How To Decorate A Fireplace Like A Professional

Few things conjure a feeling of warmth and comfort like a fireplace. A roaring fire with a cozy armchair pulled up next to it, a good book in hand, your favorite four-legged friend snoozing gently beside it ... maybe a hot drink or glass of wine within reach ... excuse us while we go and lie down for a second. A fireplace doesn't just add a sense of serenity to your house. According to the National Association of Realtors in The Washington Times, a fireplace can significantly boost property value.

Despite their clear appeal, fireplaces can be surprisingly tricky to decorate. All too often, fireplaces are left neglected on the side of the room. Well, no more of that, we say. With a few simple touches, your hearth can be the envy of everybody. Just be sure to keep safety in mind and fireproof your decorations. Let's check out how to decorate a fireplace!

Space tends to fill up quickly when you're decorating a fireplace. If your mantel is narrow, avoid simply lining up objects in a row. Instead, apply layering principles when decorating your fireplace. Layering creates depth and visual interest, even if you don't have a lot of space. 

According to Wall Sauce, decorating with a few framed pictures, vases, and ornaments along your mantel provides a feeling of abundance without things becoming too crowded. Be sure to strike a balance when designing your layers. Make sure you're not over-layering your items, but don't be too timid, as only layering with one or two things can look sparse. Varying your frame size and width for photos or artwork can keep things engaging and prevents repetition. Also, try not to get too symmetrical. Crucially, make sure that anything you layer doesn't drape over into your fireplace and avoid flammable materials like fabric or paper.

Far too many people tuck their fireplaces away behind furniture or objects. But why? A fireplace is a thing of architectural beauty and deserves to take center stage. That's why we adore the idea of making your fireplace the focal point of a room and showing it off in all its glory with maximalist decorations. According to Better Homes and Gardens, using large art pieces on your mantel and smaller interesting objects around your fireplace creates visual interest. Unifying your decor choices around one specific color choice can help give order to the chaos.

If you're going maximalist with your fireplace, consider how the rest of your home will look. The last thing you want is one area to look crowded and the rest to be bare. You can achieve this by making unpredictable design choices elsewhere. As interior designer Amy Wilson said, "layering is so much more than adorning a mantelpiece full of treasures, it's about layering elements you may not traditionally think of. For instance, why not layer up rugs?" (via House Beautiful). Just bear in mind that while it's tempting to throw anything around your maximalist fireplace, this can create safety concerns. Make sure everything is clear from the flames.

With phones and watches allowing us to check the time at a moment's notice, clocks sometimes take a back seat. However, adding a clock to your home is a decorating move worth celebrating, and there's no better place to do so than near your fireplace. An oversized clock will make a bold statement above your fireplace. The curved round design pairs gorgeously with the straight lines of your mantel and hearth. 

The best way to style oversized clocks is to think about color. Fireplaces and large clocks will naturally draw the eye, so strike the right balance of matching and contrast with your color palette. For fireplaces that balance darker, moody blacks with lighter creams or whites, an oversized clock with the same tone will create a cohesive feeling and make the room feel alive. There are plenty of clocks available online and in local stores. Whether your style is minimalist or rustic, you're sure to find one that will suit your home's unique aesthetic.

Gone are the days when exposed brick meant unfinished or unconsidered. Nowadays, exposed brick can create a trendy yet traditional feel in a space. It's a classy way to pay homage to the bones of your home. According to Real Homes, adding an exposed brick effect to your fireplace can make it the talk of the town, especially when done on the wall around the fireplace itself. Pairing exposed brick with modern touches, like of-the-moment mirrors or lighting features, can prevent things from looking old-fashioned and bring your design into the 21st century.

Exposing brick around a fireplace is not a task for the fainthearted. However, if you decide to go for it, it's important to remember that you will be stuck with the exposed brick. If you're not willing to risk it, use a brick-effect wallpaper to get the look without renovation. If you're not a fan of the exposed brick color, you can always paint over it with heat-resistant paint.

We all want our decorating choices to be dynamic. However, it's easy to get stuck in one style and forget to mix it up. Your fireplace is the perfect place to keep things fresh by adding old and new pieces. You can embrace modern and classic influences to keep your room in dialogue with multiple aesthetics. This design tip will give your home an elegant, lived-in look perfect for relaxing and entertaining guests. 

According to Country Living, designer Ellen Allen's fireplace exemplifies this idea perfectly. In Allen's living space, salvaged antique windows frame the rustic fireplace and vintage hearth. Ornaments, lantern candle holders, and flowers adorn the classic white mantel. A Plexi-Craft coffee table, made of a single curved sheet of clear glass, adds striking contrast. The coffee table's subtle design allows new influences to remain unobtrusive, a tenet of mixing old with new (via Real Homes).

Few spaces are as relaxing as fireplaces. If you're a bookworm, creating a reading nook around your hearth is a match made in heaven. By and large, fireplaces in living spaces make the perfect reading spot. As Interior Design by S&S's Sharon Falcher and Sherica Maynard said to Food52, "Many fireplaces in a family room usually have empty space beside them or have built-ins. This type of space is great to convert into a reading nook by adding storage bench seating and a beautiful upholstered back."

Alternatively, place a comfortable armchair next to the fireplace and enjoy the warmth while diving head-first into the latest bestseller. Just keep in mind that although your fire gives off natural light, you'll need to add a light source once things get dark. "Natural light is wonderful, but you'll also want to add a really great task lamp for reading into the late hours," said interior designer Brandi Wilkins (via Food52). As reading nooks tend to be filled with flammable paper, make sure all of your books stay far away from the fireplace. The last thing you want is to have books fall into the hearth and have a potential disaster on your hands.

Fireplaces are naturally an eye-catching aspect of any room, and sometimes it feels like the gaze wants to go toward them. Therefore, it makes perfect sense to pair your fireplace with the other thing in your living room that you spend a lot of time looking at: your TV. Mounting a TV above a fireplace means you won't have to use additional floor space for your set. It also provides an elegant solution for incorporating electronics into your home's interior design.

According to Better Homes & Gardens, it's vital to check the temperature of the space where you'll be hanging your TV above the fireplace. The temperature should not be above your television's technical specifications. To test the temperature, tape a thermometer in the space where you want to hang the TV. Bear in mind any hanging wires and cables, both from a design point of view (they can look a little ugly) and from a fire hazard perspective.