Styling a Mantel is Hard

I’ve always wanted a fireplace with a mantel and now that I finally have one it turns out, styling a mantel is hard! I am working with pieces that I already have, and while I have lots of great pieces, few are large enough to earn them a spot over the mantel. So, with a few inspiration images from my favorite stylist Emily Henderson (and her "how to style a mantel" video here) progress is being made. Here are a few of my favorite mantel inspiration images and my progress so far…



First, let me apologize for these terrible quality photos. I snapped these on my iphone in the midst of mantel-styling-madness, so that I could review my progress, but later I thought, " I should totally share this on the blog!" so yeah... 

When we first moved in, I propped some frames and a mirror up on the mantel and hung the moose head over the TV. I actually really liked this look however, it turned out that the empty frames were best over the sofa on the opposite wall so you know, one thing leads to another...

So after moving the frames to over the sofa, the mantel was left like this. It was a good starting point but overall just too bare and too many small things so, this past weekend I spent some time trying a few different looks...

I added a sculptural white vase and palm to add height and balance out the white moose head. I really like the softness of the botanical print against the metal ceiling tile and sculptural moose head but it's too much silver. NEXT...

I wanted to add some color but this was a little too much color and contrast. NEXT...

This was a better balance of color but it was too many small pieces. It needs more impact. NEXT...

I got this dog print for $7 at Habitat for Humanity in Boca Raton Florida and it's one of my favorite pieces. I love the look of two different pieces of artwork but the pieces aren't large enough and is too vertical, leaving too much void space. NEXT...

This black and white NYC print, with a silver detail on the frame, ties in the metal ceiling tile, and the scale and overall balance is finally starting to feel right. It's still a little boring and definitely needs some color and interest but for now, so far so good. 

What do you think?!

Stay tuned for more mantel progress and before and afters of our new space!


// Inspiration images via Emily Henderson: image one | image two | image three //

1 comment:

  1. Lauren, I like the 1st one and the one with the dog. You have such a talent. It's fun having a new home. Enjoy! Susan

    ReplyDelete

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