{Holiday Decorating} Day 8: How to Decorate a Mantel

I don't have a fireplace or a mantel to decorate for myself at Christmas, but I know some folks who do!

First up is a design client of mine.  I did all of her holiday decorating for her this year.  You will see her entire house decorated for the holidays a little later.  She has an amazing, huge fireplace mantel that I was so excited to decorate!  The mantel itself was 9 feet long!! A little intimidating, but I totally transformed the entire mantel into a simple, rustic holiday focal point of the home.

When decorating a mantel at Christmas...

1.  Start with the essentials; something large on the wall,
greenery across the mantel, and lighting!

2.  Choose decor in a mix of colors and textures that inspires
your other Christmas decor.

3.  Since the mantel is the focal point of the home, use
a couple of large items for decorating the mantel, rather than
 lots of small items for the biggest impact.

The client's only request, she LOVES Pottery Barn and wanted her home to look like a Pottery Barn magazine!  The pressure is on!  So here is our Pottery Barn inspiration, among with lots of other ideas from my Pinterest boards!

Here are the results of the mantel!

And what it looked like before...

I really wanted to keep it simple and sophisticated, yet striking and eye catching with the row of monogrammed stockings and the large open framed wreath hanging!

I hung the wreath with upholstery jute webbing in a large open frame, the same way I hung my wreaths in my living room. 

The wreath was ordered online at Home Decorators Collection. 
I wanted a simple artificial wreath she could use year after year that was just a mixture of greens, no ribbon, and no glitter!

I created the mantel with the start of two tall matching wicker trees from Hobby Lobby.  The tallest of the items were set on the ends of the mantel.  And then the items gradually get smaller as you move inward, to the center of the mantel.

From there, I added in some candlesticks my client already had.

And an heirloom clock passed down to her from family.

I added in artificial greenery that is flowy enough to hang down the sides of the mantel.  And then added in just one strand of lights for a soft nighttime glow!

Don't be afraid to decorate the hearth as well.  These candle holders were previously on the mantel and I just brought them down to the hearth, filled them with fresh cranberries and a green candle.

A traditional color scheme of reds, greens, and golds warms up this room for the holidays.  The rustic trees on the mantel and simple natural wreath gives the space added texture and interest against a wall of crisp white moldings.

You'll see the complete holiday decorating of this home a little later. 

Decorating a Rustic Stone Fireplace

I helped my sister do some of her decorating as well, but most of it she did all by herself.  It runs in the family, I guess!  In addition to her taking some design notes from me and using some holiday decorating ideas that I had!  She has not one, but two fireplace mantels in her home.  She decorated these all on her own.

 

 She also used the rustic, wicker trees from Hobby Lobby, but in this case, two different sizes.  These add to the already rustic feel of her home.

Instead of lights, she opted for a pop of red for brightness with a garland of Christmas bells added to her artificial greenery.  (no plug-in close by-what a bummer!)

She decorated the hearth with a simple wreath, some wire reindeer and a basket of birch wood!

Decorating a Small Home Office Fireplace Mantel 

My sister is lucky enough to not only have one mantel, but TWO!  The second is smaller and in their home office, but just as beautiful!  This is where they hang their stockings.

Simpler really is better when it comes to decorating a fireplace mantel.  

And remember, just a couple of larger pieces make the most impact.

There are only 4 more days left of my 12 Days of Decorating, but I have SO much more to show you!  I am co-hosting a Holiday Craft Day tomorrow which means lots of new ideas to show you, from DIY gifts to crafty gift tags and a yummy Holiday Sangria recipe! 

DAY 9 will continue on Monday!  See you then!  And thank you so much for following along this week!  It has been a great week with lots of new followers and readers!  So thank you so much for the love and support.

I have a new PIN IT button for Pinterest to make it easier for you to save any ideas you love for later!

12 more days until Christmas!!