terribly smart.

When I got it home I discovered the bottom 3 drawers were way too warped for everyday use, so I left it in the garage and stewed on ideas of turning it into a bookshelf or something.  Now I'm glad I left it alone.  It took maybe 2 hours total (note to my worrying daughter, I spread the 2 hours over 3 days, so I didn't overexert myself) to sand, paint in ASCP Duck Egg and wax in clear, plus do a stained and polyurethaned top.  It may not be a mantel, but I think I got some bang of of my $20 and a little paint:

So, now I can hardly wait to decorate for the holidays.  Not sure what I'm putting on it  for Christmas yet, but I'll have fun playing around with it.  For now, an all-seasons look:

The bonus to this is that unlike an actual mantle, this has storage capability so I loaded it up with candles, gift wrap, ribbons, bags, tissue, all of which I don't access often enough to be bothered by warped drawers.

I'm linking up at Met Monday and Show & Tell Friday.  Have a fantastic week!