5 Ideas for Fireplace Decorations

5 ideas for fireplace decorations. Having a fireplace in your home adds a degree of comfort and class. Of course, it also raises new questions for you as a homeowner and keeper of your space: how do you decorate your fireplace? 

Let’s get into some of your options for enhancing this beautiful element of your home!

Why Decorate the Fireplace?

Maybe you grew up visiting your grandmother’s house, where she always had decor artfully arranged around the fireplace to celebrate the most recent holiday or changing of the seasons. Or perhaps your father adorned the mantle with his favorite sports memorabilia depending on who he was pulling for that season. 

Much like deciding on a new hairstyle or trying to change a habit, recognizing the kind of decorator you are and the amount of energy you want to put into your fireplace will help you in the long run. 

You can always adjust these suggestions to your time and aesthetic constraints, and enjoy the process of trying new designs! After all, the way you decorate your home is a reflection of you.

Minimalism or Maximalism

One popular trend nowadays and a question to consider while planning is minimalism versus maximalism. Interior designers’ focus on minimalism has led to stark, sparsely decorated, function-based living and workspaces. Minimalism trends toward very controlled order even in decoration, with little decoration to be found. 

Maximalism, on the other hand, is the celebration of orderly chaos. Walls and shelves are covered with curated objects and curiosities to explore. The fireplace you have in your home may lend itself to one style or another, so read on. 

Working With Your Fireplace

If you’ve read our post on Trends for Fireplaces, you’ll know that there are many fireplace options for the home or business. This wonderful range of designs also means you have different shapes and layouts to work for decorating your hearth. 

Keep the shape and length of your fireplace in mind when brainstorming. A fireplace with a classic heavy mantle will necessarily lend itself to more item-based designs than a frameless or peninsula fireplace with less available decorative space. 

Remember, too, how you want to arrange the room. If you want to avoid directing all the attention to one point, you’ll likely want to move your television or other set pieces such as bookshelves, drink carts, or music stations to different areas of the room to delineate space.

This gives both you and your guests various regions to explore, keeping the room dynamic and refreshing. You can also use these stations as a way to inexpensively redecorate your room by exploring new ways to arrange the furniture and how this changes your experience of the space.

Decoration Ideas

Art and Photographs

Framed art or photographs are a classic decoration for mantles. Photographs of varying sizes can also serve to frame and highlight your more modern, embedded fireplaces. These also give you something to look at when spending time before the fire.

Natural Items

Make decorating the fireplace more of an adventure with a trip to collect beautiful stones, evergreen fronds, shells, and more. Twisting driftwood can be a beautiful conversation piece beside your vertical fireplace once it has been cleaned. Evergreen fronds can even add some natural scent to the room before they dry. Be sure to keep plant matter secure and safely distant from the fire itself. 

Heirlooms

It’s hard to imagine a better way to honor your family than by centering heirlooms in the living room to reflect on and display to others. Keeping heirlooms on the hearth, perhaps beside or below family photographs, is a way to state that family is central to your life and close to your heart.

You can also use this opportunity to tell stories and ask about your guests’ family history to bring you closer together.

Seasonal Decorations and Holiday Cards

Fireplace decorations don’t have to be exclusive to stockings in wintertime. Whether you put out colorful decorative pumpkins and squash in the Fall or decorative jars of sand and proudly displayed baseballs and mitts in the Summer, seasonal decorations let visitors know you’re connected to the seasons and take time to refresh your home. 

You can also decorate with holiday cards, whether these be Christmas cards, back-to-school well-wishes, or birthday congratulations. Cards remind you that you’re connected with friends and family you might not be able to visit each year, and can bring an internal warmth while the fire warms you up. 

Collectibles 

You can also use your fireplace to house curiosities to spark conversation and showcase your interests. If you’re a big collector of models or antiques, the fireplace can be bookended with some of your favorite items to illuminate with a soft glow. 

Fireplace Services You Can Trust 

Before you can get into the fun of fireplace decorations, you need to make sure your fireplace is in great condition. The Brick + Ember Outfitters are here to help with all of your fireplace needs, including fireplace design, installation, repair, and more. Learn more about how we can help you take care of your fireplace by contacting us today.