A farmhouse mantel have a way of anchoring an entire room. Whether you are alone at home or whether you are hosting friends over, your farmhouse mantel is where the eye lands first. A bare mantel is like an sentence that does not have punctuation.
Once you place the right decor on the mantel, the entire room suddenly makes sense. Some of the best farmhouse decor for the mantel dont draw the eyes to it. Instead, the decor for a farmhouse mantel gathers into one spot and allows the decor to feature different textures, feature of history, and the unique imperfections in the items.
Getting the decor for a farmhouse mantle right requires a little restraint and alot of personality. Too much decor on a farmhouse mantel can become visual cluttered, and too little may not do justice to the farmhouse design. A few ideas for farmhouse decor can be found below, and each idea allows for a little flexibility in the placement and features of the decor items on the mantel.
Beautiful Ways To Decorate Your Farmhouse Mantel
1. Natural Wood Foundation
One of the first pieces of decor to consider is a foundation of natural wood. The wood sets the tone for the farmhouse decor, and no decor will ever have the same impact as a natural wood mantel. You can use different types of wood for the mantel, and the wood can remain bare if the rest of the walls in the room feature a lot of decor.
2. Linen Runners
An alternative to leaving the wood bare is to add a linen runner to the mantel. The linen runner will add texture to the mantle, and it will protect the wood from damage. This decor idea works best in rooms that feature shiplap or painted brick walls.
3. Candlesticks and Vases
To ensure that the mantel is deep enough for the decor items on it, make sure that the mantel is at least eight inches deep. Adding items of varying heights to the mantel will create visual interest. Items such as candlesticks and vases of varying heights will work well on the mantle.
An odd number of items will work for the mantel decor for a visual design element that will tie into the visual feature of farmhouse decor. For example, three candlesticks of the same metal finish and one tall ceramic vase will draw the eyes to each item. The dried plants that you can add to the vase will last for month and will add a sense of movement to the decor.
These items will work best during the fall and the winter months to create a sense of comfort in the home.
4. Vintage Collections
In addition to the visual elements of farmhouse decor, consider incorporating collections of items that has meaning to you. Items such as vintage dinner plates, pitchers, and other decorative items will add a sense of history to the mantel decor.
You can lean these items against the mantle rather than hung on the wall, providing opportunities to rotate these items based on seasonal decor. Only include a few strong pieces of decor rather than five collection of items on the mantle. If your collections are small, include a few neutral books on the mantle to provide additional visual interest.
5. Architectural Salvage
Adding architectural salvage items to the mantel will introduce visual elements of history to the mantle. These items could be salvaged from other historical buildings. These items will work to add more character to the decor rather than more visual clutter.
For example, decorative books and a hanging lantern on the other side of the mantle can balance a heavy corbel from an old barn. This idea may work best in older homes with simpler mantel designs. The architectural elements will introduce visual interest that may be lacking in newer construction buildings.
Ensure that the architectural items added to the mantle are genuinely old to avoid using reproductions that may look flat or obviously reproduced when viewed closely by passersby.
6. Trailing Greenery
Adding greenery items that will drape over the sides of the mantle will allow for more visual interest and create the feeling of life in the room. Items such as trailing plants will allow the plants to add more visual interest to the mantle.
You might place these into a pitcher or a wooden box on one end of the mantel. Use plants that will require less maintenance in the room, or use fresh plants that do not require much light, especially if the mantle décor is opposite a large window in the house. Using fake greenery is an alternative décor idea; however, opt for high-quality stems for the greenery instead of the cheap alternatives.
7. Seasonal Vignettes
In addition to the items that can be purchased for the farmhouse decor, it is also possible to create a seasonal décor vignette with the existing items in the home. For example, in the autumn, you could add a few miniature pumpkins to the arrangement. In the winter, the pumpkins could be replaced by a few pinecones.
The items will remain on the mantel in the house year-round and only the homeowner will rotate them to change the look of the mantle. Not only will this save the homeowner money, but it will also reduce the amount of decor that are thrown away each year. This idea will also allow the homeowner to start to see the potential of other items in the home.
8. Mixed Metal Finishes
Another décor idea is to mix metals of varying finishes. For example, a brass candlestick, a matte black lantern, and a copper decorative bowl could be mixed on the mantel. To ensure that the metals look connected to one another, ensure that one metal is repeated throughout the house.
The rest of the metals will draw attention to the mantel decor items. This idea works best with white or cream walls in the farmhouse. Avoid metals that feature too much shine to the decor items; such metals may be too formal for the preferred farmhouse decor of the homeowner.
Ensure that the decor items selected for the farmhouse mantle are of an appropriate scale to the fireplace. Too many tiny items may make the farmhouse mantel look too cluttered with the fireplace. Too many oversized items may overwhelm the fireplace.
Consider the entire wall with the mantel and the fireplace to ensure that the mantle items enhances the fireplace without becoming a competitor to the fireplace design. If the fireplace opening is tall, consider adding a large picture or mirror to the mantel. Additional items can then be added to the mantel to balance with the picture or mirror.
Provide breathing space for each decor item on the mantel. This will enhance the sense of visual interest created by the individual decor items. Lighting is the last element to consider when decorating a farmhouse mantle.
9. Layered Lighting
A few lamps may be used on the mantel if the mantle is high from the floor. Otherwise, candles and picture lights will work better for the mantle décor. Use taper candles that are battery operated and feature a realistic flicker to avoid fire hazards from the fireplace.
Position the candles to reflect on the mirror or the wall on the mantle décor. The reflected light will highlight the mantle and transform it into a special spot in the home. This lighting idea will enhance the functionality of the mantle to become an inviting spot for the homeowners.
The décor for a farmhouse mantle do not have to be perfect, but it should be personal to the homeowners who live in the house. When entering the house, the entry of the homeowner should feel like a sigh of relief. When entering the house, the house should feel like a welcoming home for the homeowner.
Start with one décor idea from the list above. Use the idea for a few days and make adjustments to the items or the placement of the items. For example, move one item an inch to the left, or replace one item for another found in the yard.
The best mantle décor will never be finished. The mantles will grow in interest and change with the seasons and those that lives in the house. This change and evolution to the décor will be the quiet magic of the mantels.
