Burlap “Art” (?)

I have a space on my dining room wall that I can’t figure out what to do with. We plan on adding more cabinets there in the future, so I don’t want to invest a lot of money (or any money for that matter) on a space that is not going to exist for very long.

Originally I bought this on clearance at Kirkland’s, but I was never really in love with it. It’s pretty, but it’s much more formal than anything else in our house. It’s really just not my style at all.

I need our space to feel more comfortable. Especially because we are adding chair rail and picture frame molding in the dining room, I don’t want it to feel too stuffy.

Enter burlap. Burlap is in this year. Don’t ask me why, I don’t make the rules.

I have never really been a fan of the stenciled burlap pillows or burlap covered furniture. Sorry. Burlap is uncomfortable, that’s not really what I’m going for with my decor. However, we did have some in the garage because we use it to cover plants during a frost and it is definitely the opposite of too formal.

We also had an old cheap mirror that the previous owners had left in the downstairs powder room. And I have a glue gun. Are you thinking what I’m thinking? Free burlap art? I take no responsibility if you think it’s ugly. It is burlap, after all.

First I wrapped the mirror in two layers of burlap. It was very thin since it was the kind intended for gardening. That’s ok, I kind of like the way that the reflective surface of the mirror adds more dimension. I hot glued the fabric to the back thusly:

Yes, that is a wire coat hanger that is being used to hang the back of the mirror, I told you it was cheap.

Then I printed some letters from the computer to cut out and trace. I cannot be bothered with things like buying stamps, there is enough junk in my basement as it is.

The plan was to trace the letters and silhouettes of some wooden utensils.

But then I actually kind of liked the way the utensils looked on the burlap, so I just glued them there. Those wooden spoons were a gift. They are very nice quality, but not very practical. They are made of a type of wood that cannot get wet, so they can never be washed. They mostly just sat around in a drawer anyway. Now they are “art.”

(The shine on the corner of the E and above the bottom spoon is the camera flash reflecting on the mirror)

I can’t decide if I love it or hate it, but either way it’s evoking some sort of feeling. That’s what art is supposed to do, right?