{"id":4449,"date":"2015-11-30T11:45:00","date_gmt":"2015-11-30T16:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vanessafrancis.com\/staging\/?p=4449"},"modified":"2015-11-30T11:45:00","modified_gmt":"2015-11-30T16:45:00","slug":"holiday-mantel-2015-part-1-inspiration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vanessafrancis.com\/staging\/2015\/11\/holiday-mantel-2015-part-1-inspiration\/","title":{"rendered":"Holiday Mantel 2015 – Part 1 {Inspiration}"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hi there,<\/p>\n

Hard to believe that Christmas will be here in less than one month. I love the holiday season (not the shopping part though, I must admit) and decorating my home. I don’t go overboard when it comes to holiday decor, keeping things simple using natural and organic elements, with a little bit of gold thrown in.<\/p>\n

I just love the simplicity of the wreath hung with string and the tarnished brass on a black door. Striking in its simplicity.<\/p>\n

\"Vanessa<\/p>\n

.Photo by Nicole Franzen<\/a> via Pinterest<\/a><\/p>\n

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\"Vanessa

House and Home<\/a> via Pinterest<\/a><\/p>\n

Lowe’s Canada approached me to be one of their #LowesHolidayHomes bloggers to share with their readers how we decorate our homes for the holidays.\u00a0 I chose to decorate my fireplace mantel because although I do decorate it every year (well, probably three times per year \ud83d\ude42 ), it never really has felt “right” to me.\u00a0 It is one of the main areas in my home that I do decorate for the holidays, besides the tree.\u00a0 And we recently replaced the tile surround with a beautiful white herringbone marble which I have yet to share on the blog.<\/p>\n

\"Vanessa

 <\/p>\n

I searched high and low for inspiration until I came back to this image (above) I had pinned a year ago by designer Mark Sikes published in House Beautiful, December, 2011 and featured here<\/a>.\u00a0 As I tell all my clients, and also for myself, having an inspiration image that you absolutely love, makes the process of design that much easier.\u00a0 You can use it as a benchmark and build upon it (adding and subracting elements) to suit your tastes.\u00a0 If I could teleport this exact fireplace situation to my house right now, I would.\u00a0 I love that it definitely reads “Christmas” without being too over the top. I love the garland, potted paper whites, amaryllis and the mini tree on the floor. I already have some art I could use, the bust\/head and large candle holders so it will be a variation of this.<\/p>\n

I also love the idea of a gold mirror (like the image above) and found one at Lowe’s Canada that I could DIY.\u00a0 Hmmm…so many decisions.\u00a0 But it’s safe to say that my fireplace mantel will be a combination of the two inspiration photos shown. What do you think?<\/p>\n

I almost purchased one of Lowe’s artificial Christmas trees<\/a> which are on sale right now (until December 2nd) but decided that our family room is too small to accommodate one, especially when the entire family is over. Our real tree (fraser fir usually) goes up in our living room.\u00a0 Did you know that Lowe’s has a Winter Garden Centre<\/a> where they sell real trees, boughs, garlands etc.?<\/p>\n

Follow Lowe’s Canada on Facebook<\/a> and Twitter<\/a> to stay up to date with their products, sales etc.<\/p>\n

Next week, I will share the actual products I chose and the design plan.\u00a0 Make sure you follow me on Instagram<\/a> as I have shared some sneak peeks!<\/p>\n

Have a happy week!<\/p>\n

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