A boho mantel can do wonders for your living room. The boho style draw inspiration from the free-spirited travels that a person takes, the vintage market that a person visits, and the love that a person has for items that are collect rather than bought. A person can include different texture on the mantel.
Additionally, a person can warm up the neutral colors of the mantel with earthy tone. Boho style typically include an organized chaos in the mantel area. When achieved correctly, the mantel will become the focal point of the living room but will remain not trendy or force in its choice of decor.
The best boho mantels will not try to look good. Instead, the mantel will include natural material, handmade goods, and souvenir from the places that a person travels to. These mantels will pay respect to the architecture of the fireplace.
It is not necessary to change everything in the room to get this boho look for the mantel. A few change will do the trick. Use the ideas mentioned below to create a boho mantel in your living room.
Ways To Create A Boho Mantel Look
1. Natural Materials
Use natural materials in your mantel. Find items like woven baskets, knit blankets, and raw wood. These items will naturally stand out against any mantel that doesnt have many embellishment.
2. Wooden Beams and Dried Plants
If you have a basic fireplace, place a wooden beam on the mantel and add dried plant like pampas grass, bunny tail, or eucalyptus. These plants will sway when the people walk by the mantle. Additionally, the organic materials will naturally coordinate with the candlelight that come from the mantel in the evenings.
3. Variety of Greenery
This choice work better in living rooms with neutral walls or many plant already in the area. Include a variety of greenery on the mantel. Greenery include both real and preserved plants.
Find trailing plant that will fall off the mantle like string of pearls or ivy. Add two or three succulents on a ceramic planter to one side of the mantel. Add a few dried plant of the same height on the other side.
This will make the mantel look visually interest with the greenery adding life to the space. This choice works best in living rooms with many plants or neutral wall.
4. Global Textiles
Include some of the textile from around the globe in the living room.
Find a larger textile in muted tone, such as a Turkish kilim or Indian fabric. Place the textile on the mantle to add some history and character to the mantel. Use brass candlesticks, handmade ceramic, and add the textiles to create a visually unique area on the mantle.
These textiles will coordinate with the rest of the decor in the living room and give the mantel a unique character. Additionally, these can be changed with the change of the season.
5. Personal Collected Goods
Include some of your collected goods on the mantel.
These item can hold meaning for the person who own the home. A vintage bell from another part of the world, a river stone from one’s travels, or a wooden elephant can all find a place on the mantel. They should all be of the same material or of the same color family to ensure the mantel does not look cluttered.
These item will turn the mantle into a personal one. However, edit these item to ensure they reflect your personality.
6. Dried Floral Arrangements
Include some of the dried floral arrangement from different parts of the world on your mantel.
Add some of the taller dried arrangement to your mantle like driftwood or willow. Or, add some of the fluffy dried plant like lunaria or bunny tail grass. These plant will contrast to the mantel and add some visual interest to the mantel.
Additionally, they will last for month or years without any maintenance.
7. Earth Tone Metals
Include metal of earth tones in your living room. Metals such as brass, copper, and pewter will coordinate with the rest of your living room décor.
Add some of the metal to your mantle as candlesticks, vase, or even bowl for matches. These metal will catch the firelight and the lamplight in your living room. They will add some sophistication to the mantel that may otherwise appear too rustic for your living room space.
8. Meaningful Books
Include some book on your mantel. Add three or four hardcover book of your choosing. Include a sculpture or another plant on the mantel on top of the books.
Choose book that hold special meaning to you, such as encyclopedias or cookbooks. Include book to allow your eye to rest in your living room. These book will add to the lived in atmosphere of your living room.
Additionally, change the book every few month to avoid boredom.
9. Asymmetrical Arrangement
Ensure your mantel design include an asymmetrical arrangement of décor. Place one of your favorite art piece on one side of the mantel and place another object on the other side of the mantel to keep it in balance.
The negative space in between the décor are just as important as the décor. An asymmetrical arrangement will allow your décor to look less formal and more organic. Additionally, you can place one object of importance to you so that your décor remain in balance.
Step back from your mantel often to ensure that your décor is arranged correctly.
10. Mantel Lighting
Include some lighting in your mantle. Fairy light or LED candle can be arranged on the mantle to add some atmosphere to your living room.
Add a table lamp if your mantel is wide enough to allow it to sit on the mantle. Mantel lighting will transform your living room when it comes time to have dinner or wind down the day. This will also be your last piece of décor to be added.
11. Fireplace Hearth Decor
Consider the fireplace itself as part of the décor. Add floor pillow of earth tones to the unused hearth of your fireplace. Or, create woven basket of firewood to place in the hearth.
Additionally, you can also add a few pillar candle of your choice to the hearth. This will help to extend the boho décor into the rest of your living room. If your fireplace is regularly used in your home, leave that area clear.
However, ensure that the andirons or tool set look as good as the rest of the décor in your living room. Finally, ensure that your mantel decor is edited. If you place some décor on the mantel, remove at least two item.
The negative space will allow the item to breathe. Place them in the living room for a few day to see what you would like to change. Make small change to the mantel if needed.
The best mantel décor will never be truly finished. As you bring home new item and as you experience the change of the season, your mantel décor will change with the rest of your home. This change is what give the boho décor for mantels its soul.
Your mantel does not have to look exactly like the mantel of another person in your home or outside of your home. However, your mantel should feel like an extension of your life and your home. Decorate your mantel with the item that you personally love.
Allow the texture of the item on your mantel and the story that they tell to be the talking point for others who enter your living room. When you pass by your mantel and you find yourself smiling, you will know that the décor for your mantel is done correctly.