One of the hardest challenges for me when it comes to styling are fireplace mantles. First comes the very major and tough decision of what to hang above...it could be a mirror, it could be a painting or it could be an object or even an art instillation. Getting the proportions right is the hardest part and from my experience often what I have imagined in place is either too big or too small. Hanging the object above the fireplace usually requires a complicated fix so it's best to get it right the first time. The walls fade over time, and the points for securing are never the same. ..so the moral of the major hang is measure well...
Now for the styling of the mantle.....it is easier in the sense that nothing is permanent, so changing and improving the look is without drama...that means no fights with the husband or expensive hourly charges from the handyman...but it is where the creative side clicks in and that doesn't come without it's trials. Do you ever find you get stuck in your own style? As much as you want to break free and create a whole new look, after all the moving and re-arranging is over, everything looks the same...That's what happens to me...I have a way of doing things and as much as I want to reinvent 'my look' it is how it is....
I find that creating a balance on top of the mantle is the hardest part. Filling that gap between the mirror or the painting with objects that please, that make sense or a purposeful and that fit can be demanding. I use old books, shells that I have collected, candles, vases and any objects of interest that might work in the space. My go-to when all else fails is flowers...Flowers can be cut to size, cover a multitude and create a warmth and homeliness. Often the addition of one stem can change the whole feel of the vignette and pull it together.
The smaller mantles are easier to dress. Maybe it is because they are not required to pack so much of a punch in a room; rather than being the strong focal point they are an integral part. Right now I am struggling with the large limestone fireplace in our sitting room....everything I place on it looks too small or too tall...but without anything I feel it looks bare. The only time I feel like I 'get' it is at Christmas time when the garlanding of fresh oak leaves and tea candles work perfectly....
What do you use to decorate your mantlepiece with? I need inspiration....xv
my daily click HERE
images - vicki archer
Oh for sure you'll dress and style your mantles right....
ReplyDeleteI love collecting things for the mantle ♥
Hi Vicki, I think your mantles are gorgeous along with their displays! How fortunate to have so many fireplaces.
ReplyDeleteCurrently mine is fairly sparse, yet balanced. On one side two crystal candlesticks with tall tapers. On the other side a bronze urn with a beautiful patina. The urn complements the original painting above. I do switch the mantle out with other groupings regularly.
xoxo
Karena
Art by Karena
Just gorgeous! :) x
ReplyDeleteV,
ReplyDeletei would love to have a mantle of my own,
but it is too hot here.
Always.
i might use many different narrow (with different heights)glass pieces with lit candles inside.--- the 'way too many amount' ---
and light candles inside the hearth as well.
that would really blow a house guest away when you showed them to their room.
how soothing
or romantic.
it all depends on who stays over.
To the side of my large mirror are small bottles filled with individual flowers from my garden, at the moment it's daphne and then a pair of amethyst coloured crystal candle lights that i can't plug in but look very nice!
ReplyDeleteOf course this can change suddenly if i get a lovely sunny winters day, (which i haven't had for a while )
bee x
Wow you don't really need help in this area because your mantels look beautiful!! You have done an excellent job decorating them!!
ReplyDeleteVicki,
ReplyDeleteI get into a rut sometimes with my mantle. I love to change out some of the items seasonally but I confess I get bored with the 2 English ivy and mantle clock. I'm going to try some of your ideas. Love roses!
Karen
What beautiful pictures! I love books, as you have done, the shells is nice touch. I also likes flowers and topiaries and love a mirror or great piece of art above a mantle. With decorating mantles its totally trial and error, just a lot of experimentation and looks like you nailed it!
ReplyDeleteHi Vicki, Sofia is gorgeous!!! Thanks for sending us to Gigi's blog--I signed up. As for the mantle issue.........I just read a quote from Axel Vervoordt's "Wabi Inspirations": "I have always been compelled by the belief that all beauty is imperfect, incomplete and impermanent--as transitory as life itself." This statement has freed me up to look at design from a different perspective--using the void or the absence as much as the placed object. I've always been rather minimalist anyway (you would never guess from looking at my desk right now)--no clutter (too hard to dust). But the freedom to embrace the imperfection as a stepping stone to growth is pretty great. Have a super week. Mary
ReplyDeleteSometimes no dressing is best. Remove everything for awhile. Let the architecture of the marble or stone shine. Something about the absence and spareness there is wonderful especially in the spring. It feels refreshing. One can overwork it and after a time your eye stops seeing anything. I think this concept holds for coffee tables as well.
ReplyDeleteP.S.: Love your two gold mirrors.
How about a tall vase with some of your lovely olive branches on one side of the limestone mantle and a similarly sized architectural piece (salvage, bust, sculpture) on the other. Finish with smaller items in between (possibly including some lower chunky candles)?
ReplyDeleteLove your blog!
I use all of the things you have pictured on mantles just not all at once! Flowers, as you said, can make such a difference. I fiddle, fix + stand back to look at what I have created- then remove one item, viola, finished! Grand Post. xxpeggybraswelldesign.com
ReplyDeleteLove what you've done. It is so you.... My mantels tend to display my latest photos of friends and family. I never get tired of looking at photos of happy times with loved ones. Happy Monday!
