How to Decorate a Cozy Vintage Christmas Mantel Step-by-Step

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Elements For A Cozy Vintage Christmas Mantel

This year I wanted to embrace a lush, warm, and cozy feel for my Christmas mantel. I wanted to surround it with warm candlelight and lots of greenery with a vintage but rustic farmhouse feel. So here are the elements I used.

• Norfolk Pine Lush Greenery Garlands (3 on the mantel and one on the riser.
• 3 small evergreen trees
• Vintage Books
• Old Red Shiny Brite Ornaments
• Bleached Pinecones
• Flameless Flicker Candles – Pillar, tea lights, and tapers
• Vintage Brass Candlestick Holders & Thrifted Candleholders for Pillars
• Red Velvet Ribbon
• Vintage Crock
• Greenery Stems
• Gold Leaf Stems
• Vintage Pheasant
• I used a DIY Wood Riser at the base of the mantel

Step-By-Step Mantel Decorating Layers

It’s important to remove all the previous decor from the mantel and clean the area before beginning. Then you want to establish your base element. I wanted to create different heights for candles and greenery, so I began to stack vintage books at different heights.

Then I began to weave the garlands around the books. I wanted one end to be heavier and to drape lower off the front than the other. I also decided to leave my antique gold pheasant at the center of the mantel.

To get into the spirit of Christmas, I changed my TV to this YouTube Christmas scene, which turns the black box into a work of art.

I used three garlands on the mantel to get the fullness I desired.

How To Add Height To Cozy Christmas Mantel

Next, I wanted to create height at the heavy end of the mantel. I used two small trees and nestled them together for a full appearance.

Then I added one small tree to the other end.

How To Add Candles and Ornaments To Christmas Mantel

Next, I began adding the candles and shiny brite red ornaments. I began by placing the pillar candles, some with small Norfolk pine candle rings to add more greenery. And I placed a few brass candlestick holders with the tapered flicker candles around the trees. Then, using the red velvet ribbon, I wove it into the garland and around the candles.

At this point, I used some of the Norfolk pine stems to fill any gaps and make the greenery look super lush.

To add more pops of red, I hung groups of the vintage shiny brite ornaments from the tree branches and tucked some into the garland.

Finally, I added several bleached pinecones to the garland and hung them from the small trees.

To add more candlelight, I decided to add some of the small tea light candles and scattered them all around the greenery.

How to Decorate at the Base of the Fireplace

To up the cozy factor of the fireplace mantel, I decided to add more candles, greenery, and pinecones to a DIY Wooden Riser on the floor.

Here I used a vintage crock to hold greenery stems and leaf stems in metallic gold. Then I added another greenery garland to surround some thrift store candleholders in varying heights.

I added the pillar flicker candles with small candle rings to the thrifted holders. Then I tucked more greenery stems in and around to conceal the riser. A few berry stems for color and pinecones complete the base of the fireplace.

The base of the fireplace adds to the warm glow of this mantel design.

Cozy Living Room Vintage Christmas Mantel

The Vintage Christmas mantel is the focal point of the living room and creates a warm and cozy feeling throughout the room.

A Final Touch

After I’d finished the mantel, I began to hang our Christmas stockings on the staircase steps as usual. Then I realized I had two extra stockings, so to complete the cozy mantel, I decided to hang them at one end.

It was the perfect finishing touch.

I’m loving the cozy vibe of this year’s Christmas mantel, and I hope you are inspired to create your own cozy mantel. Please send pictures so I can share.