Does anyone have suggestions or pictures of a decorated mantel? Mine runs the width of my den and has brick on the entire wall below it. Above it, the wall goes to up to the second floor -- an open cathedral ceiling den.
Everything I put on it looks too small because of the scale of the wall.
Any suggestions or pictures welcomed -- thanks so much!
philby
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Re: decorating your fireplace mantel
Can you post a picture of your space? I would love to get a visual!-D
july0105
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Here a couple of pictures I found. I will take better ones tomorrow.
Sorry to be such a pain but do you have anything from a distance to present the area as a whole? I cannot visualize the cathedral ceiling in relation to the mantle.
btrflygrl
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Re: decorating your fireplace mantel
how about a large painting in the middle of the mantle? or painting the wall an accent color?
or something tall...like branches or bamboo....
I liek those accent lights that project the light upwards and the light is in a small white cylinder shaped holder, do you know what I'm talking about?
my dad always wanted a deer head like that. My response is the same as my mom's -- over my dead body
thanks anyway
I have one!!! FH's father's first deer ... it will hang in my office
Karen H
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Re: decorating your fireplace mantel
You need something taller, and eyecatching, on the left side, to keep your eyes from sweeping up with the angle of the ceiling.
I think centering the picture over the fireplace tends to make that area look a bit squished too.
I would try a series of photos or framed prints to the left - maybe a series of 3, one over the other (not going all the way up, but a little higher than the current pic) then another one, larger, just to the right of the stack of 3. Then, with the rest of the space on the mantle, try some interesting arrangements - maybe a bold, colorful plate or flat basket on a stand to the far right, with some smaller pieces to the middle.
An alternative to pictures could be a vase with grasses and those twirly willows, if the mantle is wide enough for that.
Arrange everything in relationship to the white wall, not the brick and fireplace below. This will manage the space better. The eyes are already drawn away from the dark brick by the light wall, so you need to consider the wall as the blank canvas and not worry about centering things to what's below.
july0105
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thanks so much for the ideas. I am searching for any photos of a decorated mantel and am having trouble. I will play around with your sugestions. Thanks again!
btrflygrl
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I agree with Karen...a series of different sized pictures...something dramatic....like black and white photos...or color prints with the wide frames in a complimentary color
philby
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Hmmm.... I see now how problematic the area is. This may not be helpful but if you were to pickle (whitewash) the red brick and paint or replace the mantle with a semi-gloss white the space would become unified. The dark brick carrys so much weight in the room that it forces the eye the seperate the wall into two spaces. This may be why it is difficult to decorate the space. I do not recall ever seeing a situation where the fireplace was on the same wall as the angle of the cathedral.
july0105
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it's funny that you mention whitewashing the brick. My FI always talks about it, but I was not crazy about the idea. I also have a large brick grill in my kitchen the room adjacent to the den. Does anyone have any photos of whitewashed brick?
Thanks!
Karen H
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Our bricks were painted white (along with the barn-wood panels and the mantlepiece itself), and we wanted to remove the paint and it was a nightmare - we gave up. It wasn't coming off, and there was some strange color stuff coming up from underneath. I finally painted the barn-wood panels the same color as the walls, and the brick a slightly darker contrast, and painted the rough wood mantle a natural wood color.
Here's a shot from Christmas, and a summer shot.
july0105
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thanks for the pics. I guess that is what I am afraid of -- once the bricks are painted/whitewashed, it will be almost impossible to go back.
Any other ideas out there?
Thanks so much!
Sasha96
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if you like their style, check out the pottery barn website. they often showcase their merch. over fireplaces. we knocked off one of their photos from the catalog and it looks really nice.
philby
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The whitwashing can be done in stages with very little pigment so you can fully control the translucency of the white. Just use shellac in your choice of finish (gloss,matte,semi) and a dab of white oil paint mixed in real well. Test it out on some loose bricks from the yard and live with them for a few days. I will keep my eye out for solutions and I come across any I will let you know! Best of luck.
Ang&Rich
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I like Karen's idea with using different sized pictures and/or frames - kinda like this:
