Colorful Christmas Mantels

Yep, that's mantels with an 'S', as in plural, as in more than one mantel! One of the things we liked most about this house when we found it, was the double-sided fireplace. I love styling mantels as much as I do coffee tables and side tables, but funny enough, the Living Room mantel is the only one that gets any attention. For some reason, the Family Room side of the fireplace is neglected. Probably has something to do with the giant black hole TV.

This year we decided to move the Christmas tree from the Living Room to the Family Room, and the kids wanted their stockings hung near it. You know, in case Santa overlooked the stockings in another room. Which meant I got to decorate two mantels! Both are fun and colorful, because that's the theme of our decor, but I kept one slightly elegant, and the other laid-back family-friendly.

Do you have to play musical furniture to accommodate your tree? This chair normally lives somewhere else, but it's looking pretty cozy next to the fireplace. We also currently have a club chair in our closet. Our small closet. But it's only for a month, and totally worth it.

For this mantel, I layered faux-garland with real stems, and wove lights through it all, then topped it with a pre-made ornament garland from here.

Two deer found at JoAnns years ago are perched in the middle, and my trusty silver (or they would be if I polished them) candlesticks hold hot pink tapers from Ikea. (Mirror source and makeover found here. You can also read about how I painted the brick and mantel.)

On the hearth, I piled our DIY Faux Birch Logs in this basket, and added more fresh stems. I tucked the leftover lights from the mantel in the basket, making the whole thing glow. The antlers I found here, and are just perched on top. I know they are intended as seasonal decor, but I think they'll find a year-round place in the house.

I love how it looks like we just gathered it from our land in the country, as opposed to purposely styling it in the suburbs.

I'm going to have a hard time taking this down next month!

The flip-side of the fireplace will be the Family Zone come Christmas morning!

Some of you super-observant folks may notice this mantel looks different. About that....we were in mid-makeover when the holidays rolled in, so pretend you can't see it yet. I'll have the full reveal once it's actually painted and mounted back on the wall! (Here's how you saw it last.) See what I mean about the giant black TV? There's really no disguising it, so I just go with it.

The jingle-bell stockings are from here, hanging from clear Command hooks, with letters tied to each for personalization. We're all pretty excited to add the fifth stocking for our new family member, too.

I tacked some beaded garland up with washi tape for more fun.

The DIY Sequin Trees got a little update with some multi-colored paillettes.

The whole thing looks like a candy shoppe (that's like a candy shop, but fancier...or Canadian), and I love it!

Isn't the bow-pillow adorable?! I borrowed the idea from the genius Kristin.

And what fireplace would be complete without a sweet dog snoozing nearby?!

I'm excited to share these mantels with Michelle at Ten June & Carmel at Our Fifth House, as part of our Holiday Cheer in the Blogosphere Parties! Come link up your mantel, or check out all the amazing inspiration! Are you decorating with colors of the candy shop, keeping it neutral, or going more traditional this year? And don't forget, we're linking up Crafts here next Tuesday!