Holiday Decorating: Re-Mantling

For me, holiday decorating is all about the mantle because it can really be simple and all you need but still make a huge impact and make the whole room look festive. Especially if you don’t do trees. So here are just some simple tips that can make the mantle be the star.

Step One: Come up with a color scheme. If you keep the palette simple and let the greens speak for themself, the rest will be a cinch. For this client, I chose green (lots of different hues); silver; grey and white.

Step Two: Scavenge for elements. Now that you know your colors keep an eye out for things that will work and make sure you load up on texture, vary size, and combine objects with strands so that your eye has lots to bounce around and look at on your mantle. I find stuff all through the year… in flea markets; antique stores; wrapping sections of stores; and things I have lying around my home.

Step Three: Put your greens down first. When you are putting your mantle together place your greens down first and make sure they are not matted down by your objects, but rather lifted up so they drape over the mantle’s edge and some sprigs even working their way up the wall.

Step Four: Next add your objects. Add your objects next and stand back to make sure you have them placed where you want them. Next weave the ribbons and baubles that you’ve found so they are winding around your objects. Add your lights ( I always look for a little dazzle in the lights.. it’s ok if they blink slightly but make sure you get the ones that don’t all go off and on at once. The battery pack ones are best as you can hide the pack behind your greens and don’t have to deal with wires hanging off the mantle).

Happy Holidays

What Makes a room come alive?

I know I’m in the right field of work because I still get so excited when I see the smiles on clients’ faces as their furniture arrives and all the talk, and drawings, and swatches start to take shape in an actual put-your-feet-up and relax room.  

It’s a really fun process. But the thing I always caution my clients about is that you can buy the most beautiful furniture and paint the walls the most amazing color, but your room is not a room until you fill it with things you love… like art and books and things you’ve found, or things that belonged to someone who specifically passed it along to you. These are the things that make a room come alive. These are the things that, when you live with them, make your heart sing.

I think this cautionary tale plays out visually in the evolution of the living room of one of my California clients. 

Here's where we started..

My clients had recently been to Europe and had visited some furniture showrooms, so they came to our first meeting armed with photos of things they saw there that they liked. What I saw in the photos was a sort of glam aesthetic of leather and chrome. So we picked a clean, neutral palette… painted the room a creamy white, purchased gorgeous pearl leather furniture and a beautiful white rug.

Every time I do a room, I like to soften it and make it look less showroom-y and more lived in by adding some vintage pieces like the mid century wood lamps and the 1920’s French carved mirror. With everything in place, it was very definitely a huge transformation. But the room felt very empty.

We added a vintage copper vase; a mid century green art glass bowl; a collection of vintage amethyst bottles; and textured pillows and a soft grey cashmere throw. We also added vintage andirons and birch logs in the fireplace. And then, the real room-changer, a fabulous collage print that keeps just the right vibe of modern and engaging.

A mantle is a wonderful space to introduce intriguing collectibles. It’s affords a great opportunity to bring in color and texture. Here we brought in a collection of antique amethyst bottles and some vintage mercury glass for shine.