How do you decorate your home’s fireplace mantle? If you’re like most people, there’s a good chance that you don’t pay much attention to this area. Maybe you have some family pictures up there or a stack of books. And while fireplace mantles around the world get a lot of attention at Christmas, the fact is they could do so much more.
Instead of focusing on finding the right wall décor for above your fireplace or cluttering your mantle with knickknacks, consider taking a more directed approach to decorating this area. With a carefully curated collection of items, you can create a mantle area that reflects your home’s broader aesthetics.
A Strong Foundations
Fireplace mantles come in all different materials, from classic wood to various stone and brick options, as well as painted and tiled, mosaic options. Each of these has a different appeal and suits different interior settings. That said, you may still be decorating around whatever design came with your house. If that’s the case, you should build a strong foundation for your décor by choosing a mantel style that appeals to your sensibilities. Swapping out your mantle is especially important if you’ve made other interior changes, like removing a wall, since mantles should suit the size of the space, while also being attractive and functional.
Choose A Color Scheme
Modern homes often have the hardest time incorporating traditional fireplace tv stand into their overall design scheme. Carved wood can seem dated, while stone appears excessively ornate. One way to pull everything together is by creating a mantle-centered color story. Paint the mantle to match the space and then choose items in coordinating colors. You’ll end up with a bold look that’s easy to maintain and doesn’t look cluttered or random.
Go With The Rule Of Threes
Interior designers use the rule of threes – that groupings of three objects look more appealing than a larger number – in many applications, but when it comes to mantle design, it’s an ideal strategy. Even better, it works well for any décor style and with a wide range of objects like glass vases. You can make a group of three out of like objects, like vases or plants, mixed items like a painting, flowers, and a candle, or whatever else appeals to you and reflects your style.
Another major advantage of decorating using the rule of three is that it allows you to change up your space without buying anything. A word of caution to novice designers, though: while the rule of three is helpful for decorating, you shouldn’t overuse it. If your mantle is sporting a triplet cluster, don’t place other groups of three around the room. At that point, it begins to look awkward and artificial.
Reconsider Symmetry
It can be tempting to stick with perfect symmetry when decorating your mantle because it’s classic and balanced, but symmetry almost always looks staged. Instead, consider recalibrating your display, with heavier or larger pieces on one end and smaller elements on the other, with plenty of blank space in between. Mixing the scale of the objects on your mantle creates some visual variety and makes your space look more interesting than it would if you opted for perfectly paired mantle décor.
One thing that’s fun about playing with mantle décor is that you aren’t locked into your decisions. You can change what you display seasonally, rotate items around the room, or rethink the arrangement in a dozen ways. Unlike screwing holes in the wall for pictures or repainting a room, this is a flexible space.
Let yourself have fun with it and uncover what style makes you feel most at home.