The countdown to the big day has officially started and I’m heading into the festive season excited to transform our home with my favourite foliage and home décor pieces, starting with our fireplaces. Read on for my top tips on styling a mantel for Christmas

Decorating our home for the season is one of the best parts of Christmas and styling our mantels is always at the top of my to-do list. It’s an area of our home that allows me to get creative, playing with garlands, bells, ribbons, and ornaments to craft a beautifully festive focal point that will elevate any room.

 

H2: Add a garland 

A piece of seasonal décor that instantly makes an impact, a garland can transform your mantel and provide the perfect backdrop for your favourite festive accessories. I love draping them loosely across the mantel, using concealed cable ties, string, or command hooks to hold them in place throughout the holidays.

Our Faux Norfolk Pine Garland  is a timeless choice, ideal for those who embrace that classic Christmas feel. Its vivid green foliage is full, lush, and incredibly lifelike – the needles even feel like real pine! It’s beautifully naturalistic and generously layered, whether you decide to add all the bells and ribbons or a simple string of clear fairy lights.

A more delicate option, our Faux Larix and Pinecone Garland highlights the sophisticated pairing of textured larix foliage and scattered pinecones. It has a slender silhouette compared to the Norfolk Pine and a slightly deeper shade of green, while the pinecones ensure a rustic look that connects to nature.

Both of these stunning garlands require only a little time spent fluffing and spreading the branches before they’re ready to hang straight from the box. Keep them looking their best year-after-year by coiling them loosely in a circle when you’re ready to pack them away and storing them flat.

H2: Play with colour and texture

 

Once your garland is in place, it’s time to add embellishments. Each year, I enjoy experimenting with different textures and colours. Bells and ribbons always play a role in my Christmas mantel décor but whether I choose a traditional Crimson Red Velvet Ribbon with its soft frayed edge or a rich French Blue Velvet Ribbon will depend on my overall theme. Our Cinnamon Satin Ribbon is also a striking choice, especially if you’re crafting a festive look that blends sleek sophistication with warmth.

When it comes to bells, these are not only incredibly festive but also provide a rich contrast in texture to a lush, green garland. Our Jingle Bell Garland is the quintessential Christmas choice, featuring 15 perfectly-spaced bells hung from a natural jute rope. A subtle yet playful option, simply intertwine the bells into your greenery to create a seamless blend.

If you’re looking for something a little more unusual, I recommend our Cowbell Garland. This distinctive piece of decor features a set of traditional Indian cow bells suspended from a natural jute rope. Our Jingle Bell Cluster is also a great choice if you’d prefer to anchor your garland with bells or use them as a focal point in the centre. Offering a contemporary twist on a classic Christmas decoration, it includes a cluster of brass bells in various sizes, hanging from a brown leather loop. 

H2: Embrace a vintage aesthetic

 

If you love the vintage Christmas aesthetic, there’s no better place than your mantel to start your festive styling. Adding antique-inspired décor to your mantel and within your garland is a quick and easy way to instantly set the tone for the season.

 

Our brass bells are a perfect fit for this theme; you could choose the elegant and intricately crafted Wilby Antique Brass Bell with its soft chime, the Iken Antique Brass Bell with its distinctive handle design, or our set of two handcrafted Aldringham Antique Brass Bells, which offer a delightful contrast of colours with one a traditional burnished brass shade and the other matte black.

 

If you’d also like to embrace the vintage aesthetic in your ribbon choice, our frayed edge velvet ribbons look like beloved Christmas decorations that have been used in your home again and again over the years. I love the delicate grey of our Champagne Velvet Ribbon with Frayed Edge while our Antique Blue Velvet Ribbon with Frayed Edge is a calming shade that looks especially striking when paired with bronze tones.

H2: Integrate seasonal ornaments

 

The finishing touch for me when styling a mantel for Christmas is always adding seasonal ornaments with a refined edge. Our ceramic pieces strike the perfect balance between representing traditional festive motifs but also co-ordinating with your existing interior décor, especially if your home favours neutral colours and minimalist styling.

 

Available in three sizes, our White Ceramic Pine Tree is timeless with a simple tiered design and ribbed detailing. Our charming White Ceramic House is also offered in three sizes, so you can find a fit for mantels of any shape or size, and you can also place a tealight inside to add to the atmosphere (although I recommend using an LED light to avoid damaging the interior).