Home and Decor

Tips For Decorating A Holiday Mantel

Decorating our holiday mantel was so special!  It was something I always wanted to do before I had a fireplace.  Today I teamed up with Pottery Barn Kids and Pottery Barn Teen, to give you some tips on how to style your holiday mantel yourself.

Can I just take a second and say that in 2016 I was in a small apartment with no fireplace, and praying for the opportunity to stop renting and own our a home.  Now 2018 I am decorating our mantel with Pottery Barn Kids.  That’s why goal setting is imperative for your growth! (Sorry I know y’all didn’t come here to hear about goals, but I had to).

This time of year is our favorite.  Rick is walking around singing Christmas caroles and the boys have already made a novel long Christmas list! Last year Cyrus was just getting ready to make his debut so really this year is our first year in the home to truly decorate.  It has been a blast.

I know it can be overwhelming sometimes trying to decorate so I wanted to share some tips that helped me!  You can click on any of the items link or the item pictures.

Easy Tips to Decorating a Holiday Mantel

Just start:  I know this has been my problem many times.  Especially if you are coming from a spot that you didn’t already have decor.  My thoughts were, where do I start, how do I make sure I get enough stuff.  What you want to remember is your mantel decor can always change! I move my stuff around weekly. I’ve added/removed. The biggest thing is just start! Another thing….let’s say you are on a budget.  Don’t break that budget.  Establish the amount you can spend, and find options that fit within it.  Even if that means you don’t get everything you want, you can use it to build off for the next year.  I did that!

Establish your color palette:  You want to think about what color decor you would like to use first.  This will be the foundation of all the items you purchase. While it doesn’t all need to be 1 color its great to have it all cohesive.

Create a focal point:  My mirror is the major focal point that is the anchor to the entire mantel.  Get a piece that is your anchor.  Next year I would like to do a wreath on my mirror.  The options are endless.

Use greenery to add some color: With us having a neutral and gold mantel I need that I was going to have to break up all the cream.  Especially since our fireplace also is stone.  It’s always great to break up the decor by adding some color and different texture.  The greenery I used has a snow effect to soften the green. You can get a garland or use stems.

Play with the height: On your mantel you want to grab pieces of different heights to give it more dimension.  This will create so much balance and allow your mantel not to look too plain.  I have my mirror, house, trees, reindeer, etc.  So many things that give it different dimensions.

Anchor the end:  Doesn’t matter when I am decorating the mantel I always anchor the ends with some type of decor. I feel it finishes off the mantel.  I chose Christmas trees, glitter houses, and a snow globe.

Personalize your stockings:  I feel this adds such a nice flair to the Christmas decor.  Not to mention the boys loved when we pulled out the stockings and saw their names on it.  This is actually the first year we’ve done personalized stockings for the boys.  I grew up with always having them, and can’t believe it took me so long to do it for the boys.

Don’t forget below the mantel:  It’s easy to get focused only on the mantel, but you want to make sure the fireplace landing also gets some decor to finish it out.  We used Santa bags, pillows, lanterns, and trees.  However, the options are endless.  I love seeing logs also!

Christmas Lights aren’t just for trees: Have fun with incorporating lights on your mantel! This will bring some added sparkle.

Have fun:  The boys and I had so much fun making this come to together.  They were such big helpers.  It was a fun way to kick off the holiday season.

MY DECOR LIST:

• Houses
• Bean Bags
• Greenery
• Felt Trees
• Advent Calendar
• Deer Santa Bag
• Santa Bag
• Fa La La Garland
• Faux Fur Stockings: Teddy Bear, Reindeer, Wolf, Llama,
• Polar Bear Pillow
• Candles
• Light Box
• Faux Fur Throw
• Mantel Mirror

Share with me below any decor tips that helped you!