The living room has always been one of the most important rooms in terms of aesthetics. It is the visual starting point for every guest that enters your house. At the center of this room has always been a beautiful and traditional feature: the fireplace. Regardless if you have recently purchased a new home, or you have an existing home that needs some renovation, this is the perfect time to add a fireplace. Even if you already have a fireplace in your home, there is a chance your fireplace area can use a remodel.
After installing a fireplace, there is the essential work of fireplace mantel decorating. Decorating fireplace mantels adds a lot of charm to an already cozy space. Of course, if you don’t have any mantel decor ideas, this article is going to help you. Not only will we help with ideas and tips, but many of the items that will be perfect for your fireplace area can be found easily on Amazon. Let’s jump right into all of the fun!
Within This Post, You Are Going To Learn:
- Why Is an Electric Fireplace The Best Addition To Any DIY Home Improvement Project? – Before you think about decorating a mantel, it is important to have the right type of fireplace inside of your home. This section breaks down the importance of electric fireplaces over other fireplace types.
- When Decorating a Living Room Fireplace, Do You Need an Interior Decorator? – While decorators and interior designers may seem like a good idea, this part explains why they aren’t necessary and covers reasons why you will likely do just as good of a job yourself.
- What Resources Are Available For Eye-Catching Decorating Ideas Regarding Fireplace Home Decor and Interior Design? – Before decorating any part of your home, you will want to focus on finding inspiration and specific tips for the area that you want to decorate. This section will point out some useful resources for you to use.
- How Important Is Above Fireplace Decor For Your Living Room Fireplace Mantel? – While a fireplace itself is an important aesthetic piece in a room, the additional elements on top of a mantel are also important. This section discusses why that is.
- Is It Important To Have a Strong Focal Point Centerpiece On Your Mantel? – While there are many important elements to a good mantel layout, the central focus is one of the most important pieces. This section gives some different suggestions on what you can use as your central mantel focus piece.
- Does The Styling of a Fireplace Surround Dictate Your Above Fireplace Decor Choices? – Not only does the type of mantel need to match different parts of your room, but the items you display on a mantel also need to match. This section covers some basic design principles to follow regarding mantel style.
- What Are Some Good Amazon Above Fireplace Decor Items That Can Enhance Your DIY Project? – In the main part of the article, we discuss many items that are perfect for a mantel, many of which can easily be found on Amazon or other online retail stores.
- What Are The Advantages of Mounting a TV Above a Fireplace Mantle? – While it is different than many other decor items, we talk about why mounting a TV directly above the mantel might make sense for your home.
- Other Than Amazon, What Are Some Good Places To Get Mantelpiece Items For a Fireplace Makeover? – Although Amazon is a great store to find many of the items you would need to decorate a mantel, this section talks about some other places that you can also check out.
- While Amazon Is a Great Place To Get Fireplace Decor Pieces, Which Electric Fireplace Should Homeowners Install? – Amazon is a great store to purchase decor items for your fireplace area, but if you want a great electric fireplace, there is only one place to get it. This section gives you the details.
Traditional fireplaces aren’t common in new houses anymore. These days, it is common to look for alternative fuel sources to burning wood for heat. The leading alternative to traditional fireplaces is electric fireplaces.
While traditional fireplaces need a residential architect to completely redesign that space before hiring workers for the construction, electric fireplaces don’t have any of these problems. With electric fireplaces, you can install them yourself in most cases.
Traditional wood fireplaces are unsafe. They are both a fire and breathing hazard. Electric fireplaces don’t involve any flames and they don’t produce anything but clean, warm air. If you are someone who has small children or pets around your residence, electric fireplaces will be much safer for them.
With traditional fireplaces, they are almost always located in the main living or family room of a home. With electric fireplaces, you have much more flexibility. Have you ever wanted a fireplace in your dining room to provide a warm atmosphere while you eat with your family? Because electric fireplaces only require a nearby wall outlet, you can put one directly into your dining room. You can also put them in bedrooms, libraries, game rooms, home offices, and more.
One of the things people tend to enjoy most about electric fireplaces is how little hassle they are to use. With traditional fireplaces, you have to deal with splitting woods, keeping your fireplace clean, and maintaining the fire throughout the day. With electric fireplaces, once it is on and set to the temperature you prefer, you don’t have to do anything else.
Having a decorator completely redesign the space around your fireplace can seem like the right thing to do. However, the truth is that many people can do a great job decorating themselves, without the need to hire a professional. Decorators will charge a lot of money to essentially just recreate a space from any inspiring images that you bring to their attention. In truth, they will be asking you several questions and you will still be making many of the important decisions.
With the right prep work, some great inspiring images to follow, and some patience, your average homeowner can accomplish a great fireplace area just like a professional decorator would.
To be able to decorate an area as well as a professional decorator, the first step is to find as many images of fireplaces that you like as possible. You want images that show fireplaces areas completely decorated. These images must be a style that will fit with the current style of your home unless you plan on completely redoing the decor of your home.
