Fireplace Decorating Ideas: How to Style a Fireplace Mantel

Often, the fireplace serves as a focal point for the living room – or even the entire house. Whether you’ve got a grand fireplace surround, a more stripped-back oak fireplace beam, or a traditional wood-burning stove, knowing how to style a fireplace mantel can take your home aesthetics from good to grand.

Whether you want to elevate the vibe of a room with some everyday styling, or sprinkle some seasonal touches, get some inspiration with these fireplace decorating ideas for oak fireplace beams, mantels, and fire surrounds.

Natural beauty

Embracing the aesthetic appeal of greenery and flowers is one of our favourite fireplace decorating ideas for spring and beyond. It helps bring the outdoors in and breathe life into the room, whatever the season. Why not try:

Fresh flowers – Choosing seasonal flowers in complementary shades to match your decor is a wonderful way to soften up a room and make it feel homely. Creating a floral display on oak fireplace beams using a melange of different-sized vases containing real flowers can give a living space a quick and simple makeover.

Faux flowers - While real flowers look amazing, replacing your oak beam display every week or so is time-consuming and costly, especially if you have your wood-burning stove roaring away underneath.

Fake flowers are the ideal alternative. Not only do they stay looking good for much longer than their fresh counterparts, but they are also much easier to look after as they don’t need a regular water change – or indeed any water at all!

If you’re feeling extra creative, you could make a large artificial flower arrangement with a foam base.

Greenery – If you’re wondering how to decorate a fire surround, and the flowers seem a touch too much, you can create a rustic, timeless look with ivy or eucalyptus garlands instead.

Adding a natural element with a pop of colour also helps soften the aesthetics of a stone fireplace or oak mantel. Ideas like these are guaranteed to make the whole area more welcoming.

Candles

Candles are a classic when it comes to fireplace decorating ideas, and a must-have oak fireplace beam ornament. In fact, if you’re researching how to decorate a mantel piece without making it feel cluttered, a few tasteful candles are just the thing. You have a few options: 

• Pillar candles – For an elegant look, spread these across the oak mantel, either in clusters, or a more even formation, depending on your tastes.
• Tea-lights and jars - Candles dotted around your beam in complementary jars add extra depth and look amazing, especially when you light them and snuggle in for an evening on the sofa.
• Mix and match – Just because candles are a great standalone way to decorate a fireplace doesn’t mean you can’t combine them with other elements. They also work well alongside oak mantel ideas for accessories such as mirrors, photos, and flowers (though watch out for fire hazards).

If you have a fireplace that’s no longer working, you can take advantage of the setup and pop the candles inside the firebox instead, for an even cosier glow.

Fairy lights

When it’s too warm to light a fire, or you just want to make your room feel ultra cosy, fairy lights on oak fireplace beams are among the greatest fireplace decorating ideas.

You can string them around your oak mantel beam or wind them between your ornament display, and you have an instant warm atmosphere. Here, you can again take your pick: 

• Warm white lights work best for soft ambience.
• Colourful lights give the fireplace mantel a more playful edge.
• Flickering flame lights emulate the natural look of the fire, enhancing the cosiness. 

Fairly lights make particularly fun fireplace decorating ideas for summer, where you might want the cosy element without the blazing heat of a fire.

Seasonal fireplace decorating ideas

There’s something quite wonderful about changing with the seasons. In the modern world, where we can buy strawberries in December and tomatoes in February, we have lost some of the magic that comes with following the rhythm of the seasons. 

Decorating our oak fireplace beams is a lovely way to mark the changing seasons. Some ideas for how to decorate a mantel for each time of the year include: 

Spring – Fireplace decorating ideas for spring can range from fresh seasonal flowers like daffodils and tulips to colourful light garlands. The sky, or rather the flower abundance, is the limit. 

Summer – Warm spheres of fairy lights, seashells, nautical elements, and light linen fabrics all make gorgeous fireplace decorating ideas for summer. Of course, flowers are also an option here – though keep in mind that the heat means you’d need to change them more often. 
 
Autumn – Create added warmth and comfort as the days grow shorter by choosing deep-toned flowers, or even leaves, and combining those with rustic lanterns or even lightly gothic elements. Depending on the aesthetic of your home, you can also use various sizes and colours of pumpkins for extra whimsy. 

Winter - This is the time a fireplace mantel really comes into its own. Festive lights, pine garlands, tinsel, stockings, themed candles – go all out with the ultimate fireplace decorating ideas for Christmas. Things like pinecones, sprigs of evergreens and winter berries, and even faux snow can all hang around into the new year too. 

How to decorate a fire surround and base?

Fireplace decorating ideas aren’t just limited to the mantel. You can also play around with styling your fire surround, and even the base of the fireplace to make the area look complete. 

If you’re a fan of the natural garland look, why not expand this to the surround – it’s a great look with bricks and stone alike. For the base, spruce things up with a rustic log basket, a few lanterns (mixing up sizes can add to the visual interest), or even a sturdy vase. 

Then, you can round things off by hanging an elaborate painting above the fireplace, or opting for a large mirror which reflects the light to make the room feel more spacious. 

Minimalist oak mantel ideas

If the thought of artificial flowers and candles intertwined with fairy lights doesn’t appeal to you, oak fireplace beams can look just as beautiful when they’re left bare. The natural beauty of the wood becomes a statement in its own right – and on the positive side, it’s much less work to dust!

Minimalist oak mantel ideas all revolve around keeping the surrounding area neutral, without busy paint colours or works of art. Hanging a single, elegant mirror above the fireplace can work well, letting the grain and colour of the oak take centre stage.

How to decorate a mantel piece, with Traditional Beams

Cracking the code on how to decorate a fireplace isn’t just about what ornaments you choose; it’s about curating an area that truly feels like the beating heart of your home. Whether you prefer flowers and fairy lights or candles and seasonal touches, there are endless fireplace decorating ideas to play around with.

Looking for oak mantel ideas to lay the groundworks? Take a look at our range of oak fireplace beams to find one to suit your home. And when you’ve finished decorating, send us your photos!