If you are like most people, the fireplace mantle is considered the “heart of the home”; the focal point of the room that you dressed to reflect your homes décor and your personal taste.  And with so much emphasis put on the mantel décor and the time spent searching for the perfect accents, when it comes time to decorate for the holidays I like to add festive elements to my mantle rather than putting away what reflects my personality year around.

During the holidays the mantle gets extra attention with the stockings, garlands and candlelight, so make it an eye-catching focal point, if you will… the centerpiece of the season!

Here are three mantles from the store that might bring inspiration for your holiday decorating!

Remember when decorating your mantle to choose elements that lend continuity to all your other holiday décor.  Carry the theme throughout the room in your choices of color, textures and elements.

This mantle had the contemporary lime colors with traditional greenery which work well with the warm sand color walls.  The warm browns and golds are repeated to enhance an already existing horizontal hurricane.  The additions of loose greenery and holiday touches finish the setting.

In this close-up you see the different holiday elements… Lime poinsettias, warn brown hydrangeas, glittery gold eucalyptus, shiny gold ornaments in different shapes and sizes, and here you can see the pearl stands draped ever so lightly.  Below you can see that we started with a draping loose evergreen garland as a base for the holiday accents!

Sometimes it’s great to mix old and new for an intriguing Christmas mantle application.  This authentic antique snow shoe makes for a great theme starter, with the contrasting glitz and glitter for the finishing touches.  While a great visual statement, it also implies; “while it might be cold outside, it’s warm in here”!

As you can see above we started with an evergreen garland with mixed pine and berries along with salal and faux wood.  We used assorted shapes of red ornaments with a marvelous gold leaf ornament to accent the large sparkling red and gold pinecones.  The ribbon is a golden rust color and the feather print has a hint of metallic for a holiday touch.

This tulip print takes the place of the snow shoe as a focal point in this setting.  The red pinecones work here as well, with a few different components.  The feathers are a welcome addition, augmenting the delicate red cardinal and bird nest, while light green hydrangeas work well with the glitz of the green eucalyptus.

Mantles can really get my creative juices flowing; there are so many different options to choose from when creating a festive focal point!  I would love to know what you think of our suggestions and let me know how you created your “merry mantle” in the past… Stay tuned!!