Decorating Your Mantel - Magazine Stylist Hints

What to do with your mantel?

Mantels are not unlike bookshelves. Both are favorite areas of mine in styling shots for magazines. 

The mantel offers a place in our homes to display favorite possessions. With a minimal amount of effort,  you too can add your own eclectic style. 

The mantel is a place to show off a bit of your personality. A centerpiece of your living room if you will. 

Featured in a past Better Homes and Gardens magazine, I demonstrate different design ideas to use when arranging your mantel in that issue.

Here are some hints for you.

The idea of using your mantel as a bookshelf is a favorite styling technique of mine. 


Stack books like building blocks while adding artful objects that you love.

 

Choose an accent color from your room, and go from there, choosing objects in that color family to create a vignette. 


This design is asymmetrical. Remember to create balance in weight and balance when styling your mantel.

Adding a vase with flowers on my mantel adds a different dimension and depth. One thing I like to do especially during the spring and summer. 

Impact of color in Photo Styling ( Before and After)

As a photo stylist for major magazines its all about the accessorizing to get the look a magazine editor or art director wants.

For this Better Homes and Gardens assignment to be magazine noteworthy I created a fresh bold vibe by adding hits of color with art, pillows and other small furnishings

Before  and After

                                                                   

View the impact of added vibrant color  

Photo by John Bessler

You can produce this same effect as well:

Freshen up a space by adding grouping of bright colored pillows. The nuetral pallette of the room, mostly whites with light blue couch, is a perfect pallette for an EASY makeover.  Adding brights gives the space a cool uplift. Pillows adds punch as does the surprising colorful art.

We took out the brown sisel rug adding the neutral grey rug.

See how pulling the rug under the sofa pulls the seating area together.

Photo by John Bessler

One more tip:
Keeping fresh flowers in any room adds immediate invaluable impact.

Always look for what is blooming in season.

Bright pink azaleas were the perfect cutting for this spring shoot for Better Homes and Gardens magazine.

Multiples make an impact too, instead of just 1 or 2 votives add a larger cluster!

Asparagus in Flower Arranging, Country Gardens Magazine

Artful Asparagus

Photo by Jim Westphalen

I decided to repost this favorite project I created for Country Gardens. It's an idea that never grows old.. SO EASY to do!

I often say, "the arrangement is equally about the container!"

Asparagus is the vegetable of the season right now and it looks beautiful combined with flowers from your spring garden.

Wrap a runner band around a coffee size can. Cut asparagus stalk to 1" to 2" taller than the can. Place the stalks side by side standing straight up inside the rubber band. Tie with a ribbon to hide the rubber band. Add flowers.

Voilà ... that was easy,... healthy fresh asparagus will last a week or longer (or when the flowers pass then you can cook the asparagus up)

Create Style - Make a paper vase!

One of my favorite DIY projects was designing this paper vase made with a medium weight textured watercolor paper .

It has a wonderful natural organic quality that looks beautiful with any garden flowers. The paper vase slide over any household glass that holds the water

Use a stiff medium weight water color paper ( 140 lb) that has texture and will stand up well. The paper vase will last for years and years.

Copyright  2011 Karin Lidbeck

Gather materials, paper, scissors, craft knife and pencil ruler ribbon.

To trace an arch at the bottom, use a dinner plate and outine1/4 of the circle. Measure up and across from that line 10" to get outer circumference.

Fold paper accodian style with 16 creases and cut wedges along the top. then use craft knife to cut slits between folds as shown. slits are wide enough to pull ribbon thru.

Cut slits between the folds as shown using a craft knife. Slits should be wide enough to pull ribbon thru.

Glue the back edge closed and slide ribbon thru.

There you have it! Your own paper vase!

Daffodils - The Wee Tree!

While daffodils are blooming,  you might consider making this.
I came up with this simple arrangement for a Good Housekeeping Spring Issue. With just a few materials in hand you can be put this together quickly.

1 dozen Daffodils  about 12" of a pretty ribbon ribbon,  a rubber band, floral foam and moss.

wee tree

Tightly gather a bunch of daffodils and secure with rubber bands. Cut floral foam to fit inside small container and soak in water; insert stems. Cover foam with moss and wrap with bright ribbon.

Create Style - Cherry Blossoms

 I found these boots at the flea market and I knew immediately how I would use them.  Doesn't the explosion of  pink cherry branches make a perfect fit in these old boots. Fill boot bottoms with stones and then water, Voila!

Created by Karin Lidbeck Brent for Good Housekeeping magazine.  Photo by Gemma Coma

Salvaged Container for your Forsythia Branches

Flowering branches are abundant right now and cutting a few branches is a heavenly addition to your home.  Hunting for unusual containers is a passion for me.  This salvaged colander became a vessel for arranging forsythia in a spring feature I produced for Good Housekeeping.

Turning this vintage colander upside down it became a perfect frog for holding the thin forsythia branches ( hide water bowl inside).

Enjoy the glorious branches by cutting them as they bloom or  get longer enjoyment by cutting early and forcing the blooms inside.
photography by Gemma Coma,  Styling Karin Lidbeck Brent