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10 Farmhouse Decor Mantle Ideas

December 17, 2021

Home Improvement

Coming up with ideas to decorate any part of your home can be difficult if it isn’t something you already have a lot of experience doing. Decorating the mantel of your fireplace has some specific challenges due to the nature of the space and the limitations as well. Luckily, this article is here to help you along with all of these ideas and point you in the proper direction. This article is going to focus on a rustic style, or farmhouse mantel décor. We will talk a bit about what this style is, why it is appealing, how to find some great inspiration, and what kinds of fireplaces work best with this style. Finally, we’ll give you 10 great ideas for you to implement on your own fireplace mantel. Let’s get into the details.

When Considering Mantel Decor Ideas, Why Is Modern Farmhouse Fireplace Mantel Decor So Appealing versus home decor That Isn’t In a Farmhouse Style?

As opposed to a little more eclectic styles like Boho or even some types of contemporary, modern mixed with farmhouse is rooted in traditional looks while not looking old fashioned. It is a very timeless look, especially for more rural homes, away from the big city.

Farmhouse style decorating can look classy without feeling smug or like you are trying to show off. It has its feel firmly planted in a modest way of living, for people that know that family and friends are what makes life worth living. It is in complete contrast to styles that are all about trying to make the biggest, vibrant statement, begging for attention. The farmhouse style of decorating is much more humble and focused on looking clean and modern, but with a slightly rugged attitude for people that take pride in a good and honest day’s work.

Do You Need To Be an Expert Interior Designer Like TV’s Joanna Gaines In Order To Come Up With Beautiful Rustic Home Decor Designs, DIY Projects, or Other Farmhouse Mantel Decor Ideas?

If you’re new to doing serious decorations for a fireplace area, you’re in luck. That is because you really don’t need to be some kind of TV personality designing expert in order to have a great looking home or fireplace. The truth is, we all know what looks good instinctually. We can look at a poorly designed room and a room with a great design and easily tell the difference. The only trick is knowing what elements to include and what principles to unleash to get the good design.

Luckily, there are so many incredible guides, examples, pictures, videos, and more to help you along. You can even find a step by step tutorial online on how to accomplish just about any home improvement or design project you have in mind. The trick is to go and find a lot of great references for the look you want for your home and then do your best to make your home resemble what you see. Because so many things are easy to change if it is going wrong, there is no problem just trying whatever you want and seeing how it looks after. As long as you have your resources, reference photos, and other inspirational items pointing you in the right direction, you’ll be fine.

Are There Helpful Places Online For You To Find Resources Like Photo Examples of Mantel Decorating Ideas, DIY Tutorials, Guides For DIY Home Decor in a French Country Style, Wall Decor Inspiration For a Rustic Mantel, Fall Mantel Styling, Easter Decor, and More?

Other than this article, there are tons of resources online. Once you know the exact type of decorating style you’re going to implement in your home, you can use that as your starting search terms online.

A quick Google search is a great place to start. By searching on Google, Google images, or Google videos, you’ll find a huge amount of resources specific to your style. The more detailed your search terms, the more likely you are to find resources that are really close to your preferences.

Etsy is a good place to look for inspiration from people who are really crafty, or you can even find specific items to buy there. Many sellers on that site are people running a small online solo business and ship out of your home. So, you can be happy knowing you are supporting someone directly rather than sending money to a faceless company.

Pinterest has an insane amount of pictures regarding decorating and other home improvement types of projects. You can search what you’re looking for and start pinning everything that happens to catch your eye to incorporate it into your own home designs.

Instagram is another great social media resource that you can find helpful and insightful pictures on. It is great for seeing completed designs to get inspiration from. You don’t have to look through all of the pictures through a single fireplace-based or decorating account. Simply do a search for hashtags related to fireplaces, farmhouse, and more.

YouTube is one of the best resources if you are thinking about trying a more complex project and you want a guide on how to accomplish it yourself. There are so many videos of people showing you how to make items for your mantel, install mantels, and more on there. If you have something you need to be shown how to do, it is almost guaranteed that someone has made a YouTube video demonstrating it.

What Are The 10 Home Decor Ideas That People Can Use For Their Own Farmhouse Look Around The Fireplace?

Now that you have all of your inspirational resources, photos, videos, and guides, it will make it that much easier to tackle any of these 10 ideas for your home:

Greenery – Adding plants to your mantel brings a lot of the outdoor charm to your indoor space. You can use fake plants that don’t need any care, or you can use fresh plants like fresh cut flowers to make your mantel look beautiful while helping your home smell great. The plants you use should be seasonal. You can use a design with fall elements around October and November, or create a nice spring mantel after winter has ended.
Barn Wood Mantel Shelf – Using wood that looks like it is from an old barn has a lot of rural authenticity. The wood should have a nice, rich grain. If the wood looks a little bit aged, that is even better. Enjoy a wood that has some texture to its grooves rather than wood that is completely sanded smooth.
Burlap – There are quite a few items you can find for your mantel that incorporate this material and texture into it. You can get figurines with clothes made from this. You can get lampshades for small lamps to sit on your mantel. You can even just get a length of it, bunch it up and run it along the top of your mantel, cushioning other, tall items.
Candlesticks – There are some fantastic candlestick designs made of wood or other rural materials that are perfect for the farmhouse look for your mantel. Candles are a fun way to add some additional lighting, and you can find scented candles that make the house smell good when your candles are lit.
Boxwood Wreath – Unless green plants that look completely fresh, a wreath like this can be hung on the wall for a fantastic focus above the mantel. Wreaths don’t have to just be Christmas time. You can find ones that are plain where the leaves are the star, or you can find ones that are decorated in colors that match the rest of the room.
Beam Mantel – Instead of a typical mantel, you can get one large mantel that looks like it was made from the beam of an old barn or farmhouse. This beam can be completely floating above the fireplace, using small mounts attached to studs in the wall to hold it up instead of large legs resting on the ground.
Farmhouse Sign – A rural sign in this style is perfect. While a printable sign may be quicker and easier, you can instead have a wood sign made or make it yourself using wood burn lettering. It can be your family name, a country style quote, or whatever else you want written above your fireplace.
Shiplap – This wood backing is perfect for use on the wall above and around the fireplace. By installing this instead of using a bare wall, you are adding a lot of texture and depth to that wall. For an added bonus, also build it around a wall embedded bookshelf next to, or on either side of, your fireplace.
Twine – Find items made using this material for a great country look. It can be as simple as a spool of it with some old fashioned scissors propped out of the center of the spool. Or it can be hanging ornaments and other items with a lot of texture to them.
Window Frame – You can vignette a lot of fun things with a basic wood frame from an old window. Hang this on the wall above your mantel without any of the glass in the frame at all. In each quadrant of the frame, you can also hang something like a family picture, artwork, a dried flower, a clock, and more.

