We're still working to finish the last step of our patio makeover, installing the brick fireplace- and by "we're still working", I mean I'm looking for someone to do it ;) . Since we will likely install a tv over the mantle, I had a reader ask for mantle styling ideas when a tv is mounted over the fireplace. I'll be needing some ideas soon as well, so I rounded up some of my favorite styling ideas to draw inspiration from.
I'm starting with two ideas from my own home. We hung the tv over our electric fireplace in our Master Bedroom, and I styled it very simply with Reader's Digest books and cute replica Staffordshire dog bookends. The books are low and don't interfere with the screen or how the remote works, and they're doing double duty hiding the cords from the tv since we didn't push those back behind the wall.
The other example is from my living room mantle, and although I have a mirror hung instead of a tv, you can pretend, right (just pretend that green frame is gone too)? I think that tall, slender accessories on the sides of the tv are a fantastic idea to tie the mantle and tv together to look like one cohesive styled area.
A pair of lamps or a pair of some sort of tall flower arrangements would be my top accessory choice for a mantle with a tv. I prefer symmetry around a tv, but if you're careful an asymmetrical arrangement can work well too.
A long, low container filled with something pretty-
Sarah used the trough here as well, and although this isn't a mantle it's the same idea. Her link below gives the DIY instructions to make that cute box container.
Love the idea of sconces mounted beside the tv, too, if you can accomodate them.
You don't have to load up on accessories, either. One simple pretty thing might be all you need, especially if there's a lot going on around the tv, such as these built-ins to the side.
I like how Kristin stacked her books horizontally rather than vertically, and topped them with some decorative urchins. Pretty and interesting without interfering with the screen at all.
Just pretend that landscape is a tv instead, and Emily has another beautiful example. Love the simplicity and height of the topiaries and chunky candlesticks. I've also seen this area styled with only the topiaries or only the candlesticks, each equally as lovely.
I know this isn't for everyone, but I love the dramatic look of a black fireplace when the tv is mounted over the mantle. Everything blends in together seamlessly, the tv totally disappears when it isn't being used, and the accessories really pop! These are my two favorite black fireplaces-
