How to Decorate a Fireplace, Simple Fireplace Decorating Tips

Hi there, friend! I'm here to help you decorate your fireplace. As an Interior Decorator I've decorated my fair share of fireplaces. It seems to be a struggle for many people to get it right so I thought I'd break it down for y'all so you can give your fireplace a decor makeover with confidence! 

1. Start with a large anchor piece. 

One of the biggest mistakes I see people make over and over again is using items on their fireplace that are too small. 

Girlfriend, you need something big up there!! Don't be scared! 

It's hard to tell in pictures but my fireplace is pretty big, it's 12' tall and 8' wide with a 6' mantle. My wooden anchor piece is a barn door out of an old barn in central Illinois. I guess it was more of window covering because it's not a full door but it is 4 feet tall and not quite 4 feet wide. If you don't have a barn door I recommend using a large mirror.

2. Put a wreath on it!

I put a nail in the barn door and have a wreath on it for every season... Christmas pine, Fall leaves, Spring flowers and I've got a Fourth of July flag I stick up there sometime too. 

This is my "off season" wreath that I use when there isn't a holiday. I use it most of the summer and put it up after I took my Valentine's day decor down but wasn't quite ready for Spring or Easter decor. It's a large faux eucalyptus wreath. 

Again, don't be scared to get something big, this wreath is about 31" across. 

3. Add candlesticks.

Make sure they are different heights and that they are big enough. 

Small candlesticks will look silly on your big mantle. The shortest ones are 12"!

Mine are all wood tones that coordinate but not match. They are random ones I've picked up at HomeGoods. Stick some matching battery powered candles on them and stagger them on one side of your anchor piece. 

4. Add a large vase with greenery stems.

Again, something big, a big vase! 

Pottery Barn and Arhaus have some beautiful ones right now but they are pricey. 

This one I found at TJ Maxx about 10 years ago, so glad I kept it! It is 16" tall and terracotta, it weighs like 100 pounds, I can barely lift it all the way up there! 

I added faux eucalyptus and some teeny-tiny wirey vines (that Hobby Lobby no longer carries) to add texture. 

Put your vase and greenery on the opposite side of your mantle. 

Really, you could stop here and your mantle would look fabulous but I like a little extra... 

*Extra Credit: Add some old books and a pretty bookend. 

These are kinda hard to see in the pic but they add a lot in person. I like to make sure the books have neutral color covers and I take the paper cover off, I turned the books backwards so you can see the pages which are old and textured. Old books are cheap at thrift stores or yard sales or maybe even laying around your house. I got the carved wood bookend at HomeGoods (surprise).

5. Add matching lanterns.

Time for decorating the fireplace hearth!

I like to add a set of matching lanterns to one side of the fireplace. 

These suckers can be expensive! 

It took me a while to find these in this wood tone that I wanted but I finally came across a set at HomeGoods just before Christmas. They get a lot of lanterns around Christmas time but they do carry them all year. 

They were reasonably priced for a lantern but the big one wasn't super cheap, even so it was about half of what I've seen it at other stores. 

I added battery powered candles of course (Safety First!). 

6. Add a basket and a throw blanket.

Last but not least, add a large basket to the other side of the hearth. I stick extra throw blankets in ours but this also can be used for fire wood if you have a wood burning fireplace. 

If you've been paying attention much of the theme here has been "large". 

Don't be scared to use big stuff on your fireplace hearth and mantle (unless your fireplace is small obviously). 

Do you have any tips for easy mantle decorating? Let me know in the comments.