Tips for Decorating Fireplace Mantels

Long time ago, fireplaces were used for cooking, aside from heating the room especially during winter. These days, fireplaces have become the focal points in almost any rooms. That is why it is very important to decorate a fireplace, most especially the fireplace mantels. Decorating fireplace mantels is not difficult because the area that they usually occupy is very small. Just a few small accessories, a change in color or texture can do a whole lot of difference to your room. So instead of leaving your fireplace mantel the way it is, plain and boring, why not spice up your room by decorating it? Here are some tips that you should consider in decorating fireplace mantels.

•    When thinking of things that you want to put on the fireplace mantel, think about the things that you love and that you treasure. They could be the pieces that you can use in accessorizing your mantel. Choose the very special ones. Avoid cluttering the mantel with too many knick knacks and mementos. Just make it clean and simple.

•    Some people still wonder if symmetry or asymmetry is better than the other. Actually, the answer to this is it depends on how you would like your room to appear. If you are decorating in symmetry, meaning the left side is the exact duplicate of the right side, this gives the room a more formal atmosphere. But if you apply asymmetry in decorating your mantel—meaning the left side is different from the right side—your room will feel more causal or relaxed. You should use symmetry on your fireplace mantel if you usually have formal dinners or meetings in that room and asymmetry if you use the room for relaxing and spending some time with your family.

•    In decorating your fireplace mantels, always keep in mind that odd numbers always look better and more interesting than even numbers. For instance, a group of three or five vases look more appealing to the eye than a group of two or four.

•    Make sure that the accessories that you will place on your fireplace mantel are in complimentary colors. They should also match your existing room décor and color motif. Different shades of one color or one whole theme of colors like earth colors is okay. If you want a more contemporary or modern look, display accessories in uniform color.

•    You can use varying shapes and sizes of displays on your fireplace mantel. Position them in such a way that each has its own breathing space and they should not appear overcrowded. It is better to decorate using several smaller pieces than just one large piece on your fireplace mantel. A large piece on the fireplace mantel is very obvious, and unless you want it to be the center of attraction in the room and not the fireplace vignette, you might want to reconsider using it.

Decorating and accessorizing fireplace mantels are very fun and exciting, especially once you have finished doing it and you can already see the fruits of your effort. Do not stress yourself thinking long and hard on how to decorate your fireplace mantel. Just be creative and think of the things that you love the most and have fun.