Refined & Rustic Christmas Mantle in the Library

I shared our living room mantle last week. For today’s Seasonal Simplicity Christmas blog hop I wanted to create an entirely different look for the library.  Be sure not to miss the other 27 inspiring mantle or vignette ideas at the end of the post. 

The room is completely separate from the rest of the house, behind a set of antique french doors. This room serves as my husband’s office so I wanted to decorate it in a more masculine, almost rustic and yet refined style.

We gave the room a complete makeover during the One Room Challenge this last spring. We adore the library wall we created and I am thrilled to have the opportunity to style another mantle. Details of the room makeover can be found here. 

Want to go behind the scenes to see how this came together?

Behind the scenes look at the making of a mantle

This is the very first look I created.  Nice, but it seemed a bit flat.

What I wanted to show most about this photo was the garland. I started with a base of a faux bay leaf garland from Pottery Barn purchased about 10 years ago. I remember it being a very big investment for me, at that time especially, but I am now certain it was money well spent. 

Despite it’s age, it still looks good but I added some very inexpensive pine garland from Wal-Mart to give it the fullness it lacked. This garland, linked at the bottom of the post, is not at all fancy but it has a very good wire structure and supports even live garland very well. I used it all over my house last year as a filler garland for either live or older tired garland. 

You can see I then moved to try a round mirror. I wrote an entire blog post about decorating a mantle with a round mirror complete with sources. (I think it’s one of my best posts of the season. You can find it here.)  I also added candelabra from Magnolia Hearth and Hand I picked up on clearance this fall. It is no longer available but I linked a few similar options below.

Then, tucked deer antlers in. They brought in the rustic element I wanted.

I still felt like the scene lacked warmth, so I gathered dried branches from our magnolia trees. These branches were trimmed off our front trees earlier this year. I kept them on the downstairs porch to let them dry. I was fairly certain I would find a use for them. 

I also placed a few pinecones in front of the candelabra for another layer of rusty brown color and texture.

To finish out the rest of the room, I hung bells and a sprig of pine from the library ladder.  A small tree and branches added to a briefcase box that belonged to my father-in-law was the last and final touch.

I’ve collected a few items that could help you achieve this look in your home. (affiliate links)

Shop the Look

 

My husband returns from an extended business trip today. I can’t wait to hear what he thinks!!

Today I’m joined by a group of my talented blogging friends who are also sharing their holiday mantel and vignettes ideas with you…

The Happy Housie // House by Hoff // Rooms FOR Rent // The Turquoise Home

Lolly Jane // Just a Girl and Her Blog / / Taryn Whiteaker Designs / / My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia

So Much Better With Age // Finding Silver Pennies // Home Made Lovely // Designthusiasm

tatertots and jello // Clean and Scentsible // All Things With Purpose // Tauni Everett

Craftberry Bush // Hallstrom Home // Rambling Renovators // Deeply Southern Home

Modern Glam // Summer Adams // Happy Happy Nester // Town and Country Living

Willow Street Interiors // Sawdust to Stitches // Life is a Party