ReplyDeleteSuch pretty mantles, Vicki! I especially love the second one.
ReplyDeleteHave a great week.
Teresa
xoxox
Vicki, I feel you are doing wonderful in arranging your vignettes. I have a large landscape painting over my fireplace and have some sculptures and tall candles. I think of it as a still life setting and have overlapping shapes, lost and found edges, big small, lean fat etc.
ReplyDeleteGreat post and possibly time to change out my mantle
Love,
Helen xx
Hello Vicki, love these mantles - I would adore one of my own - but our modern flat hasn't got one unfortunately. Love your blog, and the French way of life - just found you and I am so glad i did. Following - can't wait to see what you do next.
ReplyDeleteA xx
Vicki,
ReplyDeleteI love how you have your books displayed ... I have been using wine corks collected in clear vessels ( differnt sizes)to fill in gaps here and there ~ not sure if that fits your decor! I was in one of the fabulously decorated restaurants here in Vegas where they were doing that, on different scales, and I really liked it, and get many compliments with what I have done.
I have to say that I have all of your books, but just took some rare time to relax and actually begin to "read" "My French Life", and enjoy your writing and your story so much! You have such a gift...
Have a great week, and good luck with the mantles,
Nathalie
Your 'mantles' are always exquisite Vicki
ReplyDeleteI don't have a mantle in my home...but I love decorating and set up vignettes and displays around the house....it's fun!
ReplyDeleteI love all the items you have in your collection of things...so very elegant! You have done a fabulous job of creating a rich display.
Ciao Bella!
CREATIVE CARMELINA
It seems most mantles do not require too many objects, particularly when they are as lovely on their own as yours are. I tend to let them "breathe" and represent their own architectural design in the room. Depending on the size, 3 to 5 objects usually serve well as accent.
ReplyDeleteI adore the examples you've shown. My own fireplace is stone and doesn't have a mantle. Just a large antique gothic mirror handing above. But I've always loved decorating mantles for clients. Just stay away from the increasing trend of putting a television over the fireplace. That is a practice I don't understand. The fireplace should be the star of the show, at least to me.
ReplyDeleteWe love a mirror, collection of candle sticks and olive jars as the big make an impact objects. The smaller filler objects are more difficult, because they have to be the perfect height and size to make it all come together. We love how you used the books with flowers. Just need something taller on each side of the books. Looks great!
ReplyDeleteI admire your taste and style, recently received both of your books, and am currently reading My French Life. There's not much I could tell you as your home is absolutely lovely so I'll just tell you what I have on my mantle. A collection of three antique French military helmets each on a hat stand (actually the "stands" are barley twist candle holders of varying heights), small leather bound books with beautiful spines, several beakers made of animal horn, a pagoda-style mantle clock, an olive jar that holds greenery. And, then a small collection of lead farm animals from England. On the wall above the mantle there's an oil painting. Sounds crowded I know, but I think it looks great. It took me a long time to get this configuration, I love to look at it & would hate to start all over again. But I'm a collector at heart, so I'm sure at some point things may get changed around a bit.
ReplyDeleteCan hardly wait to see what you do!
I just wish I had a mantle to decorate! You are doing a wonderful job; but like anything else, it gets old and it is hard to be creative again. It will come back; just wait and see.
ReplyDeleteAgree that mantles are such a challenge! These are really beautiful examples and wonderful inspiration.
ReplyDelete*Blush* I have a flat screen TV on mine :) Now you've inspired me to lift my game a tad !
ReplyDeleteCan you go wrong with a mirror, piles of your gorgeous roses and candles ? An excellent excuse to go mirror shopping. Or candle shopping. Or candlestick shopping... to get the right height :) Take photos !! I love seeing the shops that you go to and the wonderful window displays !!
I think your pictures are amazing love the old style books mixed with the flowers, gorgeous! Your blog is lovely. Trudy
ReplyDeletePour le plaisir des yeux...
ReplyDeleteGros bisous.
I love your tied-up books, Vicki. Absolutely charming & so creative. xx's
ReplyDeleteMaybe we should set an interesting bloggie challenge dear Vicki & let the blokes in our lives decorate a bare mantle. We could do a Mr. Linkie thing & ask Kelly Hoppen to judge all the posts. I know MOTH would scramble eagerly to complete this task with unbridled enthusiasm. And if you could pin Mr. FF down long enough I'm sure he'd surprise us all with his mantle decorating prowess. Over to you to set this genius idea into action.
ReplyDeleteMillie xx
P.S. A Nina Campbell candle is a pemanent fixture on our one & only mantle, her fragrances are divine.
Oh Vicki,
ReplyDeleteI feel your pain. We have 8 fireplaces in our home and I find it so difficult too. It never seems to balance properly. I have candlesticks, busts, old letters, books etc. etc. I will take much inspiration from you and this post though. Your fireplaces look lovely. XXXX
I am trying not to be envious of all your mantles. My old Queenslander doesn't have a single one, although I am pushing hard to include a fireplace and mantle in our much planned and much longed for extension. A few houses along the way have had mantles, and like yours they tended to follow a theme however hard I tried to mx things up.