After you have as many inspiring images as possible, you will then want to go through them and find common items that you see across them. If several of these images have a common item included, there is a chance that is what originally attracted you to the design without you even knowing it. Write down these common items as ones that you may want to purchase for your fireplace.
After you have collected all of the items that you want to arrange around your fireplace, take your time decorating. While you may have had an initial idea going into the design, you can try to arrange things a few different ways. You may find that one arrangement works much better than the arrangement that you initially tried. As you place items, make sure to take a step back and see how it looks from a distance. Sometimes, being too close to the mantel can keep you from understanding how it all looks with the rest of the room. Additionally, after finishing an arrangement, go and do something else for an hour or two. Come back to it with fresh eyes. After coming back to it, something may seem out of place that was difficult to spot when you were originally setting things up.
Before jumping into decorating a mantel, it is important to come up with several great mantel decorating ideas. You don’t want to just rush into your design, only to be unhappy with how it turns out later. For this reason, collect as many beautiful fireplace images that you can find online. These should be ones that you want to imitate in your home design. In addition to fireplace mantel ideas, you can find tutorials and demonstrations that will help you out.
The two biggest resources at your disposal for inspiring images are Instagram and Pinterest. Both of these resources are built for people to post images around specific topics, allowing you to easily find images on whatever you search for. If you look up fireplace designs on either of these resources, you will get many images that will help in your journey. In addition to these resources, Google images can also help you out, however, results may be disappointing compared to Instagram or Pinterest.
For tutorials and demonstrations, there are a few places to check. While on Pinterest, you’ll likely find many tutorials on how to handcraft specific items that are on display. YouTube is great if you prefer to watch videos of people decorating a fireplace area. Lastly, you can find specialized blogs around decorating, and several of them will mention fireplaces.
Just like the fireplace itself, the decorative items you place on the mantel add a lot to the visual interest of the room. If you take pride in the way your room looks, then the items placed on the mantel should reflect that. You want to find items that match the style of the room and enhance the appearance of your fireplace. Having nothing on a mantel can look empty and boring. Having too many things or random objects can be confusing. Deliberately choosing specific decor items is the perfect finishing touch to any fireplace.
The central focus of the mantel is important. It is usually the largest piece and sets the standard for all other decor items in a room. Here are some quick ideas.
To start, try a wall clock. A large clock can come in several different aesthetic styles, so you can easily find one that works with your fireplace. If a clock doesn’t work for you, you can place a rectangular or round mirror. Mirrors make a room fill larger and increase the flow of light.
For an interesting look, try hanging some wall art like a painting or a black and white photograph. If you choose color, make sure that the color palette of the painting complements the color scheme in the room.
A large family portrait is also a fun idea. However, make sure to update it with a new portrait every few years, especially as fashion styles change and your children grow up. Having a large family portrait from a decade ago can look strange in an otherwise modern-styled home.
When coming up with design ideas, it is important to remember the style of the fireplace and mantel can play a big part in the items that you use to decorate it. Certain decor items will look better with certain mantels. However, some items will work well with any type of mantel. The trick is to pick specific items that work well with specific mantels.
For a rustic modern farmhouse appearance, you will mostly want to stick to farmhouse decor items. These will be things that look beautifully aged, handcrafted, and built out of natural materials. While some colors can be used here, you will want to stick to earth tones and natural colors. You don’t want anything too bright or saturated unless you are incorporating fresh-cut flowers into your design.
If the mantel you are decorating is minimalist, then you will want your decor items to be the same. You want things that are somewhat monotone, with simple shapes and no ornate details to distract from the beautiful lines and shapes. Additionally, with any sort of minimal style of decorating, you don’t want many items on your mantel. You may want a single large piece in the center, with an accompanying item on either side. Beyond that, things can get too cluttered and take away from the minimal aesthetic.
With a brick fireplace, you want items that add to the traditional cozy atmosphere. Look for items that add to an appearance of comfort. You don’t want anything too glamorous or luxurious with brick fireplaces unless you are pushing for a bohemian style of decorating.
A marble or stone fireplace is where you can incorporate items that are more luxurious and glamorous. This is where you can find things with ornate carvings and ornamentation. Just be sure that whatever you choose matches with any other items around your house in style and flashiness. Having too many luxury decorations around the fireplace without any around other sections of the room can appear tacky.
A wood mantel is the most versatile type. You can pull off several different styles depending on the mantel style and the type of wood that is used. Regardless of how you decorate it, you will want to ensure that your coffee table or other wood furniture matches the same look as the mantel. By using wood, you can incorporate things like built-ins. These are shelving units that are recessed into the wall, surrounding your fireplace. In addition, you can add some shiplap backing to the wall. This adds a nice finishing touch. It is a great backdrop for any decorating items you choose for this space. If you paint all of the wood white, it can fit almost any style of decorating you are leaning towards.
There is no shortage of great items that can enhance the aesthetic appeal of the mantel to your fireplace. While you have likely already found plenty of inspiring and beautiful images to give you ideas for your fireplace, we’ve collected several more ideas that can help you with your vision.
