The fireplace mantel is a focal point in the house during the Christmas seasons. The fireplace mantel is the location where the viewer’s eyes naturaly land when they enters the room. Beyond its purpose as a location for the fire, the mantel is the location in which the warmth from the fire interacts with the decorations that a person has selected for the mantel.
If a person gets the decoration of the mantel just right, the entire house will appear organized. However, a missed opportunity to properly decorate the mantel will make even the best Christmas tree in the corner of the room look like an afterthought. The secret to decorating a mantel successfully is to use both traditional decoration as well as the decorations that make a person happy.
While some people may desire to decorate the mantel in a way that it look like a Victorian Christmas card, others may desire to have it look better in the Christmas photos that they take of their friends. Each of these decorations is a valid way to decorate a mantel, but by using a few ideas, people can create the best possible mantel for their homes. These ideas will work every year, no matter what type of person live in the house or what type of holiday they celebrate.
Wonderful Ways to Decorate Your Holiday Mantel
1. Natural Greenery and Evergreen Branches
One of the best ways to decorate a mantel is to use natural greenery such as fresh evergreen branches. Using these types of branches will provide a scent to the room that indicates to others and to the occupants of the house that it is the Christmas season. A runner of greenery made of fir trees, cedar trees, and pine trees can be placed across the mantel shelf.
Additionally, a person can add a few stems of eucalyptus plants to the greenery for the same reason that people often use the eucalyptus plants in Christmas wreaths: its silvery leaf reflect the Christmas lights. By using natural greenery in this way, a person creates a foundation for the decoration of the mantel. In the instance that the branch is not perfectly straight, it will only add to the charm of the mantel display.
2. Lanterns and Candles
Another decoration that can be used is lanterns or candles of varying heights. Placing tall taper candles of brass holders on the mantel along with shorter pillar candles of glass hurricanes will create moving shadows from the firelight on the mantel. These shadows will make the mantel appear alive.
However, all flammable materials should be kept away from the flames for safety. In the instance that a person has young children or pets for the home, battery-operated candles are a good alternative to candles that use fire. The next decoration idea is to add natural elements to the mantel.
3. Natural Elements like Pine Cones and Dried Fruit
Such elements can include pine cones that are gathered during a walk, dried orange slices, or walnuts that are still in their shells. These items will add dimension to the mantel without becoming the focus of attention themselves. Additionally, these natural elements will add an earthy quality to the mantel that is lacking in ornaments that are mass-produced for Christmas.
These items can be added to the mantel without concern for symmetry; they are meant to be more natural to the Christmas season. Additionally, using these natural elements will add to the details of the mantel; these decorations will show others that the mantel indeed belong to the residents of the house. Another idea for decorating the mantel is to use memories from the past.
4. Memories from the Past
Such items may be a handmade ornament that a child created when they were in preschool, a Christmas stocking that has been used for several holiday seasons, or a book that has been passed from one generation to the next. By using these items as part of the mantel decoration, a person transforms a simple decoration into a story. When others ask about the stories behind the decorations, a person will have succeeded in making a connection with their guest.
5. Metallic Decorations
Another idea that many people forget is using metallic decorations. Metallic decorations will catch the firelight and the lamplight that is reflected from the decorations on the mantel. This caught light will make the decorations look more festive.
Both warm metals such as brass and copper can be used in place of silver metals, or both metal types can be incorporated into the mantel decoration. Items that can be used for the mantel can include mercury glass votives, copper jingle bell that are tied with ribbon, or even a string of fairy lights that are woven through the greenery. Using these metallic decorations will make the mantel look rich and collected instead of all decorations within the mantel matching in color.
6. Minimalist Design using Negative Space
For those who desire a more minimal design for their mantel decorations, using the negative space in the mantel is an idea that can work well for a few reasons. First, a person can clear the mantel of any clutter that may be present. Then, three or four object can be placed upon the mantel.
Such items may be a large star that is made from twigs, one amaryllis bloom that is placed in a glass vase, or even a stack of vintage books that are tied with velvet ribbon. Using the negative space around these items will allow these items to stand out and to be the focus of the mantel decoration. This idea of using negative space is best used in smaller rooms in the house, or in moddern homes where the fireplace may not have much room for display of decorations.
7. Scented Elements
Another idea for mantel decorations is to use scent within the mantel. For such an idea, cinnamon sticks and whole cloves can be placed in the mantel with the greenery. Additionally, dried lavender or dried rosemary can be placed in one of the stands if the individual desire to use the scent of lavender or rosemary in the home.
These scents will help to create memories of the Christmas season for the occupants of the home. Additionally, these scents will not compete with the artificial scent sprays that may be used in the home during the holidays. Additionally, a person can use color in the decorations that are placed on the mantel that are not the colors of red and green.
8. Unique Color Palettes
For example, colors such as blush pink, cream, and sage green with touches of gold will create a softer color for the mantel. Alternatively, colors such as navy, copper, and white will create a more sophisticated look to the mantel. In each case, at least three different textures will feature the same color to create visual interest and to allow the viewer to understand that the colors were intentionally selected for each mantel.
Using the same color for a velvet rug, metal decorations, and dried flowers will create visual harmony in the decoration choice for the mantel. For those who would like the mantel to appear as if it is symmetrical, several decorations can be made to even the mantel. For example, identical candlesticks can be placed on each end of the mantel.
9. Symmetrical Arrangements
Additionally, identical wreaths can be placed on each side of the mantel if the ceiling in the room allows for such decorations. Finally, one significant object can be placed in the center of the mantel. By even the mantel with these decorations, a person will feel that their mantel is organized, even if they only spent twenty minutes to decorate it.
While many people may think that using symmetry in the mantel is a sign of boring decoration, the human eye finds comfort in symmetry, especially during the holiday seasons when people may be otherwise stressed over the rest of the year.
10. Oversize Decorations
For those who would like to use bold ideas for their mantel decorations, using oversize decorations will allow the mantel to become the star of the room. Oversize decorations may include a large wooden bead garland that is used to decorate the mantel, enormous pinecones, or even a giant letter that is covered in moss.
These decorations will allow the mantel to become a point of attention in the room. However, the rest of the decorations in the room should be more restrained when using these types of decorations. Additionally, any items added to the mantel should be kept from being too tall such that the view of the artwork in the room is not blocked by the mantel decorations.
Additionally, the decorations should not interfere with the flue in the mantel when using the fireplace in the room. Finally, another idea is to allow the mantel decorations to include both changing and unexpected elements.
11. Changing and Unexpected Elements
For example, a simple decoration can be started for the mantel after Thanksgiving.
Then, as each Christmas ornament is delivered to the house or picked up from school, it can be added to the mantel. Should the greenery droop within the middle of December, the greenery may be swapped for new greenery. Should an unexpected treasure be found at a craft fair, it can be added to the mantel decorations.
By allowing the mantel decorations to change throughout the holiday season, a person can create a story that reflects the actual holiday that is celebrated in the room instead of one that is created to represent the ideal Christmas season. Beyond these ideas for mantel decoration, it is also important to understand that the mantel is meant to be a place in which memories and anticipation can live. Whether a person desires the mantel to include many decorations or to have few, the goal for anyone who designs the mantel decorations is that the mantel will make the person that design it to pause for a second each time they enters the room.
It is this anticipation and memory element of the mantel decorations that provides the reason for putting the effort into creating such a decoration.
