Creating your holiday hearth
Published 5:04 pm Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Some people arrive in this world with innate creative abilities, and Chalann Berg is one.
She can take mundane objects found on clearance, make a few adaptations, and create something that looks chi-chi. Think MacGyver meets Martha Stewart.
She uses her talents as a design consultant with her own Arlington-based business, Adelle Designs. As a certified interior decorator, she has decorated homes and commercial spaces such as Sockeye’s Restaurant in Monroe. We asked Berg to share some advice on how to dress a mantel for the holiday season. The hearth is the focal point of a room, the place family and friends gather. It ought to be warm, inviting and special this time of year.
Berg can create that effect on a budget, using materials she already has or can find at the local craft store.
“While I did create some of the items used in the mantels myself, I always try not to make things look crafty,” she said.
She created four designs that go beyond evergreen boughs and sconces. One is cool contemporary bling, another is all playful snowmen. She decked a third mantel in sugared fruits and draped another in rich burgundy and copper. Her designs look Louis-the-XIV expensive, but she assured us you can do something similar and still have money left to stuff the stockings once you know how. Which leads to her tips:
Start with a style
A good place to begin is with a style that will be appropriate for your home. Berg suggests looking at the mantel architectural style and the home’s decor. The design needs to reflect that style, whether it’s contemporary, country, rustic or modern. Her own home, for instance, has more traditional decor, so a cabin-themed mantel, something she would like to try, would never fit there.
Choose a theme
To keep the look cohesive, build the design around a theme. It could be anything you love; fruit, birds, Santas, angels, gingerbread men, snowmen, candles, peacocks or deer. If you’re stuck, select one special item to build the decoration around. For the crystal mantel, a sparkly vase caught Berg’s eye.
Stick with a color scheme
Too many colors can look too busy. A few complementary colors are enough, and Berg often looks to one dominant object in the design and draws colors from there.
Group items
Too many small items can get lost in space. Group small items together to create impact. Group items together by type (candlesticks), material (crystal), or color (silver).
Don’t make a line-up
Place items at varying heights and depths. Don’t be afraid to use the vertical space above the mantel. Symmetrical arrangements are the easiest. From the center point of the mantel, place items on the left of the center line and then repeat with a matching item on the right. Asymmetrical arrangements, such as the snowmen mantel, are more interesting but require experimentation.
Shop your house and garden
Rather than spending a bundle on new items, take a look around your home for things you can repurpose. Gather up all the crystal, for instance, and see if it would work for a crystal-themed display. Cull the box of holiday decorations. Some common items that might work on a mantel: candles, serving dishes, bowls, vases, framed family or holiday photos, decorative platters, fabric, jewelry, decorative bird cages or birdhouses, cotton batting, candy, cinnamon sticks, ice skates, scarves or mittens. Outside consider gathering branches, twigs, sprigs of holly or winter berry, cedar boughs, fir branches and pine cones.
Be safe
Don’t put candles where the flames could come in contact with anything flammable and don’t burn candles unattended. Keep cords tied down and out of the way, especially if kids or pets are around. If you use lights, try the battery-operated kind so there are no cords.
Reporter Debra Smith: 425-339-3197 or dsmith@heraldnet.com