Even though flames in fireplaces produce a beautiful glow to add a warm light to your home, there are additional lighting features that can be included. Adding these lighting features can produce a fun design with multiple sources of light. To start, candlesticks are a great feature to place on top of a mantel. Candles are quite traditional, come in several different colors and styles that can match the colors and styles that are in your room. Several types of candles can also be scented, adding a wonderful fragrance to the home when the candles are burning.
If you do choose to use candles on a mantel, you’ll likely want to pick up some candle holders to put them on. Just like candles themselves, holders can come in a variety of styles to match the aesthetic theme you are already running with. If you choose metal pieces, make sure that the metal color and details are similar to other metal pieces in your home. If you have a chandelier inside of your house, the holders should match the metal used in that luxurious element. Additionally, if you use a fireplace screen or any sort of fireplace tools near your fireplace, all of these elements should match as well. They can all be wrought iron, silver-colored, gold-colored, and more. Pay attention to the lines, curves, and shapes of the metal. You want all of these to be similar so that no single piece looks out of place. It is a good idea to get all of these from a single product line so that you can ensure that they are matching.
In addition to candles, another light source looks great by a mantel. While sconces sit on the wall, rather than on the mantel, they have a similar look and feel that candles have. These should be placed on the wall on either side of a mantel, slightly above it. If you have a piece hung on the center of the wall, try to align your sconces with the horizontal center of that main piece. Just like holders for candles, you will want these to match any nearby metal objects around your fireplace. Any specific details of ornamentation should carry across these different items to keep a nice visual flow.
Greenery is another thing that can be added to a fireplace area. There are several different ways that you can accomplish this. If you have a garden outside of your home where you grow flowers every season, then you can cut and arrange flowers into a vase that is placed on your fireplace’s mantel. If you don’t have a garden, many artificial flowers can look quite convincing as well. If you go the artificial path, be sure to invest in higher quality products that look more realistic and will last longer. Additionally, make sure to keep your flowers clean and free from dust.
Flowers aren’t the only type of plants that you can incorporate with a fireplace area. You can add green vines along the front edge of a mantel for a natural look. These will certainly be artificial, so just like the flowers, invest in high-quality products for the best result.
Small potted trees can be placed onto a mantel too. Or, if you prefer something larger, you can place a larger indoor tree on the floor. Place one on either side of the fireplace for a good balance. If you only want one, then you will want something on the other side for some asymmetrical balance. This can be fireplace tools, a tall face, or something similar.
Another fun piece you can use with a mantel is a bowl filled with different objects. You can have a metal bowl that matches other metal items, a wooden bowl for a more natural appearance, or even a clear bowl to easily show what is inside of it. A clear bowl with colored glass beads can be a simple solution to add a bit of color to the area. You can have a wooden bowl with pinecones in it for seasonal decor. Likewise, a metal bowl with decorative balls or other items will look great.
For a rustic farmhouse style, place some items that are crafted with twine and natural-looking wood. Having several pieces that appear to be handcrafted are typical decor items whenever you are going for a modern farmhouse aesthetic. You can even attempt to handcraft some items yourself. When searching for inspiring ideas for your fireplace, be sure to check out tutorials on creating handcrafted items that can be placed onto a mantel.
Lastly, a mantel is a great place to display your collectibles. If you have a great collection of items that must be shown off, consider arranging them on top of a fireplace’s mantel. Keep in mind, less is more. While showing off a collection is great, you don’t want every inch of a mantel completely covered. Give things space to breathe. If your collection is too large, consider displaying just a few of your favorite pieces.
While this is just a primer on some different ideas that will work around your fireplace space, many other items can work. During your research phase, take note of any specific items or decorations that jump out at you. Also, when you are browsing decor items on Amazon, see what other items are frequently bought along with it.
Instead of hanging art or other items above a mantel, you can mount your TV set. While a flat panel TV isn’t safe above wood-burning or gas fireplaces, it is safe above electric fireplaces. By mounting a TV, you direct the focus to both the TV and the fireplace at the same time, rather than having them compete against each other for attention. It can also save space since you don’t need a typical TV stand.
While Amazon is a great place, there are some others that you can try for some decor items. First, you can try Magnolia by Joanna Gaines. Magnolia by Joanna Gaines has a large assortment of great home decorating items, without all of the additional products to get in your way that you would see on Amazon.
Another good choice is to go with Etsy. Etsy allows you to buy handcrafted items directly from people. This can allow you to include unique items for your fireplace area that other people won’t be able to find on Amazon.
For the best electric fireplace with beautiful and realistic fire effects that will enhance your decor, MagikFlame is the only brand you need to be thinking about. They have several great choices of fireplace models to choose from, like the Morpheus. Any of their fantastic fireplace units that you wisely choose to put inside of your home will have these great features and more:
● 30 Different Ultrarealistic Fire Effects
● Serene Crackling Log Sounds
● Comfortable 5,200 BTU Heat
● Convenient Smartphone App
