Neutral Rustic Christmas Fireplace Mantel Decor

Easy Christmas Decor for Mantel

Many homeowners wouldn’t think about having rustic decor except for Christmas, it’s an aesthetic that emphasizes warmth, coziness, and the beauty of nature. This Christmas the bright colors are gone and I am back to calm neutral tones with bright whites, greens, and natural elements. I love the calm and simple look of this year’s neutral rustic Christmas mantel display. It makes me daydream of the natural beauty II was surrounded with growing up in northern Canada. Those large timber spruce trees would be so covered in snow the branches would hang to the ground under the weight.

With one or two DIY projects, beginning with a plain white faux fireplace, we were able to create this rustic Christmas fireplace mantel. Let me share how to duplicate it for as little cost as possible.

The Faux Fireplace

You don’t have to have a brick or stone fireplace to create a rustic theme in your living room, nor does the fireplace need to be dark or rugged looking, As you can see we did ours without having a real fireplace, you can start with an electric fireplace or build a faux fireplace mantel like we did. The architectural elements of our fireplace and our house for that matter aren’t rustic. But with the use of artwork, and natural elements (both faux and real), it soon will be.

We usually have a collection of flameless candles in matching wood candle holders in front of the fireplace that could have worked. Instead, I added black vinyl flames to resemble a fire, and small round birch logs from our wood pile, more twinkling bright fairy lights. I miss our old home and gas fireplace, but I admit this setup is still very cozy and festive, especially at night.

Speaking of our last home, Gunter always lay in front of the hearth of our gas fireplace. We assumed he found it cooler, not so, he now perches in front of the new fireplace the same way. I guess even he finds the room comfier. Because of Gunter, I had to make the bundle of firewood smaller and tighten the placement onto the hearth to accommodate the loveable lug as he kept bumping and tussling the wood onto the floor.

The Large Wooden Christmas Sign

I really wanted a modern rustic wood sign with a forest and no wording. The focal point of this rustic fireplace mantel is the large piece of artwork we made using a Cricut, plywood, and stain. The idea is to bring the winter season indoors without the cold part. The dark stained wood grain background adds to the rustic feel. I kept the design minimal so we could use it for Christmas and Winter. The background is stained in dark walnut, and the forest is white mineral paint. It took a weekend to make including drying time, and it is exactly what I was hoping for. I enjoy the rustic calm forest over the living room fireplace.

Other ideas are a wood-framed mirror or frame with a large green decorative wreath, wrapping a blank canvas frame in birch bark printed paper or fabric, or inexpensive art prints featuring wintery landscapes.

Christmas isn’t here yet, I may stumble across something I love for the fireplace hearth, but I think it is fab just as it is, and I am just really thankful to have the mantel for Christmas. Unless someone wants to lend me a vintage brass fireplace screen?

The Christmas Mantle Decor Garland

Now that we have the fireplace and focal point done, we can start looking at putting all these rustic elements together, the base being the large green boughs.

The greenery boughs on the fireplace are a collection of short boughs from different decor branches including the IKEA eucalyptus I have been using all year. The greenery boughs were pulled apart into two-foot sections and scattered along the top of the mantel. Then one end was cascaded down the side.

I would love to do the mantel with fresh greenery because of the woodsy scent, but reusing the greenery you have on hand is a great way to keep the cost down, it lasts longer, and on a real fireplace you need to be cautious of fire hazards.

To add drama and visual interest I cascaded the greenery down one side of the mantel to display the golden bells.

Although the garland was done in lengths of various branches I avoided adding nail holes to our new fireplace. Instead, I used picture command strips left over from moving. They are long flat strips of Velcro that push together to hold pictures in place and are perfect for attaching decor items to the mantel. I stuck one glued side down to the mantel and added florist wire or fishing twine to the boughs. then pushed the second piece of Velcro on top. Next year I will flip the Velcro holders over and reuse them.

The Christmas Mantel Decor Stockings

My first plan was to sew some stockings with tans, white, and gold fabric, but my to-do list is so long, so when I found these sherpa fleece ones at Tim Horton’s Coffee of all places I excitedly swooped in and bought two. Those stockings are the only thing I purchased for the mantel this year. They as so fuzzy and cozy and soft, the perfect fluffy socks to wear tromping around in the winter forest. .

The fluffy cozy socks also balance out the long cascading boughs and bells on the other end of the mantel.

To add length, and rustic drama to the stockings I hung them from a real branch using fishing twine. The red hangers on the stockings stick out but they are staying for this year. I will grab some white ticking tape and replace them after the holidays. I thought about painting them white, but Hubs convinced me the little bit of red was just fine.

The Farmhouse Beads

I make all kinds of different farmhouse beads, in different lengths and colors. This string of beads is white and bare wood cream. I made one as a Christmas gift as well a year or so ago. If you want one here is the tutorial for DIY farmhouse beads. I considered using two sets of beads but decided to keep it simple and decided on just one. The beads aren’t attached to anything, I just wrapped the ends of the bead string into the garland.

Decorating a Christmas Mantel for Less

If you’re a PDH follower you may recognize most of the decorations on the mantel. Christmas decor can be pretty repetitive and it’s a good thing too. If I wasn’t able to reuse items year after year I wouldn’t be able to afford it. I hope I inspired you to try something new using old holiday decor in a new way. Nothing lends a personal touch to Christmas decorating more than reusing loved previous years.

Have fun decorating and Merry Christmas.

Some Other Christmas Mantel Ideas