Keeping the Home Fires Burning!

The Victorian architecture in the Wilderstein Historic Site is played up around the mantle area, demonstrating a true testament to the detailed craftsmanship that went into the design of the home. One can only imagine the conversations that took place around this architectural masterpiece when you consider the bygone era attached to this historical mansion.  

• Images above:Wilderstein Historical Site- Rhinebeck, New York
• Images above: Photography by Rikki Snyder posted on Houzz.com

Less color can be so much more! The clean lines in the design of the mantle above enables this holiday hearth design the ability to boast a simple gracefulness with the use of wispy feathers, natural branches, and decorative Christmas greens. The illumination of lights polishes the elegance of this look.                 

A fireplace with a decorative mantle creates a wonderful focal point within any room that is designed specifically for congregating together. So no matter what your style may be, creative and inspirational ideas for making your hearth area more festive for the holidays are limitless.

The look of southern influence is reflected in the design above. Rich orange colors that can be found in nature creates a transitional approach to this combination. This style with just a few adjustments can be used from fall to Christmas and may even carry the homeowner through winter if they choose.   

The creative process for designing a look that works for your own personal taste starts with just a few easy steps.

• First- decide on a style that suits you and is flattering to your home. A simple approach is to find matching sets of decorative items that have been merchandised together in a fine retail store. The visual merchandising of products will help you with your decision making and inspire new ideas. Plus it will help you to save time and energy.

• Next- pick a color scheme that you like and stick with it. Since holiday decor can have a tendency to be busy with lots of texture and variety, it helps to control the visual flow by maintaining balance with color. You can make lots of interesting things happen with your combination as long as you keep your colors from clashing . 
• Decide on an anchor piece or pieces. This can pose a challenge depending on the depth of your mantle, so make sure that you have measured before making your selections. Anchor pieces are a great place to start when it comes to building a focal point in your display and can help steer your theme in the direction you would like for it to go.

Shabby is so chic in this example above. The refracting light that will be captured in this mirror collection will add depth to this design. A combination such as this creates artwork that will constantly reinvent within the reflection of each piece. 

• Your final tip- have an enjoyable time creating a combination of accents, accessories, garlands, ribbons, flowers, twinkling lights and whatever else brings joy to your soul. By the time you have reached this step, very few rules apply except for those listed above. Abiding by these simple rules will help you keep a reasonable focus and maintain sound direction for achieving a polished designer look.

Strategizing a plan for incorporating holiday decor into your fireplace/mantle area can be established with this list of just a few easy steps! Capturing the sparkle and shine that radiates from the light of a warm fire can be accomplished with the right combination of decorative items