Simple Christmas Mantel With Greens And Gold

I am sharing this simple Christmas mantel that is full of cozy greens and golds. Come see how I put this space together!

Yesterday I worked on my Christmas mantel in our upstairs living room. Even though this room is on the second floor of our home, it is a rather large room with vaulted ceilings and it really is a fun space to decorate. Over the years I have filled that upstairs living space with some of my very favorite pieces and I just love being up there, I like to describe it as ‘my office.’

Because I enjoy that space so much and because I spend a lot of time up there, I like to decorate it throughout the year. You probably could guess that decorating it for Christmas is my very favorite. So with that in mind, yesterday I began the process by working on a simple Christmas mantel up there. I loved the way that it is coming together and I wanted to share with you how I made it happen.

Start With A Blank Slate … Sort Of

I still had some of the items from my fall mantel up so to begin with, I took everything off of the mantel and I dusted. I always like to start with a clean slate! Next, I added my 4 mirrors back onto the mantel. I knew I wanted to keep these 4 mirrors in this space, and since they are simply leaning up against the wall (not hanging on the wall off of a nail), I needed to make sure they have enough room to sit securely on the mantel – so they went up first!

Add The Garland

Once the mirrors were in place and where I wanted them to be, I went ahead and layered in the Norfolk Pine garland. I used 4 strands of a garland that I found at Kirklands – (I can not link this garland for some reason at the moment but I will offer some other options below). Because there were some spots throughout the mantel that were “tight” (the layered mirrors did take up space throughout the mantel), I ended up draping some of the garland pieces throughout the mantle. The pieces of garland are heavy and I had to use nails to secure them throughout the mantel. I used about 7 or 8. I finished off the garland by simply adding a strand of battery operated gold lights.

Candles

Next, I added in some of the vintage brass candlesticks that I have been collecting over the past year. Because the garland is so thick on the mantle, I had to nestle each candlestick in, being careful not to disturb the garland. At first I thought I was going to have a lot more candlesticks here, but I decided to take several out, because it began to look overwhelming. I think the reflection of them all in the mirror didn’t help! I ended up with just a few on each side of the mantel and I sprinkled in a few candlesticks in on the wooded trunk below, including my very favorite brass deer candlesticks! I do want to note that I will NOT be able to light the candles on the mantel. Unfortunately, they are too close to the mirrors and so they are there just for looks!

Bells

Next, I added in a few of the gold bells that I have picked up this season. These big ones came from Hobby Lobby this year, but I think they are sold out online. (I will link some similar ones below and you can check your local stores as well.). I love the gold pops that these bells add which helps to compliment the brass candlesticks and the old mirrors.

Small Trees

I knew that I wanted to add in some hints of green below the garland and around the mantel. I first added a real tree and put it in a copper bucket that use to belong to my grandmother. The weathered brass color of the bucket matches the other details perfectly. In addition, the smell of the small live tree adds another layer of ‘cozy Christmas’ to this space upstairs. To finish off that small tree, I added a strand of battery operated gold mercury glass lights just like I used in the garland above.

I then added in a smaller faux table top tree on the other side to balance out the whole look and covered it with ornaments that I made last year. (You can see how to make those same ornaments here – they are very easy to make.)

Lastly, I tucked in a mix of gold and green bottle brush trees in various sizes below the garland! I used the little trees to fill in a few blank spaces and to add interest! I love the way the little trees look tucked into the small drawers there in front of the fireplace.

Recreate The Look

If you are interested in recreating this simple Christmas mantel then you can shop the items I gathered up by clicking on the pictures below. I wasn’t able to find exact matches for everything, but here are some similar options!

Wrap Up

I am really happy with the way this space turned out. There is just something to be said for a simple Christmas mantle. Thanks for following along with me here on the blog! If you want to see more close ups of spaces like this then follow along with me on Instagram! Happy Holidays!