Its the time of year where we can get really creative and go to town with our home decor. Although it’s nice to indulge in purchasing a few new Christmas accessories, you don’t need to go mad. Why not re-use old items in different ways and even borrow bits and bobs from nature to dress your home beautifully and make it feel Christmassy!
One of the best places to decorate, after the Christmas tree, is a fireplace and mantelpiece as it’s a great focal point for the room, so deserves to be dressed up nicely. Here are my top decor ideas to style a Christmas mantel or shelf and get them looking festive:
Fairylights
Nothing says Christmas like a string of fairylights! They instantly dress up any surface wit their shimmery light and can be added to glass jars for a great effect. They come in so many varieties, meaning there is a stringlight for everyone. Tiny stars, white berries, flashing kitsch colours, cottonball lights or these beautiful starburst fairylights, which were kindly sent to me recently by Sparkle Lighting:
Tiny lights on wires are very versatile and it’s worth having a few of these little battery powered sets. Drape them over your mantel or mirror, add to a glass vase with pampas grass in the hearth, or wrap them around mini Christmas trees:
A Wreath
A wreath always looks good on a mantelpiece at Christmas, whatever the style of wreath or fireplace! It just says, ‘Christmas’ loud and proud. Whether you have bought a ready made wreath, or made your own, prop it against the chimney breast, or in front of your mirror if you have one. Another idea is to hang the wreath from the top of the mirror’s frame. A simple gold wire hoop entwined with eucalyptus and tied with a ribbon looks stunning!
If your plain wreath needs a bit of glitz, add some baubles or go for something completely on trend this year – why not make a pampas wreath?
Mini Bottle Brush Trees
When placed in a row or assembled in a little group, these little bristle trees sprinkled with snow look so effective. Keep it minimal with a simple trio, or enhance them by adding mini tealight houses too for a wintry nordic scene. If you have a deep shelf, you could pop them inside some little glass jars with sugar at the bottom for snow!
Natural Foliage
One look on Instagram at the moment and it’s clear that many people love to go wild above their fireplace with a stunning large display of eucalyptus, fir branches and berries. They will dry out and crisp up over time, but that brings a different appeal all of its own and of course the scent from these sprigs is just delicious. With some floristry oasis blocks and wire you can build a really amazing display.
Alternatively, keep things more simple with some natural foliage in glass jars – this minimal look is really fantastic too!
Stars
If it was up to me, we’d all have stars on display year round as I absolutely love them – from paper starts, to rustic wooden or metal barn stars to pretty illuminated ones, the star shape is synonymous with Christmas. Why not add a row of star fairylights to your shelves or go large with a statement star light. They look good propped in a hearth too or displayed in a duo or trio on the wall.
Candles
Candles are the perfect accessory for your fireplace to make your living room cosy. If you don’t have a working fire, they can be grouped in the hearth. Lanterns with candles also look stunning beside the fire and if you add a stack of logs it will give a fully festive effect.
Candlesticks, pillar candles and tealight holders are perfect for dotting along a shelf or mantelpiece. If you’re worried about them being a fire risk, especially with children or pets around, you can get the same effect with battery operated candles.
A Garland
A Christmas garland is an absolute staple for the mantelpiece. You can drape a length of foliage or baubles or pine cones for an instant transformation. I’ve had a go at making a garland once and it wasn’t too difficult, with wire and foliage. You can buy faux versions, too which are very realistic and the benefit is that they can be packed away and reused the next year. If you have a standard garland, jazz it up with some red or metallic baubles, or blend in some real eucalyptus sprigs for a fresh scent and a fuller look – it’s perfectly ok to mix faux and real foliage!
I hope this has given you some ideas for your mantelpiece this Christmas.
