decorating a mantle question?

17 years ago

I have an 8ft mantle. The fireplace is floor to ceiling dark red brick..the mantel is varnished wood, not very wide. I am soo bored with the way I decorate it each year. Has anyone ever covered with fabric before decorating. Last year I used red velvet the length of the mantle and then deco on top of that. I have started with a gold piece of velvet this year...and I'm not crazy about it. No $$ to spend so I have to use what I have on hand. I am totally in awe at all the decorations you all have. I have planned to go out to the woods and cut fresh greens to use as well. Thanks for all the wonderful pictures everyone has posted so far.

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Comments (10)

Purplemoon
17 years ago
Bright, there's some great tips from Jim A towards the bottom of the OMG post. I just copied and saved them into my files for next year's reference and ideas.

hugs, Karen
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Bright199
Original Author
17 years ago
Thanks Karen, I asked him a couple of questions on that post... I went out yesterday and got alot of cuttings to do the fresh greens part, and have pretty much decided not to use the velvet.
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The reason I don't LARGE face-on photos of family over the fireplace is it just seems like I am being stared at, lol! On the flip side, I covered my mantle at my old house with SMALL photos in ornate frames of friends and family members. Then a large picture/wood block print I loved in the center. I had wall mounted lights that looked like candle sconces on either side of my art, something you might consider., (either the lights or the sconce, well out of the way of little kid hands). That corner curio cabinet is GORGEOUS and I would put something on the mantel with a brown wood tone to tie in with the cabinet. Maybe a picture with a brown frame or some art with some color in it including brown. Or consider adding some colorful art or something on the wall kitty corner from the fireplace, so the room look a little more balanced. I don't see anything wrong with the sailboat photo, but then we are sailing people and love boats and the water and have spent considerable time thus engaged. If you're land-locked and have no association with boats, then it is a little contrived but will do until you find something that speaks to you. If it were me, and I had traveled the world, I would want pictures of that somehow. I have a large travel advertisement picture of a famous place I visited (Valley of the Ten Peaks in Canada, which is often used in Canadian tourism advertisements) which hung over my couch in the living room of my last house, and was surrounded by some other art pieces evoking the northern Rockies. Which made the space feel welcoming to me. Not saying you should copy me, but just sort of showing how you can develop a theme of stuff that reflects your live and loves in your "living" room.
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Try putting the vase with the red berries to the right of the picture on the right over the bookcase. It looks as though it's going to topple off the mantel. Please, no to the mirror and wreath, that's been so overdone. I like the left side with two frames on the bookcases, just leave them there and don't hang them up. The right side will be balanced out with one picture and the vase with the berries. Remove the clock and put the two candlesticks on the right and the one on the left, and let's see what that looks like.
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If it is cast stone you can stain it but I've seen some examples on youtube and most of them don't look great. It can look really streaky. The other thing you could do is add more light stones to the chimney so it ties in better with the mantle. This will sound weird but stick with me for a minute. Get some parchment colored pieces of paper and cut a bunch the same the size as your individual stones. Randomly tape some on the stone. Then you can see if adding some more white to the chimney part makes the mantle and chimney look more cohesive. If you like the look, just paint some of the bricks the same color as the mantle. I would also consider pulling the whole mantle off as mentioned above. It may be easier than you think.
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I'll be honest, it's not my thing. Does the mirror look okay? Sure, it looks okay. But is it the best that space could be? No, it's not. Mirrors over fireplaces are usually not the best look. A round mirror in all of that rectangular-ness going on is also not working for me. To me it's just stopping my eye on the mirror instead of letting me take in the beauty of that whole wall. It's also just another "hard" piece against all of the other hard-ness. I think you could get a bigger impact by hanging art there or by hanging a textured decorative piece. If you're dead set on keeping the mirror, then I would add a "soft" and a "living" element by putting some type of faux decorative branch in a skinny vase(s) on one side and leave it at that. Nothing more on the mantel.
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kareen
17 years ago
Before we redid the fireplace it was brick with a mantle that was Jacobean stain and drywall above. I always used a mantel scarf . Still use it on the new fireplace , not sure I like it but not ready to rid myself of it yet. I may tea stain it for next year .This was last years look . Good luck . Kareen
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Purplemoon
17 years ago
kareen, that is lovely!!!!

hugs, Karen
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Bright199
Original Author
17 years ago
I love your fireplace!! That wood is beautiful, and the decorations are to die for!!! Thanks for sharing.
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thrift_shop_romantic
17 years ago
Kareen, that fireplace is amazing. Yum!

-Jenn
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tamgypsy
17 years ago
How about using scarfs for the fabric for the mantel or table runners...I put my pinegarland just on top of my mantel but it is 12 inches deep.
{{gwi:1462164}}
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Penelope
17 years ago
Tamgypsy, what a gorgeous mantel! It really looks pretty, lush and festive but not overdone. The trees on either end are really pretty. Do you have an electric outlet on the mantel, or are you wrapping a cord around the side? There's no way I can put lights on my mantel without having an ugly cord showing, unless I get battery-operated lights. I've got a brick fireplace wall with two staggered stone shelves in the middle instead of a traditional mantel, so anything hanging off one of the shelves would be prominent, no way to disguise it.
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luvstocraft
17 years ago
Kareen, that mantle is gorgeous! I love the Victorian look of it and of your mantle scarf--very pretty. Luvs
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kareen
17 years ago
Tamgypsy,
I really love yours , festive yet very serene.
Thanks everyone for your postive comments. Kareen
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decorating a mantle question?

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decorating a mantle question?

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Bright199Original Author

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