A fireplace poses that one cozy nook in your house, where you and your pet can curl up on any cold lazy night to warm out with that new magazine or watch movie with your family or else just chat up with your friends over a warm cup of hot chocolate. The fireplace with its comfort and warmth forms that atmosphere around which many a wintry night eases off leaving behind impressive and fond memories. The designing of the fireplace mantle and its surroundings forms the make-or-break-point of many home beautification. Here are a few tips to turn the fireplace mantle into a warm niche to relax and entertain. Image Credit
1. Artwork
Art has always been the king of home decorations. Use some spectacular art paintings, photographs of family friends or general scenery topics to adorn the mantle top. You can also showcase instead of a single large painting, a collage of artwork or photos to beautify this place with a few silver candleholders adorning the mantle-top. This lends a picturesque yet simple look to the entire space.
2. Mirrors
Mirrors deliver a lovely intonation reflecting not only warmth of the room back, but also giving off a feeling of extra space around it. You can flaunt an ornamental or a simple framed mirror in the open space over the mantel. The wooden mirror frame harmonize well with the wooden fireplace. Image Credit
3. Choosing the color
Color form one of the primary ingredient in setting the mood and ambiance in any room. The fireplace mantle is no alien in this case too. The mantle decorations must complement the color of the walls, the surrounding and the whole room, to look like it belongs there and not cut out from somewhere else. While decorating always remember the golden rule of “less is more and more is less”. The lesser the ornamentation and the simpler the tone the more fine-looking is the outcome.
4. Add some tea lights
Sometimes the dancing flames and the sounds of popping embers are just about enough to decorate this place. Add to the effect by creating a dramatic look just by adding a striking hue and some pretty tea lights to the wall. Bold colors heighten the warmth of the room, while foiling the simplicity in the surroundings. Image Credit
5. Letters and numbers
Big graphic letters and numbers, vintage or new, can add to the fun element to your mantel. You can form graphic shapes or get around designing a graphic working clock above the fireplace with these numbers or letters. The visual treat of a graphic clock can enthuse and enthrall all its beholders.
6. Unique collectibles
The mantle can also be used as a gallery to display those unique items you picked up from all over the globe. However, the key to the success of decorating the mantel shelf with casual knick-knacks is to bring in objects that complement each other in terms of color, size or origin. There is no aesthetics in piling up this quaint place with all sort of unique collections you own just for the sake of it. For instance, you can mix and match a brightly glassed majolica with Chinese snug bottles for a more organized yet striking appeal. Image Credit
7. Brick mantel
Brick fireplace mantels are one of the most traditionally favored designs. Their timeless appeal mimics the look of country living and transforms surroundings. This mantel and surround design works well for corner fireplaces as the burnt appearance of the bricks would add a natural touch the hearth. Modern brick mantel shelves and surrounds get their tan or burnt appearance through the process known as amalgamation where various stones and clay are combined together to form the brick material.
8. Natural finds can too be great addition
Nature offers lots of beautiful, free goodies for decorating your mantle. In the fall, think pine cones, tree branches, and acorns. Use beach stone, the colorful weathered boards, stones from the riverbed, fir cones etc to beautify and express that nature loving self of yours. Image Credit
9. Fruits
In the absence of too much artistic flair fruits can also be used to decorate the mantle and its surrounding shelves. What you can do is place fruits like lemons, lime, oranges, etc. in see-through (transparent) bowls, vases and pitchers and place these over the mantel. You can also add floral arrangement to the fruit bowls to enhance the look and make it more colorful. Another nice option is to place beautiful candles adjoining these vases and bowls.
10. Bouquets
A lovely topiary or a bouquet of origami flowers over the fireplace mantel in singular or series looks appealing. Keep it simple or can embroider one of these with wind ribbons and small bells draping across the mantel and finally winding down around the second topiary. Image Credit
