Mantel Above The Couch

Have you ever wondered what to hang over your couch? I struggled with this space for a long time and I am sharing how I found and hung this mantel above the couch and how I decorated it.

Let’s have an honest moment here, shall we? I struggle sometimes when it comes to filling up the wall space that I have around my home. I mean, I do have a lot of it (wall space that is) but, as I am sure you know, there are just SOME PLACES around our homes that are simply begging to be filled with something cool. And, as I have found, sometimes it just takes a while to find the perfect way to fill it.

This was the situation here above this couch in our upstairs living room. We added a couch to this room almost two years ago and I knew that I needed something to fill the space above it – but I couldn’t really decided what to do initially. That is until I saw this beautiful antique mantel in my friend Rob’s storage unit.

I went to visit my friend Rob, a fellow antique dealer, up in Atlanta and while we were poking around his inventory for his shop, I spotted it, this beautiful mantel. As soon as I saw it, laying on it’s side in a corner on the floor covered with other great antique finds, I knew that it would be the perfect piece to add above my couch. I immediately was able to envision the mantel above the couch upstairs in our living room.

Now, I had to nicely ask (okay, perhaps I begged) my friend Rob if I could buy it. I was so excited when he said, “of course” and while he wouldn’t let me give him a dime for it, he couldn’t give it to me right away. He needed to use it in his antique booth for a few weeks before he could hand it over to me. Of course I didn’t mind waiting … I was just happy to have found the perfect piece.

A few months later, I headed up to Atlanta and grabbed the mantel. Once we got it home, we got to work hanging it.

Mantel Above The Couch

How I Hung It

So, this mantel is super heavy! It is so heavy that Mark needed my help to help hold it against the wall to measure where to hang it. I have to say, at first I wasn’t quite sure how we were going to get it to hang (without it falling and ripping the wall apart) but I remembered this little contraption! This heavy duty wall hanger is the perfect solution when you need to hang something that is super heavy. The two brackets fit together like a french cleat and this one holds up to 50 pounds! These types of hanging systems are great for salvage pieces and other heavy items that you want to hang.

Why I Chose To Use A Mantel

The space above our couch is large and I knew that I would need something substantial in size to fill it. Now, traditionally, I would use things like art or mirrors to do the job, but using an old mantel like this is an awesome alternative to the more traditional items that you might chose to fill a large space. Not only is an old mantel like this a unique find that others won’t have, it is also a piece that creates a 3D area that you can use to display upon! And, in my case, I can use mantle this mantel above the couch as an additional surface to display my vintage finds and my vignettes!

How I Styled It

Styling a new space is always my very favorite thing to do – and playing around with this mantel for the first time was so much fun! I first began by adding some stacks of old vintage books. (All of these books are extra special to me because they belonged to my grandmother – I love it when I can incorporate family piece organically into my home.) After the books, I added in a few plants and an old ship clock that I picked up from an estate sake. I then layered in a few crocks and topped the space off with the sweetest little cement bunny! I tried to lean into the upcoming spring season a bit and I look forward to adding in a few more spring touches in the future!

Create The Look

Of course you will want to find your very own antique mantel to recreate this look … but finding one may be a little difficult initially. It took me a long time to locate just the right one for my space. But – do not give up – check your local antique malls and vintage shops often to see if any dealers bring them in. You can also look to see if there are any dedicated architectural salvage warehouses in your area that sell reclaimed items from old homes – (this is one of my favorite local spots)! For the other items that I used in this space, you can simply just click on the pictures below!

Wrap Up

Finding and styling this mantel above our couch was so much fun. I waited a pretty long time to find just the right one – but I feel that the wait was worth it! I love the size and scale – it was just right for this space. I hope this post encourages you to get creative with your home – especially in those large spaces that can sometimes be challenging – I promise, with just a little bit of patience are creativity, you will find just the right piece!

If you enjoyed this post then you may also like:

This Summer Mantel

This Bonus Room Area

This Shelf Decor In The Living Room

One More Thing: Blog Hop

I am so excited to be joining this group of ladies for our monthly blog hop. In case you are new here, on the first Monday of each month, we all get together to share! Please be sure to click on the names of my friends below to see all of the amazing inspiration that they are offering here this month.

JENRON DESIGNS/ Robyn’s Southern Nest/ At Home in the Wildwood

The Frugal Homemaker/ Southern Spangled/ My Weathered Home

*This Mantel Above The Couch blog post contains affiliate links.