Decorating a beautiful mantel is as easy as 1-2-3 … four!
Here’s my – not too secret – four-step strategy for easy mantel decorating in any season. For any occasion, or just because you want to!
You can use a combination of things you already have to make your mantel beautiful, and express yourself at the same time. I wrote this post in the fall, but you can use this concept all year long!
1 – Put up a Mirror or Picture as an Anchor
A mirror or picture or large-ish work of art is a great way to anchor your mantel decoration. I usually put my mirror a little to one side of center – a bit more interesting that way. You can choose your anchor piece to complement the rest of your decoration. For instance, I started this mantel by putting up my antique dark wood mirror. (I love this one and use it a lot – you can see another example in this post.) It’s heavy and solid, and added a little fall color and weight to the other light and bright decorations I had in mind.
2 – Choose One or Two Items to Feature
I wanted to feature my white pumpkins – I’m so loving them! I’m also loving the mixed metals this season. (Well, every season, to be honest!) So since I had gotten a lot of flowers and needed something big to hold them all, the silver wine bucket was a great fit. It brought some extra metallic shine to the arrangement, added some height, and made a great second feature!
If you have larger items, you can put up just a few like I did here. If you have smaller ones, say books or shells, you can use more of them and group them. You’ll probably want to have some height variation to make it more interesting.
Here, I put a group of white pumpkins at one end, and effectively balanced out the arrangement by putting the flower bucket and another large pumpkin at the other side. Since nothing is smack in the middle, it doesn’t look lopsided. If you want a more formal look, you can set up your items to be perfectly symmetrical. Ultimately it’s all about what makes you happy!
3 – Add Greenery &/or Flowers
After you’ve gotten your featured items settled to your satisfaction, add some greenery &/or flowers!
I layered seeded eucalyptus over the mantel then tucked my flowers in, for kind of a loose garland effect. But you could add greens or flowers any way you want – in a vase, in bottles, scattered over the mantel, as a wreath, in cloches – your imagination’s the limit!
Choose plants and flowers that you love. Like this gorgeous dark pink variegated rose! I TOTALLY love the beautiful coloring! The carnations are pretty ok too!
Here are some more! Doing the flowers is the super fun part for me!
4 – Candles for the Finishing Touch
Candles are the finishing touch on almost all my mantels. Besides adding to the structure of your design, they’re so gorgeous when you light them! There’s just nothing like candlelight!
I used several different kinds and heights of candlesticks, and put them in among the eucalyptus and flowers. Sometimes adding the candles changes my idea of where the flowers should go. It’s ok to change your plan and move things around as you add or subtract. Plus, it’s a good excuse to play with the flowers and pumpkins again! You can choose a candle color that goes with your scheme, too, although white goes with just about anything.
Here’s another view of the mantel, reflected in a full length mirror we have behind the piano. You can see how all four elements will work together to make a beautiful focus over your fireplace – the heart of your home!
Leave me a note in the comments and let me know if you tried the simple not-quite-secret 4-step plan to decorate your mantel. I’d love to hear your stories!
———————— Shop The Look ————————
Click on the pictures for links to pieces I used on this mantel. If the exact item isn’t available any more, I chose a similar option.
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Barbara, your mantel is beautiful! I love the white pumpkins! I was trying to figure out from the photos how deep your mantel is – maybe 5 or 6 inches? I think they make them not so deep now as I don’t think a white pumpkin would fit on mine. But thanks for all the great tips and I hope you had a fabulous Mother’s Day!
Hi! My mantel is 9 1/2″ deep! I guess that just happened to be the size of board they had available when they built the house. I just learned the other day that there weren’t any building codes back when our house was built, so they could do whatever they wanted! 🙂 (That aesthetic shows up in several places … ) Maybe you can find some tiny pumpkins for your mantel when the time comes! Mother’s Day was great – hope yours was too.
Ahhhh. Ours is 5 inches but how lovely to have 9 1/2 – you can do so much more with it. The pumpkin link that you posted has a variety of sizes (although all out of stock right now) so I’m sure I can find something that will work when they restock. Thanks for all the inspiration and Happy Tuesday!
Right back at you my friend! Hope you have a lovely week. 🙂
Your mantel looks lovely. The eucalyptus leaves looks so real! I’ve been meaning to find some. Enjoy your fall!
Hi Cindy – thanks so much! The eucalyptus actually is real. I’ve found some artificial varieties that look close, but there’s nothing like the real thing if I can get it! 🙂 Your blog looks beautiful – I’m excited to sit down and take some time with it later. Thanks so much for stopping over! 💗