Mantel Decorating 101

With Christmas coming we are all going to be asking this question... why doesn't my mantel work...after doing a bit of research I finally figured out what I was doing wrong... I have been fighting this fireplace for 5 years... I couldn't put my finger on it but I just knew it wasn't working... let me tell you where I was going wrong...

• what ever is hanging over the mantle should be approximately the same size as the opening of your fireplace..check

•  the whole arrangement should be a in the shape of a Christmas tree... check    (this is where I was going wrong... I was doing an upside down tree... now it makes perfect sense...dah)

Left view...notice the display is going down... tall to short to the left not the right

Right display...notice it is going from tall to short to the right

 (I painted the mirror this morning that was the extent of my projects so far today)

Middle display... not too sure about this part... this was all stuff I had... nothing newly purchased

Full display... note the triangle from centre out

There you have it... now wasn't that easy... I can't tell you the grief and the hours I have wasted on this mantel...I hope this has helped you and saves you a bit of grief decorating your own mantels... now go check your mantel and see if you did yours correctly... if you change it please link it to me... I would love to ewwh and awwh with you

Fireplace Mantel Re-Do

Do you have one of those places in your home you just can't get right... I can't tell you how many times I have changed this fireplace... it seems okay for a bit then I see a picture of it and I start picking it apart again... I look in books... but most mantels are symmetrical and that is just too formal for my home... I like my organized clutter...

this is the grouping I came up with today... let's see how long this one will last... If you have any suggestions I would love to hear them...

this is the trouble child... I can't get this side right...

I painted the barn star today... it was burgandy... this replaced the other black one that was there...

 I distressed this one and it has the bolts... a little more prim...

close up... still not floating my boat...(no pun intended)

UPDATE: check out the post 2 up...  this display lasted the night... the light bulb finally went off this morning after a good nights sleep... and thanks to research I finally found out what I was doing wrong... scroll up and have a boo and please let me know what you think