Holiday Mantle Decorating Ideas

Living by the coast, our fireplaces come in handy November through March to take the chill out of the damp air.

{ via Hominspire }

Really, there are so many elements, textures and themes to think about when decorating your mantle for the holidays and if you live at the coast, you don’t necessarily have to go wild with shells and rope! You can keep it simple and stick to just two colors or so…

{ Midwest Living }

{ Garden of Health }

Or you may prefer to decorate for winter vs. a holiday like Christmas or Hanukkah and in this case, it’s easy to keep it simple with winter white tones and touches of color…

{ Elle Decor }

Or use elements of nature found at this time of year, like paperwhites, pine cones and winter fruit and birds, which are actually a nice contrast to each other. Pulling in colors from around the mantle is a great way to seamlessly integrate your holiday mantle into your everyday living areas.

{ Southern Living }

{ Winterwonderland }

{ A Day in Provence }

If you decide to use coastal elements in your holiday mantle, I recommend using them in similar colors or textures.

{ Ballard }

As well, the coastal elements can be put around the mantle, rather than directly on it.

{ Coastal Living }

You’ll notice in all of these pictures that the homeowners used a variety of textures and materials to create a balanced look and a lot of visual interest. There is a mix of smooth and rough, as well as clear elements like glass, along with solid elements like wood and fruit, and a bit of the unexpected, like the use of the bird along with picture frames and candlesticks.

How about you? What are your preferences for decorating your mantle for the holidays?!