When Tackling a Rustic DIY Makeover of Farmhouse Mantle Decor For The Fireplace Located In Your Living Room, Is There a Good Reason You Should Choose an Electric Fireplace To Be The Centerpiece of The Room Instead of a Classic Brick Fireplace That Burns Logs or Gas Fireplace Alternatives?

Traditionally, fireplaces are for burning wood. However, this doesn’t have to be the case, and in modern times, it probably shouldn’t be. The main types are:

Enclosed – Protected by glass doors and more efficient.
Open Hearth – The most traditional of the bunch, but with exposed flames.
Enclosed Insert – What you would use to make an open hearth version of an enclosed fireplace.
Fire Pit – Typically for outdoor use exclusively to burn fire in the open air of your backyard.
Wood Stove – Often found in rural cabins or old farmhouses.

Any of these wood burning fireplaces are found to be very unsafe and problematic. Here is why:

Fire Safety – Burning wood always comes with a risk of fire.
Harmful Emissions – You’ll be breathing harmful emissions that eventually fill your home.
Hassle – Fireplaces that burn wooden logs will always be a lot of work to use and maintain.
Heat Loss – Venting smoke out of the chimney means you are also venting quite a lot of heat.
Smell – The smell of wood burning may be nostalgic, but it gets old quick and fills your home.
Stains – It is impossible to keep from having your walls stained due to smoke.
TV Damage – TVs can’t be near the fireplace, and it especially can’t be mounted above.
Wood Storage – Make sure you have a ton of space for all of that fuel.
Expensive Construction – Building one costs a fortune.

One of these two common varieties of gas fireplaces are sometimes used as an alternative to older fireplaces for burning wood:

Ventless – Less harmful emissions.
Venting – More harmful emissions.

Unfortunately, homeowners that install these fireplaces quickly find out that they share too many of the same issues as wood fireplaces. They also present a few of their own as well:

Exposed Flame – Flames exposed means higher risk of house fires.
Some Emissions – Carbon monoxide, even in ventless systems, can still fill homes.
Fire Color – The color never seems to be the right vibrancy or hue.
Weak Flame – Streams of fire don’t look as good as flickering fire.
Costly Install – Prepare to hire professionals to safely install your fireplace properly.

In contrast, fireplaces that exclusively use electricity to produce heat and fire effects have an abundance of strengths and advantages:

No Fire Hazard – Electric fireplaces don’t have any real flames to worry about.
No Contaminants – Not having real flames means not having to breath bad air.
No Smoke – Walls remain white without staining and your home won’t smell.
Easy Use – Electric fireplaces are simple to use.
Easy Install – They are units that are almost effortless for you to install for yourself. You don’t need a home builder or contractor to come install it in the home for you..
Apartments and Condos – It doesn’t matter if an architect just designed a house that you had built, or you are renting a house or apartment, you can put electric fireplaces in all varieties of properties.
Any Room – The only requirements are a nearby electrical outlet and no ventilation is needed. Because of this, you can install an electric fireplace in your dining room, bedroom, office, farmhouse kitchen, or even your entryway if you have the space for it.
TV Mounting
Heat Efficiency – The heat itself of electric fireplaces uses the least amount of electricity that it possibly can because of the infrared coils.
Zone Heat – Large homes heat better with electric fireplaces spread out for supplemental heating strategies.
Remote Control – Control it without standing up from your chair or couch.
Flame Effect Ambiance – Enjoy realism just like a traditional large electric fireplace if you invest in high end electric fireplaces.

Which Fireplace Types That Are Electric Are Available and Which Fireplace Units Make The Best Focal Point To Put In a Brand New Home or To Do an Interior Design Fixer Upper Remodel Using Farmhouse Mantle Decor and Other Fireplace Mantel Designs and Decorating Ideas?

For people no longer on the fence and wisely know that electric fireplaces are indeed the way to go, here are the basic types you’ll find available:

Mantel Package – A solid and traditional choice.
Corner Fireplace – Quality selection for the corner of rooms.
TV Stand Fireplace – Hit or miss depending on the fireplace inside.
TV Stand Corner – Also buy cautiously due to fireplace size limitations.
Wall Mount Fireplace – Great for recessed walls and modern imbedded looks.
Electric Insert – The easiest to customize.
Freestanding Heater – Avoid portable heaters due to bad performance.
Electric Stove – Looks like classic wood stoves, can work for some farmhouse styles.

Since a Great Decorating Style Requires a High End and Beautiful Fireplace, Which Luxury Fireplace Brand For Your Home Sports Fire Effects That Are Undeniably The Most Realistic?

MagikFlame electric fireplaces are the top tier when choosing fireplaces with realistic visuals. Of course, you get so much more as well: