If you are lucky enough to have a mantel, it is a great focal point for holiday decorating! Even if you don’t have a fireplace, these ideas can easily be applied to sideboards or shelving. It is fun to find creative ways to dress up our mantel by mixing things up and trying something new. On the Better Homes & Gardens website I found six different mantel variations that I thought were fresh and interesting to share with you today.
The first one featured a lot of blue and white dishes, and then a pop of the jumbo red blooms on either side of the mantel. I thought the symmetry and burst of color was very lively and fun! Remember, you can click on the images to enlarge them!
This one was really neat because it highlights special ornaments that ordinarily might be lost on a tree. By using candlesticks or goblets turned upside down, you create stands to show off pretty Christmas ornaments at various heights along the mantel.
This mantel’s impact is in its simplicity both in form and color palette. I’ve seen little topiary trees like these and think the secret to success here is the repetition. Why use just one? Four gives more impact! Instead of filling every blank space on the mantel with ornaments, it is left with plenty of breathing room consistent with the simple look.
This was a creative way to dress up a mantel easily even if you are starting from scratch with a blank wall. Any empty frame can be used to showcase a wreath without competing for attention from artwork.
How fun are the cranberry-filled glass cylinders set in amongst the greenery and the hanging stars?! A unique and interesting combination!
Finally, I really like this rustic sideboard decked out similarly to a mantel. Glass compotes and apothecary jars filled with gold ornaments and pine cones look great as a group across the top of the sideboard. The gold ornaments tied to the coppery brown ribbon make a pretty and creative swag.
I love the look of a festive fireplace all dressed for the holidays! If you don’t know where to begin with holiday decorating, the mantel is always a good place to start.
What are your favorite mantel ideas? Feel free to share ideas in the comments!
photos: Better Homes & Gardens
1. I love mantles and all the fun things you can do with them. It will be so fun to decorate ours for the holidays! Thanks for some great ideas, Melissa!
by Imperfect — 11/17/08 at 8:35 am #
2. The fourth picture is like what I would like to do in our home– love it.
You always manger to share wonderful ideas- thanks for sharing your talent.
Have a wonderful day-
by Teresa — 11/17/08 at 11:17 am #
3. super ideas and wonderfully written. Can’t wait to decorate!
by LuLu — 11/17/08 at 12:28 pm #
4. I am absolutely doing those cranberry filled candle holders. I’ve got one that I threw some candy corn in for Halloween, and it hadn’t even occured to me to do something in it for Christmas. Beautiful post!
by Natalie at FL Home Blog — 11/17/08 at 1:07 pm #
5. I think mantels are one of my favorite holiday decorating opportunities. Funny though because while I have a fireplace and a woodstove, we don’t have a mantel on either of them! I’ve always wanted to add a mantel to our main fireplace, but it just hasn’t happened. I still like to hang garland though around the fireplace and find other places to do my holiday decorating. We don’t always have the ideal situation, but it is fun to get creative with what we do have.
by Melissa — 11/17/08 at 5:13 pm #
6. Great post! When I think of Christmas decorating, I think of my mantel even before the tree. It is really the focus of the room. I love these ideas and there are some wonderful ideas that I can incorporate this year.
Kimba
by Kimba @ A Soft Place to Land — 11/17/08 at 6:08 pm #
7. I don’t know how you do it, but every one is better than the last! Beautiful!
by Chris — 11/17/08 at 6:48 pm #
8. Hey Melissa, I am enjoying getting you in two places. Love the mantel. We don’t have one because we are in an old farmhouse, but that is ok…I love all these pictures and the ideas of mantelscaping. Hope your weekend was successful, I thought of you looking, hunting and trying to find the right place!
Blessings,
Debbie
by Debbie — 11/17/08 at 7:26 pm #
9. Just before Christmas two years ago we completed a total makeover of our fireplace and added a wonderful mantel that we designed from pictures and in the molding and trim aisles of Lowe’s and Home Depot! We’ve enjoyed it every minute of the time since but Christmas is especially fun to have a nice mantel for a focal point. I’m working on ideas for a bit of change this year but I really love what I’ve done the past two years so I’ll probably just tweak it a bit.
These were great ideas! Thanks for sharing them with us.
~Adrienne~
from WithAGratefulHeart
by Adrienne — 11/17/08 at 9:09 pm #
10. Thanks for your great comments…the more we are talking about all these holiday topics the more I can’t wait to drag out my Christmas boxes!
by Melissa — 11/19/08 at 2:24 am #
11. I especially love the look, in the 5th pic down… My eye was caught by the neat way they did candles! Yummmm…
Yes we have a mantle. But No, I stopped with the ’stockings,’ a while ago. It didn’t go over well but….. ,-) Stuffing all the stockings got to be such a “job”! Eeeeek. And it was always the last thing to be completed. And they ended up with just…. …-o-la things. But still had to spend money, on the …-o-la stuff.
Mmmmmm, do I sound Scroogie? Well, if I do, you’re right! I was!! -grin-
Tessa
by Tessa — 11/19/08 at 5:51 pm #