Christmas in Killarney
These custom-made Irish stockings blend in nicely with the rest of the room's earthy color palette, ranging from dark green and chocolate brown to antique gold and warm ivory. Bundled tulips and swags of evergreen garlands complete the festive look.
Under the Sea
This living room mantel and a weathered antique chest host various greens, shells, and a pair of handwoven Nantucket lightship baskets passed down through the family.
Traditional Fireplace
With a lush mix of holiday greens featuring fresh olives on the branch, huge pincones, pheasant feathers, and ilex berries, this mantel treatment adds a touch of nature to the room. This combination will last for two weeks -- just be sure not to let the greenery hang too close to the fireplace or it will dry out.
The Holiday Mantel
Pair long-lasting evergreens (such as spruce or pine) with fragrant blooms. As you're arranging the greenery and flowers, balance the colors evenly along the mantel.
Holiday Mantel
A large wreath and draping greenery make the mantel the foundation for the holiday decor of this family room. Fresh fruit, candles, and flowers add the finishing touch atop the mantel.
Evergreen Mantel
For a long-lasting mantel arrangement, the designer planted miniature cedar trees inside a collection of silver goblets using fresh moss. The Green Lady apples that accent the arrangement are also seen in the room's "crown" epergne.
Salvaged Mantel
This 18th-century Hudson River Valley mantel was a salvaged piece incorporated into a new home.
Fireplace Makeover
White paint on the mantel, fireplace brick, and paneling creates a bright reading area near the fireplace. The bookcases were added to either side of the fireplace to create a cozy library feel.
Brookfield Idea House: Family Room
This family room's impressive furnishings include two cherry armoires flanking the fireplace, a pair of buttery yellow chairs, and a soft blue sofa that echoes the hue on the walls. Off-white silk drapery panels soften the large windows without hiding the stunning golf course view. Two-story ceilings reinforce the room's sense of openness.
Here's proof that a luxe-looking console table doesn't have to cost a fortune. With inexpensive rattan pedestals and a rectangular piece of glass, interior designers Anne-Michelle Langlois and Elizabeth Hutcheson created a spot for displaying accessories. The idea can be adapted to complement any decor.
Spacious Family Room
The eye is instinctively drawn upward to this family room's cathedral ceiling, which is supported by two massive hemlock beams. Large clear windows flank a carved limestone fireplace.
A recess above the mantel conceals a plasma TV behind hand-forged metal doors with magnetic latches. The doors themselves are a work of art.
For larger spaces such as this family room, combine two of the same pieces of furniture or accessories for greater impact. This arrangement also reinforces the symmetry of the room. For example, two identical coffee tables were pushed together to create one large surface. If you can't find a rug that will fit a large room don't sweat it. To solve this dilemma, bind two matching rugs together to make a generous-size one that fits the space.
West Bay Idea House: Brick Fireplace
Doors on this large screened porch open to the dining room, kitchen, and master bedroom, so there is a nice flow, and the house can be open regardless of the weather. Chairs and a sofa are centered around the brick fireplace. For easy maintenance, the designers used colorful acrylic indoor/outdoor fabrics on the furniture.
Drab to Fab
It's amazing how far fresh paint, a few yards of fabric, and some smart ideas will go to spruce up a room. To revamp your own living room, start with a fabric you love. Select a favorite hue from it to paint on the walls. Pull out an additional color to use as an accent. When dealing with a bold pattern such as this one, it's best to use it throughout the room to get the print's full effect. Give your mantel special attention.
An oversize iron screen makes this petite firebox appear much grander. The new TV stand fits in seamlessly with the room's architectural features. Above the fireplace, the homeowners created frames by nailing together 2-inch-wide wood trim pieces. Next, layers of batting were wrapped around the frames. Finally, the decorative fabric was stretched across the front of the frames and secured to the backs with a staple gun. The panels attach to the wall with self-fastening strips (available at sewing and craft-supply stores) that are placed on the backs of the panels and inside the recessed areas on the wall. The panels can easily be removed as the homeowners' tastes change or if the fabric needs cleaning.
Here, the designer highlighted artwork with swing-arm lamps. You could also use wall sconces. To add interest, replace standard lampshades with colorful ones.
Travertine marble remnants were cut to fit this fireplace--a wallet-friendly idea.
Sale Finds
This decorating scheme is the product of the owner rummaging antiques stores and salvage shops looking for accoutrements with a sense of nostalgia.
French Connection
A collection of shells and starfish atop this carved mantel draw the eye up toward the gilt mirror, which reflects an arrangement of prized blue-and-white porcelain.
Beauty of Indoor Brick
The decorative design below this mantel adds an architectural element to the room. The light-colored brick allows the bright colors of the painting to really stand out.
A detail of the decorative brick.
Built-in Living Room
Furniture, like this seating that extends to become a side table, was custom-designed to maximize space in this compact den.
Classic Western Look
The limestone columns that support the indoor arbor in this Texas home are echoed in the mantel, which serves as the perfect backdrop for a landscape painting.
Polynesian Posh
This Hawaiian living room is meant to be a nurturing and warm but very fun place.
Old Finds, New Style
Roy Morton not only runs his own building salvage business called Architectural Heritage, but he's also filled his Birmingham home with remnants of dismantled churches, older homes, and other structures that fell to the wrecking ball. All of Roy's finds are repurposed in creative, distinct ways that fit in perfectly with his home decor.
Fresh New Look
The scrolls on this fireplace mantel were fabricated on an exaggerated scale, giving the piece a monumental appearance that helps the firebox seem larger. Minimal accessories create a clean palette for the artwork above.
The fireplace is mirrored on the other side of the house.
Outdoors In
For the mantel at right, artwork was removed and a wreath decorated with lights, dried hydrangea, and Eastern red cedar was hung in its place. Christmas lights connect to electrical outlets installed in the mantel. Terra-cotta urns support dried French hydrangea blooms and long cuttings of sweet gum and beautyberry.
Secrets to Great Style
Try using a favorite painting or fabric for your design scheme. Mix solid fabrics on large pieces, then add personality with pillows and accents. Using colors from art purchased at an art opening, this homeowner painted the walls a warm yellow and the mantel a rich black. The yellow provides an ideal backdrop for the paintings, and the black mantel creates an instant focal point.
The black mantel creates an instant focal point.
A Gathering of Memories
This is an elegant dining room with down-home elbow room. Featuring a large fireplace, the room embraces a round table for eight and a feast of life-long memories.
The dining room fireplace offers warmth and ambiance for both formal and informal gatherings around the table. The mantle provides space for seasonal floral and decorative arrangements.
A chest of drawers offers dining room storage space and, on top, more surface area for serving large meals. A simple arrangement of plates around a mirror serves as a focal point of the dining room.
