Beautiful Christmas mantel with neutral tones and dried oranges. Lots of other Christmas mantel decor ideas too!
Christmas Seasonal Simplicity Series
Welcome back to Week 4 of the Christmas seasonal simplicity series. I can’t believe it’s December already! Each week my blogging friends and I have been sharing our favorite Christmas ideas with you – everything from Christmas decor to Christmas DIY projects and recipes! This week we’re sharing some beautiful Christmas mantel decor ideas. You can find all of the designs at the end of the post, so be sure to check them out!
If you’ve missed the previous weeks, you can find them here…
- Christmas DIY and craft projects
- DIY Christmas ornaments
- free printable Christmas gift tags and gift wrapping ideas
Christmas Mantel Decor Ideas
The mantel is always such a focal point at Christmas {thanks Santa Claus!}, and one of my favorite spaces to decorate. Whether you like to keep your mantel simple, or you prefer a more extravagant design, a little bit of love can go a long ways! For our mantel this year, I went with a relatively neutral color palette with whites, golds, and greens – BUT, with a little pop of orange! I’ve been wanting to use dried orange slices in our decor for a few years now and decided 2020 was the year! I also used other natural elements such as pinecones, wood tones, faux greenery and some cinnamon ornaments to tie everything in to a nature inspired theme.
How to Layer a Garland on a Mantel
I think a good garland {wherever you put it} is all about the layering! Last year I shared the step by step process I go through when I put together our mantel and this year I thought I’d focus more on how to layer the garland on the mantel.
Layer 1: Greenery
While I absolutely love the look {and smell!} of fresh greenery, I usually opt for faux greenery due to the practicality. To make your faux garland look more realistic, take some time to separate the branches and give it a good fluff. Start with a more stuctured, wired faux garland and then add on garland layers to get a fuller, more natural look. Using an inexpensive garland as the base weaved in with a more realistic {and generally more expensive!} garland will help to save a little bit of money while still looking beautiful. If you really love fresh greenery, you can always layer in some real boughs and stems. It’s a great way to get some of that delicious pine scent without having to put up a full fresh garland.
I love a good garland draping down off the mantel, but it just doesn’t really work with our mantel due to its length and shelving below. For our garland, I just lay it across the top of our mantel and use a few Command hooks to secure it. If you’re going for a more drapey look, however, you can still use the Command hooks and just use fishing wire wrapped around the garland and hooks to hang.
Layer 2: Lights
The lights are always my favorite part of any Christmas decor – and I love LOTS of them! Even if you have a pre-lit garland, you might still want to add another string or two. I like to have the lights on as I add them to the garland so I can see better where they’re sitting. Ideally you want the lights to weave in and out of the garland so they fall at different heights and depths.
Picks
Picks are an easy way to add more dimension and depth to your garland. I used 5 greenery picks and 5 pinecone picks throughout our mantel to vary the height and allow some greenery to drape down just a little bit. It just gives it a little more value and interest.
Ribbon
Ribbon is one of the simplest and most inexpensive ways to add some color and interest to your garland. A wired ribbon makes it a little easier to shape but a wider regular ribbon works too. I like to cut smaller strips of ribbon and weave it in and out of the garland. You could make a pretty bow and hang ribbon down on either side of the mantel.
Fillers
I think adding the fillers are my favorite part. This year I used pine cones and a simple dried orange garland. I absolutely love the glow of the oranges against the lights and wish I could capture it better in the photos. For other filler ideas, use Christmas bells, ornaments, other decorative garlands, or really anything you want! Use these smaller items to fill in any gaps. Be sure to vary their height and depth to help move the eye across the mantel.
I finished off the mantel with these pretty 3-D snowflakes {I used the small and medium sized snowflakes} and hung them with fishing wire and these clear tiny Command hooks. You can see the hooks if you look closely, but you don’t really notice them otherwise. The snowflakes are so pretty and fill up the space nicely without being too overwhelming.
And usually the dog gets the best seat in the house right in front of the fire. 🙂
I hope you found these Christmas mantel decor ideas helpful. I’d love to see how your mantels turn out!
More Christmas Mantel Designs
For more Christmas mantel decor ideas, check out all of these gorgeous displays. With all of these ideas, It’s too bad we only get to decorate the mantel once per year!
Cozy Cabin Christmas Mantel Decor with Pops of Red at The Happy Housie
Fresh Cedar Christmas Mantel at A Pretty Life
Bright Colourful Merry Mantel at Tatertots and Jello
Red, White, and Gold Christmas Mantel at This is Our Bliss
Cozy Traditional Christmas Mantle at JoAnna Anastasia
Natural and Cozy Christmas Mantel at Modern Glam
Christmas Mantel Decor Ideas at Craftberry Bush
Merry and Bright Christmas Mantle at The Handmade Home
Assymetrical Christmas Mantel with Fresh Greenery and Blue Accents at The DIY Mommy
How to Hang a Garland on a Shelf for a Christmas Vignette at Fynes Designs
Elegant Holiday Living Room and Mantel at House by Hoff
Traditional Christmas Mantel at Rambling Renovators
Christmas Mantel Decorating Ideas at Jennifer Maune
Christmas Mantel Mixing Faux and Fresh Greenery with Grey Accents at Deeply Southern Home
How to Decorate a Mantel for Christmas at She Gave it a Go
How to Decorate a Mantel with a TV Above It for Christmas at Home Made Lovely
My Classic Christmas Mantel with White and Red at Life is Better at Home
How to Style Your Shelves for the Holidays at My Sweet Savannah
Christmas Mantel Decor Ideas at Clean & Scentsible
Modern Minimalist Shelf Styling for the Holidays at This is Simplicite
Christmas Mantel Decor with Lighted Garland at Grace in My Space
Rustic Luxe Christmas Mantel Decor Ideas at Cherished Bliss
My Green and White Christmas Mantel at Cassie Bustamante
Holiday Mantel at Life is a Party
Asymmetrical Garland Mantel at Taryn Whiteaker Designs
More Christmas Decor Ideas
Farmhouse Style Christmas Dining Room Decor
OK, those big stars hanging with it…. LOVE LOVE LOVE! So fun!
Gorgeous as always Jenn! That sign above your mantel is amazing!!
Ok, can you please share where you for the sign over your mantle? This is crazy but it’s the 2nd time today I’ve seen it and it’s exactly what I have been searching for.
I got mine from a local garden centre but I’ve seen the same one on Decor Steals. Theirs was red but you could always spray paint it. It’s just a daily deal site so they probably won’t sell it again until sometime in the fall. https://www.decorsteals.com/huge-metal-merry-christmas-sign-2364.html