Top 5 Decorating Ideas for Your Fireplace Mantelpiece

As one of the main focal-points within a room, your fireplace and mantel area can greatly benefit from a facelift and one of the easiest, most affordable ways to achieve this is by decorating your mantelpiece. All it requires is a few simple embellishments to transform your mantel from a simple shelf to a visually engaging, dramatic feature, completely enhancing your fireplace and, as a result, the rest of your living area.

So, if you are decorating your mantelpiece and are looking for some inspiration, have a look at our top creative ideas below…

#1 Hang a large piece of art

A simple, affordable way to decorate your mantelpiece is to hang a large piece of art directly above it. It provides a striking look which will not only improve the aesthetics of your fireplace, but will also give your room an attractive focal point.

It is important that the picture is hung centrally and you should choose something of a substantial size which also coordinates well with the rest of the room. Don’t feel confined to hanging a piece of art either – a large decorative mirror or a collage of photos would work just as well.

#2 Use items of varying height

Your mantelpiece is a great place to display ornaments, such as candles, vases and photo frames, and one of the best ways to achieve a stunning visual result is to layer and stagger different sized items in front of one another. This helps to create a cohesive composition and is much more intriguing to the eye.

By using items of varying height, it provides your mantelpiece decoration with a wave effect and, as this creates movement by causing the eye to travel up and down, it is much more engaging. It is important to remember though that your mantelpiece should not get cluttered as this will then no longer be engaging but, instead, distracting and unappealing.

#3 Contrasting colour

If your mantelpiece is in need of some attention and you are looking to bring it up-to-date and, as a result, enhance the overall look of your fireplace, a great creative idea is to use colour. Painting your mantel and the wall above it in a colour which contrasts with the room’s main colour is a cost-effective and extremely simple solution which offers a dramatic and highly attractive result.

The result is incredibly striking and the simple injection of colour will give your room a feature wall, transforming its look and design completely.

#4 Use repetition

Multiple pieces can create much more impact than single item. A great way to use repetitive design to decorate your mantel is to fill three or four frames with a series of similar or coordinating images. Then, instead of hanging them, lean them against the wall to create a striking feature which is both unique and aesthetically pleasing.

#5 Be seasonal

Your mantel can be a great place to display seasonal decorations, creating a themed feature within your room which is easily and fairly affordably changed. It’s important that, if you are using seasonal decorative items, you keep them up-to-date according to the time of year.

For example, during the Christmas period your mantelpiece is an ideal area upon which to place a wreath or garland, and you can also use your mantel to display candles or hang stockings. Then, in the spring, you could display seasonal freshly bloomed flowers in ornate vases or pretty china milk jugs.