Decorating Ideas?

shaydenise

Okay so I am at a loss.  I love having this mantle... in theory.  I just can't seem to make it look put together and elegant.  Not matter what I put on it it looks jumbled and like I threw a ton of things up there just for the sake of doing so.

So after looking at it, what would you do (on the cheap) if this were your mantle?

(This is a picture from before we bought the house a few years ago.  The front wall is now a dark gray and the other walls are a lighter shade of gray.  In the cut-out next to the fireplace we have a tv.)

ohwhynot

A vase with curly willow?  I love curly willow. 

zippityb

Maybe paint the inside an accent color? I agree with the candles, and also maybe some framed pictures.

maratea

Which space are we talking about here? Above the fireplace area? Or that ledge by the sink?

J&K10910

I would perhaps not put anything ON it, but rather some sort of wall art, wall hanging, framed picture(s), or painting above it. 

staceytaylor0704

Candles would be a PITA to clean. Having said that.. I don't know what I would put up there.
My parents have something like that in their home, and they have a couple decorative suitcases, and a wood animal thing from pier one. Thats a good store to find items to fill space like that. They have those mega huge decorative plates that sit on stands, that might look nice.

shaydenise

It's just that it's so wide - I think about 8 feet?  So everything I put up there looks tiny.  The vases with curly willow may work if I do varying heights.

LessThanZero

I'd put some sort of artwork or a large framed photo up there with candles or small tealight lanterns. I frickin love lanterns. Like these:

Anysunrise

Candles, and maybe some cute prints off Etsy? Or if you're artsy, I'd just do them myself. I have a silk screen print hanging in the hallway from an art class in high school.

AllAboutTheBenjamin

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_snarky-brides_decorating-ideas?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:17Discussion:04d1f4c4-4bdc-4fa6-a505-58e98ebd2429Post:8abd2542-91c2-4e5f-ad72-4d302611451d">Re: Decorating Ideas?</a>:
[QUOTE]I would perhaps not put anything ON it, but rather some sort of wall art, wall hanging, framed picture(s), or painting above it. 
Posted by J&K10910[/QUOTE]

Yeah this is kinda what I'm thinking.  I like pictures or paintings hanging over mantles.  If you want to put anything on it, maybe a few seasonal knick knacks here and there?  This is something from someone who admittedly sucks at decorating, though :)

zippityb

When I was in college, I would have put all of my empty liquor bottles up there. As trophies.

shaydenise

The large framed art is a good idea.  I'm hesitant with candles because they are such a pain to dust.

I was thinking about having my dad put pot lights or small drop lights (he's an electrician). then maybe three smaller types of wall art?  Is that too much like an art gallery?  ha

AllAboutTheBenjamin

I like the wide mirror idea.  Or - several smaller mirrors.  You can get lots of neat shapes.

Zip, in my college apartment we always kept our alcohol bottles up on the mantle or the cupboards as trophies... and we thought it was awesome til we moved out and had to clean out a massive amount of damn glass bottles!

raynes

I very much agree with the leaning of the mirror.

Potlights are good too though.  Potlights make diamonds sparkle nicely.  I like potlights.

J&K10910

Oh, yeah, a mirror (or cool mirrorS, like different sizes and shaped arranged prettily) would be awesome.  And if you needed something on the mantle because it looked empty, a colored (even a nice solid color) woven table runner would be perfect.  When I worked at a furniture and home decor shop, we sold a LOT of beaded berry garlands (http://factorydirectcraft.com/catalog/products/1302_2113_2071-18973-autumn_orange_red_pip_berry_garland_with_natural_pods.html) for people to put on top of mantles or cabinets.  They're paper wrapped wire, so we always curled all of the individual pieces around our fingers to make them look full and not scraggly. 

shaydenise

Oh I like the mirror idea.  And I like the berry garland, too.  I always see them in Pier 1 and want them but never know whereto put/how to use them. On the "floor" of the actual mantle is good idea though.  Yay for Friday so I can hit the flea markets and and trinket shops tomorrow! ha

raynes

I also like zippity's suggestion of an accent colour.  Or even a few shades darker/lighter than the wall colour.

J&K10910

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_snarky-brides_decorating-ideas?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:17Discussion:04d1f4c4-4bdc-4fa6-a505-58e98ebd2429Post:f962410e-bb38-4857-85c8-0a6298b4cc1b">Re: Decorating Ideas?</a>:
[QUOTE]Oh I like the mirror idea.  <strong>And I like the berry garland, too</strong>.  I always see them in Pier 1 and want them but never know whereto put/how to use them. On the "floor" of the actual mantle is good idea though.  Yay for Friday so I can hit the flea markets and and trinket shops tomorrow! ha
Posted by shaydenise[/QUOTE]

Just make sure you curl it, or laying flat they look funny.  If you curl it, they look GREAT laying flat.    They're pretty inexpensive too, at least ours were, which is always a bonus :)

mocha beans

I agree with the mirror and candles idea.  I don't know if you have a HomeGoods near you, but I found some huge glass cylinder vases for under $20 at mine.  The really big ones were 3 or 4 feet tall and a foot around.  A few larger ones, with candles or other vase filler (maybe sparkly ornaments for the holidays) or fake flowers, and a bunch of smaller ones, maybe a few glass candlesticks.

slubkin

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_snarky-brides_decorating-ideas?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:17Discussion:04d1f4c4-4bdc-4fa6-a505-58e98ebd2429Post:8abd2542-91c2-4e5f-ad72-4d302611451d">Re: Decorating Ideas?</a>:
[QUOTE]I would perhaps not put anything ON it, but rather some sort of wall art, wall hanging, framed picture(s), or painting above it. 
Posted by J&K10910[/QUOTE]
^ This.  You need something largish to balance the fireplace.  A painting using the colors of the room, or a nice mirror would work well there.

Then you could do big coffeetable books between bookends over the part where the TV is to break up the shelf a bit.