Rustic Fireplace Decor

We can quickly get into a serious discussion about energy efficiency and cost-to-benefit ratios when discussing fireplaces, but from a decorator’s viewpoint a fireplace is so appealing. Add an insert for heat efficiency, or make it gas instead of log-burning to deal with the loss of heat up the chimney (and the ash and log mess), but nothing speaks of comfort and country ambiance like a fireplace: fieldstone, rough wood mantel, braided rug, rocking chair, dog - you get the picture.

If you are so fortunate as to have a fireplace, and are keeping with the country or rustic theme, how do you decorate this focal point? 

Most fireplaces have a mantel, and they are ideal for displaying those personal touches that make your country room special.

·     Wreaths. Wreaths are not just for Christmas anymore, although a fireplace mantel with a wreath of fresh greenery on the chimney and a fir bough swag across the mantel sets off the old-fashioned Christmas tree in the corner. Other seasons include wreaths as well, with a wide variety of materials available. A grapevine circle with spring flowers, a wreath made of painted pinecones, a fall wreath that includes colorful fall leaves and burlap…all look great positioned just an inch or two above the mantel. 

·     Candles. I love real beeswax candles. Beeswax (or any other kind) candles set in rough wood holders, or small canning jars look great on a wooden beam mantel. A slightly rusty lantern works well as a candleholder, too. 

·     Plant material. This is such a broad category and can include anything from living, potted plants in ceramic pots or rustic wooden holders, to dried grasses arranged in old vases or canning jars. Bouquets of wildflowers, sunflowers in jars, or dried floral arrangements all look good against the brick or stone of a fireplace. Don’t forget sticks – a length of natural driftwood or a curved stick from your woods on the mantel with a dried flower arrangement at each end brings nature into your living space. 

·     Found objects. Anything you collect or discover works well as a display on your mantel. This might include old books stacked at one end, or a collection of antique tin toys, or old jam jars. “Found” treasures are totally subjective and personal and add your own brand to your fireplace mantel.

·     Frames. Anything framed can decorate your mantel, from prints, paintings, or family photos hung on the chimney just above the mantel, to a cluster of old framed mirrors, or a wooden window frame with peeling paint, with or without glass, propped on the mantel itself. 

·     Baskets. Small woven baskets either on their own or filled with interesting objects – rocks, toys, small balls, dried pinecones – look right at home against the rough wood and brick or stone of a fireplace. Pine needle baskets, cedar bark, willow all fit right in. A layer of interest is added if you or an ancestor made the baskets, but store-bought works too. Have fun with the look.

A fireplace in a room is usually the visual focus, so it pays to maintain the decorations. Many change with the seasons, or even more frequently, with a few permanent pieces kept year-round. Enjoy your fireplace, the atmosphere it creates, and the opportunity to express your own rustic style.

Margaret

The Last Homely House

Image by rubymaeodell from Pixabay 

And the house of Elrond was a refuge for the weary and the oppressed, a treasury of good counsel and wise lore. ~ Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age 

Any Tolkien fans out there? 

I have been calling the creations we offer at Wildings Whimsy “rustic.” Turns out I’m right, but only by accident. In my defense, “rustic” just seemed right. Country style décor is a broad term that includes things like the Magnolia style of Chip and Joanna Gains to more ranch or mountain style favored in places like Idaho and Montana – the big log house, rough wood, antlers and antiques. It also can include French or Italian country. However, country style décor in all cases retains a down-home, comfy feel to it, a little worn and well-loved, but sturdy and long-term. It says deep roots and strong traditions, a “homely house,” in Tolkien’s description. (Elrond’s house was “the last homely house east of the sea.”)

Rustic style is under the country umbrella, so a look or a decoration or piece of furniture might be country but not rustic, but if it is rustic it is country. Got that? Rustic is a lot of rough wood, handmade, natural, maybe old and rusty, or practical like old canning jars. Rustic is beds made of pallets and wall décor of old barn boards and hemp twine, burlap, sunflowers.

author's primitive bowl

Primitive, which inspired my research since I thought our products might need to be reclassified, is a more restrictive group. Handmade by non-professionals, practical and utilitarian…and old. A chair or dresser made by your great-great grandfather probably qualifies. I have the perfect example of primitive in the old wooden bowl my mother used for bread dough. It was hand carved by someone in the distant past and is an unfinished, imperfect, antique work of art, a true “primitive.” So is the old willow basket my mother used to carry laundry out to the clothesline to dry.

But we sell rustic country or just plain rustic décor, not primitive: wreaths made of pinecones, coasters of rough wooden alder rounds. We also place an emphasis on natural forest elements.

How do you incorporate rustic into your country style of decorating? Color schemes are usually subdued with browns and natural greens. I had a friend who decorated a large log house that was her place of business. As she showed me around, she commented that she loved the look of white lace against rough logs. That’s the mix when it comes to rustic country style, the worn softness of old

Image by digitallydazed from Pixabay 

quilts against a handmade wooden rocking chair; sunflowers in a mason jar tied with a piece of hemp string. It can include a mix of modern styles offset by rustic elements as well: traditional furnishings accented with a series of framed sticks or moss wall art, a rough wooden crate as an end table next to a contemporary chair.

We want to create safe, nurturing places for family and friends - and part of that is the décor. With rustic elements we help create a comfy, down-home style that brings connection to family and tradition, and to the natural world: “homely houses.”

Elrond's house was perfect, whether you liked food or sleep or story-telling or singing (or reading), or just sitting and thinking best, or a pleasant mixture of them all. Merely to be there was a cure for weariness. ... Evil things did not come into the secret valley of Rivendell. – J.R.R. Tolkien

Margaret