How to Decorate a Mantel: My Favorite Mantel Decor

Styling your mantel (especially with a television) can be a little bit tricky. It’s often the focal point of your living room, so you want it to look great. But, how do you fill it? What’s the best type of mantel decor to use?! I’m here to help. If you want to create an eye-catching backdrop for your home with your fireplace, but you aren’t sure what kind of fireplace mantel decorations to use, keep reading!

I recently played around with styling my mantel a few different ways, and I’m showing you some of my favorite looks. This isn’t intended for you to take and copy exactly – rather, I’m hoping to give you inspiration for your own space! Use the general ideas I’ve shared here to gather up some mantel decor from your own home, and play around with it. I promise, with a little practice, you’ll land on something you love.

How to Decorate a Mantel: Three Different Mantel Decor Ideas

Style Option One: All The Plants!

For the first attempt I, OF COURSE, had to just go wild with plants. Because why the heck not? We all know I’m a little obsessed with decorating with all the greenery I can, so this one was really fun for me.

You may or may not be able to tell, but this is a solid mix of real and faux plants. I wanted to make it look really full, but many of my live plants are too big to fit under the television, so I had to pull from my faux collection.

This is a really fun way to showcase your favorite plants, and doesn’t really require any additional home accessories. It would be a really great option for a spring mantel! It’s also the perfect option if your fireplace hearth gets a ton of great sunlight!

Here are some tips for decorating your mantel with plants:

• Consider the light the area will get. This is across the room from a few windows, so any plants on here will get a fair amount of indirect light. But, I wouldn’t put any high-needs or difficult plants over here.
• Don’t forget to add a drip tray under any plants you plan to water on your mantel! You don’t want to damage the wood with any dripping water.
• Play around with the size, scale, and shape of the plants. Have some that will hang down over the side, some that will stand up tall, and some in-between!
• You can do a really concentrated and lush look (like I’ve done here), or you can keep it more sparse and just line up plants with a little more room to breathe. It’s all about what makes you smile!
• If you want the general look but don’t have enough actual plants, draping a garland over the mantel is also a really great option. They don’t just have to be for Christmas decor!

Looking for some faux plants that would be perfect for the mantel? I’ve got you covered.

Style Two: Keep it Simple + Symmetrical

If you’re looking for something super simple and easy to maintain – why not just toss a few candles up there? It’s romantic and classic, and it looks great. This is a really good option if you have a lot going on in your space and need a good spot for your eyes to rest. It creates a classic, balanced look that will work in any space and with any color palette.

I kept the candles away from the base of the television, for obvious reasons. But, if you don’t have a TV there you could line the entire length of the mantel with candles. It would feel so magical when you light it up! You can also use some flameless candles for the same look without worrying about damaging anything.

A few tips:

• You can gather them on either side of the mantel, like I’ve done here, or you can spread them out.
• Get varying heights of candles – if you keep them all exactly the same, the display won’t have any dimension!
• You can either use all the same candleholders, or you can do a collection of mismatched ones. Vintage candlesticks would be so beautiful displayed all together on the mantel! I lean toward brass candlesticks, as that’s my favorite vibe, but you can really get creative here if you’d like.

Here’s a few gorgeous candle holders that would be great for this.

Style Three: Style Each Side Separately

This is how my mantel typically looks on a day-to-day basis (and how I plan to leave it now!). Nothing super fancy or complicated, just a few pretty pieces on either side of the television. I really like that this side allows the shiplap and the art on our television to shine. I also like that it gives some room for your eyes to rest. We’ve got a lot going on in the rest of our living room (especially when it comes to plants), so keeping it simple over here is great.

When I’m taking this simple approach to styling, I generally leave the area underneath the television empty. Then, I gather 2-3 things on either side of the TV. If we didn’t have a TV here, I’d probably have a large mirror or a large piece of art. So, I think my general approach would be the same either way!

Here are some tips for the this method of styling:

• Remember that groupings of 3 things is usually the most visually-pleasing. This is really easy to do on the mantel – add a vase, a bowl, and a plant and you’re good to go!
• Creating layers is a great strategy – taller items in the back, shorter items towards the front. You want a mix of both to create a cohesive look.
• Try to find some items with good height to anchor each side. If everything is really low to the mantel, it might fall flat. I always try to have a tall plant, some big floral stems, or a taller vase on either side of the television – it helps the scale make more sense and grounds everything!
• Smaller items like vases, candles, pretty bowls, frames, and books are really great to use here!
• If you’d like to fill the space in the middle, low candles, a long dough bowl, or a small stack of books would all look great.

This was a really fun little exercise in styling, and I definitely should do it more often. Have fun figuring out the best mantel decor style for you!