Decorate Your Mantel

A mantel is the frame around a fireplace that has a ledge to display items. It is often the centerpiece of a room and has the ability to make or break a room. You want that mantel to reflect your style and the style of the room. It can be decorated in any style, color and using any object. The trick is to make it all flow. Here are a few mantel ideas, tips and tricks to decorating a mantel and having it look like a decorator did it for you.

The spot above the mantel that is perfect for a picture or mirror. A mirror will help a small room to look bigger, and is a great place to start decorating a mantel. Using the center picture or mirror you can balance the mantel items off of it and they don't have to match the mirror exactly. A mirror can sit higher above the mantel as an accent and not the main focus of your display as well. If you choose to put a picture up on the wall, you can change it for the seasons, holidays or leave it up all year. Your mantel items can blend in with the theme of your picture or be a contrast too. It can be fun to change your mantel items as the seasons do.

Less is more. You do not need to cram the mantel as full as possible and cover every square inch of it with stuff. It is important to choose a few, select pieces to showcase the mantel and reflect the room's style as well as your own. Often you will see decorators picking out four pieces only for the mantel. They will take three of the items and set them on one side while the lone, last piece sets on the opposite end. You don't need the pieces to sit on the very ends of the mantel; bring them in a bit and space them out. Layering is a common effect used to make the mantel seem fuller with less. Layering is placing pieces slightly in front of each other to create a simple 3-D effect. The lone piece on the other end of the mantel should be a tall item; one that would tower over the other three if they were placed next to each other. A small plant, wire spiral tree, or even tall and wide candles are possibilities.

Ultimately the choice is yours. Decorating a mantel can be accomplished using sentimental items or can duplicate a design you have seen on television or in a style magazine.

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