Christmas Mantle Magic
I consider my design style to be somewhere between contemporary and minimalist. In this post I describe how I am taking my white walls with gray fireplace brick to add that contemporary pop of red accent color. I believe in magic with low effort and minimal amount of effort. These directions include a wreath and mantle garland with accents. My grandmother was a big fan of cardinals, so I added some red flare with cardinal ribbon and decorations to pay homage to her.
The Wreath: I had been looking for a wreath to mount on the wall above my fireplace. I knew I needed at least 36 inches to fill the space. I ended up on this 42-inch wreath that caught my eye. In my mind if you go cheap, it looks cheap. So, I splurged on this lighted wreath that already had a full look to it. I have found if you cut corners on a cheaper wreath trying to add extras make it into something, you spend just as much and never get the result of just doling out the money for a good quality wreath.
Fortunately, I had already had two dry wall anchor screws that were 1 ¼ inch that was holding up previous artwork that was above my fireplace. So, I took my new wreath and put felt pads on the metal framework so it would not scratch the existing wall paint then mounted it on the screws. Mount with the light plug in on the bottom (the mantle garland will hide all the cords). I recommend mounting the wreath before working with it.
Once mounted start fluffing the wreath branches to give it a full and luxurious look.
Then add bells to the wreath by anchoring it to the wreath frame. I used red bells to coordinate with my red cardinal theme.
Then use some holly berry branches to give it character. If the branches are too long cut with wire cutters and evenly distribute around the wreath.
The last component is some larger pinecones. I only used 4 of them. These pinecones I had saved from previous years of outdoor displays I had used so they didn’t cost me anything for this year. Evenly distribute them around the wreath to add another layer of character.
Attach an extension cord to wreath lights and place along the back wall of the mantle before adding garland.
The Garland: I still recommend buying a quality garland with lights before adding extra decorations to it. Your result will be classier than using some cheap garland.
Sticking to my motto of easy and user friendly. I proceeded to add some ribbon to add that. extra touch of flare. Use a wired ribbon to add to the garland that will match the garland and your design aesthetic. Find a wired ribbon that is about 2 ½ inches wide. I found this cute white ribbon with red cardinals to pay homage to my grandmother.
Lay the garland on a large surface to make it easy to use (I placed mine on my guest room bed that I covered with an old blanket to protect the comforter).
Then place the garland on the mantle and add some decorative elements to the garland.
I added red sleigh and red nests to mine.
The Extras: I took some hooks that I attached to the fireplace and added some cute, knitted Christmas stockings for an element of fun.
I had some white candle stick holders that I put red candles on top of.
I also continued to pay homage to my grandmother by adding some cardinal ceramic statues.
