If you have a fireplace, we are sure you would love to accentuate it with a decorated mantel. Mantel can be ornate by itself or plain to accommodate ornaments to liven the room up. Fireplace plays its own role of warming up the room and brings a classy look, but it is the mantel that actually determines the beauty of the fireplace. Leaving a mantel plain is no less a crime, especially when you have an additional opportunity to add more value to the room’s beauty factor. Let us look at some mantel decorating ideas you can employ for your place.
Flower power for your mantel
Use of flowers on the mantel is not new. Christians hang flowers and mistletoe down their mantelpiece during Christmas. Putting up real flowers may liven up the room and scent it up, but they will require constant change that may be cumbersome. In such a case, you can go for artificial, real-looking flowers that can decorate the mantel. Make sure that the color of the flowers compliments the furniture, walls and carpet of your room. Using artificial wreath in addition to flowers will add more power to your mantel decoration.
Tiny touches to your mantel
It is not compulsory to use large, highly ornate, expensive objects to decorate your mantel. You can also go for small, good looking, plain, cheaper trinkets. Small potted plants, colorful stones, small clay sculptures and other similar things, when placed properly over the mantel, can add more beauty than more gaudy objects. Most of the places in Europe have children’s toys placed beside potted plants to decorate the mantel. This not only saves money, but also brings a more personal, realistic look in the room.
Give traditional look to your mantel with candles
If you are more like a traditional person, you can go for candles. Some candles in silver or crystal candlesticks will add more value to your fireplace. If you are uncomfortable with candlesticks, you can go for thick, colorful candles. They will compliment the fire of the fireplace, giving a more elegant and traditional look to your mantelpiece. You can also place objects of immense personal value, such as a family photograph, works of your children or a memorabilia, between these candles. You can also choose different-sized candles.
Pumpkin rainbow mantel
Pumpkin is not a new idea. Traditional sets have pumpkins placed on the mantel and around the fireplace. As pumpkins are large in size, varied in color and slow to spoil, these squashes can be used to decorate the fireplace. There are various ways to place pumpkins on the mantelpiece – in a line, in a cluster, around the fireplace and likewise. You can also hang some objects over the pumpkins like wreath, portraits and photographs. If you want your place to appear different, you can hang funny, personal tags down every pumpkin on the mantelpiece.
‘Green’ your mantel
Ecological drive cannot leave a fireplace as well. If you are a supporter of ‘green’ products, you can use the green theme for your mantel. A mantel shelf filled with live plants can be a dramatic, yet inexpensive way to decorate. First, check your lighting. If there’s not much light, consider succulents and plants like bromeliads for height and interest. Ornamental grasses provide a full, new and natural touch on a ‘shady’ mantel. Balance taller plants with a vase filled with dried wheat, dried berries or reeds. One trick to remember upon visiting a reputable nursery is to look at the plants you’re considering from the side at eye level. A plant may look great as you gaze down at it in a gardening plat, but from the side it may appear thin with unattractive undergrowth. Look for attractive stems and leaves as that’s what will be seen as you gaze at your newly decorated mantel shelf.
Put your collections on mantel
Putting family collections on the mantelpiece has been a traditional setup. You can add photo frames of your family, your kids or your spouse. You can flaunt your achievements by placing shields and trophies that will glitter in the room’s light. You can also place children’s toys, heads of wild animals you or your family member had brought down or even portraits made by you or your family member. This will make the mantelpiece more beautiful, homely and personal.
Contrasting color
If you are uncomfortable with putting objects on the mantelpiece or your room is already too full of objects to have more, you can merely liven the place by using colors. You can paint the mantelpiece with colors like red and orange that will add a contrasting combination to the fireplace or sombre colors, like gray, to add a more serious and ethical look.
