With the approach of Christmas, I’ve been thinking about all the apartments I’ve lived in that had mantles, with and without working fireplaces beneath them.  If I told you I don’t have a mantle in our current place, I wouldn’t exactly be fibbing.  One entire wall of our living room is a stone hearth surrounding a fireplace, which would work if the landlords ever decided to open and clean the chimney.  But as it stands now, both households are fine with not having it work.  For one thing, we both have the areas decorated.  We’ve placed the TV directly in front of the fireplace, which works well for our setup.  Not to mention my saucy little cat loves to climb back there for no reason.  It’s as if she’s never seen what’s there every time she crawls back there.

We don’t have a formal ledge to place objects upon, or to hang stockings.  The stones just out at different depths, allowing for some single photographs and knick-knacks.

But the ghosts of apartments past remind me of some of the stunning mantles I’ve had.  I usually chose an assortment of candles and vases.  Most of the apartments I’ve lived in have been part of an older home, so I never chose really contemporary pieces.

I’m of the minimalist camp, even when it comes to adorning the mantle for the holidays. A few candles, some greenery, maybe a single strand of white lights, and a few stockings if your Christmas tradition calls for it. Some though, can just be too cluttered.

I love the idea of the mantle as photo or art gallery, both on the formal ledge and in front of the fireplace, the latter as seen in 500 Days of Summer (I loved Zoe Deschanel’s entire apartment in that movie!)

As Love to Know, a decorating and design website suggests, it’s important to keep in mind not only the architectural style of your mantle, but it’s size.  As with any other element, color can be a huge contributor as well.  Not only are there hundreds of options as far as materials (stone, marble, wood), but another great design trick is to turn a bare wall into a feature wall by setting up a mantle, no fireplace required.  For that, a gas hookup, floral arrangement, or a grouping of candles can take the place of an actual working fireplace.

Since ours is not a traditional mantle as far as decor goes, I tend to live vicariously through our friends that have them–my favorite has the greenery and lights I described earlier.  For now, Santa will have to find another way to fill out stockings.

Last 5 posts by KellyThacher

• O Tannenbaum . . . - December 23rd, 2009
• Lighting a Candle - December 22nd, 2009
• All For Show - December 21st, 2009
• Faking it with Flowers - December 20th, 2009
• Color Clinic - December 19th, 2009

Author: Kelly Thacher

Kelly has been a writer since she was in grade school where she received early recognition for her Young Author's project. Magazines like Home Entertainment, Luxury Consumer Electronics, Vertical Living, Luxury Home and the Robb Report were happy to have Kelly's editing talents on various projects. A series of career twists and turns has offered her invaluable experience in journalism, magazine and book publishing, and fiction writing.

Kelly Thacher has written 30 articles for us.