ReplyDeleteI do think that something fresh, whether it is a flower, fruit, branch or something else from nature, is always the best thing to add when it starts looking stale.
Clare x
You mantle does indeed look beautiful. In one house in NY, we had 7 fireplaces because it was an old brownstone. I spent the holiday season going from one room to another decorating those gorgeous mantles in Victorian holiday decor. Now, we have one stone mantle and I have a black Japanese kimono hanging over it that we brought back from Japan.
ReplyDeleteI don't believe you need any help, Vicki. Your mantles are extraordinarily beautiful.
ReplyDeleteYour styling is fun! Love it and I am sure whatever you put there is just right for now and doesnt even look Placed.
ReplyDeleteI have a mantle - only one and it isnt dressed at all -- must do!
I so agree that styling the mantlepiece is a challenge, Vicki, but yours are so lovely! I don't have a mantle in the place where we're living at the moment, so I treat my father's old roll-top desk as my "mantle," and I hang a large, round antique mirror over it. Right now it has two art deco alabaster lamps, one on each side, and a glass cloche in the middle, housing an ever-changing array of objects. It's very symmetrical, but I do love asymmetrical arrangements, too. Mercury glass one of my favorite ways to adorn a mantle.
ReplyDeleteI laughed when you mentioned getting stuck in your own style. I just said to my husband yesterday that I feel like getting rid of all our stuff (except for family pieces) and just starting over! My one fear is that I'd just replace everything with other pieces that look and feel the same. :D
As always, you inspire me. Warm thanks.
xoxo Gigi
I have a few pieces "permanent" pieces on my mantles ~ blue and white chinese dragons and a covered container in the family room (limestone); yellow patterned chinese bowls and silver candlabras in dining room: carved wood Chinese figures in the living room. I just build around these seasonally...I am only just realizing that I have used Chinese objects on all of my mantles....curious...
ReplyDeleteYours look wonderful Vicki!! xo ebh
Oh, I wish-wish-wish-wish-WISH I had a fireplace so I could decorate a mantle! It's the only thing my house is missing (ok, a dedicated music room would also be nice so I don't have to share my living room with 5 harps and a piano...). If I did have one, I would hang my framed Parisian 15th century music folio sheet over it and decorate with some of my brother's lathe-turned wooden bowls. He's such an artist...
ReplyDeleteHello,
ReplyDeleteI came across your blog and was very interested in your fashion and home design articles. I just had a couple of questions, so if you could e-mail me back that would be great! Thank you for your time.
Vicki,
ReplyDeleteAs soon as you figure out the perfect mantle combination, please do share.
Although I would love to have many mantles in our home, we have but one in our bedroom, and I tend to swing in extreme directions when decorating it depending on my mood-too bare or too cluttered.
Books and fresh flowers are fail-proof and tend to have the right height and dimensions. Collections look nice on a mantle-vintage alarm clocks, perfume bottles, etc. I use stacks of books to give them more stature.
Seashells is a nice idea. I have a shallow basket filled with large shells and starfish on the dining room table right now...I think they will be be resting on the mantle very soon.
Mandy
Mantles give atmosphere to a room
ReplyDeleteI always love the peeks inside your beautiful home. I love all that you have done to each mantle. The shells are especially gorgeous and the epitome of summer. They speak to my new found love for the magnificence of 'simple'.
ReplyDeleteMy mantle is a mess right now, too busy, too cluttered... You've inspired me to go do something about it. Candles and crystals are always present in front of the mirror on my mantle for that magical dance of light... books and various things atop of the stacks - sometimes coral, sometimes little tarnished silver boxes with secrets inside...
Thank you for the lovely post. A shot of beauty is always better than what the doctor orders!
xo Isa
Vicki, these are just beautiful! I don't have mantles, but I have plenty of surface that do require the odd bit of table-scaping:) Inspiring as always....please tell me you have another book coming out?? Meredy xo
ReplyDeleteI adore fireplace mantles....if only I had a fireplace!
ReplyDeleteYou are so lucky to have three mantles to decorate and the pix are lovely. If I had my own mantle one day, apart from a gilded mirror and fresh flowers and some candles in the middle, I would put a bust or mannequin on one side with some of my necklaces or hats on and the other side would host a high glass fanus covering a fave pair of shoes.
ReplyDeleteI think you mantels are beautiful! I wouldn't change a thing. Being a flower LOVER I would always use flowers, lol. I am so infatuated with your blog it is uplifting for me. I have been with you a while but unable to comment under my Google ID so I thought I would try under anonymous. TFS. Juanita B, Columbus, OH, USA.
ReplyDeleteYour mantel is great, books are ALWAYS it for me. I love floral arrangements because they always give that pop of color, and then the smalls. Adding that interesting and unexpected item draws you in and makes you linger. Like the automaton. (Love it!)
ReplyDeletePatti