My fireplace mantel is one of my favourite places to switch up the decor in my home. I love changing it up for the season, or when I just want a fresh look (which is rather often!) Today, I’m sharing with you some of my go-to items that are staples in my farmhouse mantel decor. I typically use multiple pieces from my decor stash on my mantel. The rest, I store away in the closet until I am ready to pull them out again and change things up.
Layering various objects on a mantel is a great way to create an interesting vignette. To me, choosing items that work together is like a puzzle you are trying to solve. Arranging and rearranging is all a part of the process. It’s so fun to experiment with different ways of layering pieces and mix things up for a change in season.
Here are some of my favourite pieces that I love to use when styling my farmhouse mantel decor:
Mirrors or Vintage Window Frames
I love placing something with good height as an anchor piece on my mantel, and layering it with other smaller pieces of decor. A decorative mirror or a vintage window frame are great options to add height. This beautiful antique window was given to me from a family member who tore down an old house on their property.
Antique stores, yard sales, buy and sell websites, and thrift stores are all excellent places to search for old window frames. With or without the glass, old windows are the perfect option to add a vintage element to your farmhouse mantel decor. I love the chippy white paint on mine!
Mirrors are another great anchor piece for farmhouse mantel decor. I am always drawn to arched mirrors, simple black frames, or wooden framed mirrors. I’ve picked some beautiful mirror options for you below!
Tobacco Baskets
A tobacco basket has been on my want list for a while now. They are a great backdrop for layering other elements in front of, and they also add height to a mantel display. Here are a few options:
Candleholders
I love decorating my mantel with wooden candle holders—I own quite a few of them! They are useful for creating balance on a mantel.
There are so many beautiful options out there for candle holders. Here are a few that I love!
Framed Art or Farmhouse Signs
I like layering art or a sign in front of the largest piece. 
Etsy is an awesome resource for finding downloadable art prints. You can have them printed inexpensively at Staples or Costco and frame them in your choice of frame. There are so many unique options. I love framing them in simple wood, white, or black frames. More ornate vintage frames are also beautiful too!
Wreaths and Greenery
I have a few wreaths of various sizes, and love displaying them throughout the year. A simple green wreath works any season of the year!
Wreaths:
Greenery:
I also love to have some pots or vases filled with greenery on the mantel. Eucalyptus branches look beautiful in vases.
Vases
I have a variety of shapes and sizes of vases. Some people prefer a symmetrical look with two matching vases on either side of mantel. However, an asymmetrical look can also be really pleasing to the eye. I only had one vase, so I balanced the look of my mantel with candle holders on the other side. Sometimes finding the perfect vase can be difficult. But, you can also shop at thrift stores for one and then chalk paint it to suit your style. Vases are a very versatile piece of home decor. They look great on a mantel, shelf, table, nightstand, and more!
And of course, baskets and pillows are the perfect accent piece to use on the hearth or floor beside the fireplace. A basket is the perfect place to store cozy blankets or extra pillows. You can find my buffalo plaid pillows HERE .
I found my basket at HomeSense, but there are many beautiful shapes and sizes out there!
Once I create a balanced look on my mantel, I like to add a few smaller “filler” items like books, photo frames or candles. Books can be used to elevate pieces to give them a little more height.
So there you have it—my go-to decor items for my mantel. Do you have some of these staple decor pieces in your home? What are your favourite items to decorate the mantel with? I would love to hear what you think of my farmhouse mantel decor in the comments below!
Other posts you might enjoy:
Botanical Prints, Blanket Ladder, & Shelf-Styling
15 Farmhouse Rugs – That Won’t Break the Bank
Hi Kyla,
I was wondering if you are Canadian. I notice the shopping links go to Amazon.ca and you also mention Homesense. I live near Vancouver, B.C. and am really happy to support your blog by shopping your suggestions. I am often disappointed with the US bloggers because many of their ideas don’t ship to Canada.
I like your farmhouse style. You have done a great job. I think my favourite is the vintage window on your mantel. I found tobacco baskets at Homesense for under $30.00. I think they were smaller though.
Nice to meet you,
*Smiles*
Hi Pamela! Thanks for you comment! Yes, I’m from Alberta, Canada. I have the same frustrations when things can’t be found or shipped to Canada! I miss Target in Canada and wish we had Hobby Lobby and World Market. I find I do most of my online shopping at Wayfair.ca or Amazon.ca. Thanks for the kind feedback about my blog. I truly appreciate it!
Hi!
What color paint did you use on the walls? It’s beautiful!
Hi Rachel! I’m glad you love it! The paint color is Palladian Blue by Benjamin Moore.
I absolutely love your stone and mantel. Do you have any idea what style and color as well as brand you stone is?
Also, where did you find your mantel?
Thanks in advance!
Hi Julie! Thanks for the lovely comment! I believe the stone was called Echo Ridge Country Ledgestone. I’m not 100% sure of the brand but I think it is called Cultured Stone. Our mantel was custom built. I saw a picture of something that I like online and our finisher made it for us. Hope that helps!
Hi! This is so pretty!! So nice to read a blog from Canada!! Yes, I sure wish we had Hobby Lobby, Home Goods, World Market….etc. etc.!! 🙂
Thanks so much, Kim! I am trying to convince my hubby we need to make a road trip down to the US soon so I can visit some of those stores. But with school starting up again I’m not sure when that will happen! Thanks for reading! 🙂
How deep is your mantle?
Hi Deleda! It depends where you measure from. From the front of the top of the mantel to the rock on the wall, it is about 1′ deep. Where the mantel wraps around the sides of the rock, that part is 2′ deep. Hope that helps!
I love your fireplace !! Who did it for you or did you do it yourself ?
Thank you so much, Heather! I found a picture of what I liked and our builder had it built custom for us. And the hearthstone I got to pick out at a quarry a couple hours away. It’s definitely one of our favourite features of our house. 🙂
I have admired your fireplace and want it in my house. I am having issues getting the mantle. Can you tell me specifics about the dimensions and is it solid or not? Thanks!
Thank you for the sweet compliment! It was custom built for us, I found a picture of one that I liked and our finisher built it for us. I can’t remember if it is solid inside but I do know it was very heavy and I think it was built from maple wood. I’m sorry, I am not able to check the dimensions right now.
Hi Kyla, love love love your fireplace! What is your hearth covered with? Picture looks like wood? Or is it solid stone piece? Thank you for your inspiration.
Hi Eileen! Thank you for the comments on my fireplace! The hearth is a solid slate stone that I actually got to go pick out at a quarry. It was VERY heavy to install!
Your mantel looks great and your decorations are perfect. Can you please send me the dimensions height and width of the front of the mantel. Also the width of your corbels?
Thank you
Sandy Mello
It’s 72 1/2″ wide from left to right. The mantel front is 7 1/2″ high. The corbels are 6″ wide. Hope that helps!
Having trouble locating fireplace stone similar in color to your. Any suggestions as to where I might source or the name of your stone? Thx
I don’t know where you might find the stone but I believe the brand is Cultured Stone in the color Echo Ridge Country Ledgestone. Hope that helps!
I went to the “cultured stone” website and was able to switch to their Canadian site and found there is one distributor in my small city!!
That’s awesome! I am glad you were able to find it! 🙂