Mantlescaping is the new tablescaping: How to style your fireplace

Choosing your fireplace is important as it can make a home more appealing to live in – and more attractive to buyers. Anya Cooklin-Lofting reveals how to make the most of your mantle

Edit58 founder Lisa Mehydene has a highly personal and cheerful mantlescape (Edit58)

Fireplaces, much like the ceiling roses of 2018 or decorative architraves of 2019, have become something of an obsession for me in 2020. Whether peering into rooms of near-strangers on Zoom calls, webinars or Instagram Lives, I have become increasingly aware of their sheer beauty and variety. I seem to see them everywhere and am forever dumbstruck with awe in their pixelated presence. I have since learned that this infatuation with what Henry David Thoreau once called “the most vital part of the house” is a symptom of the Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon, which makes for very interesting Googling in this time-rich period. I urge you to find out more.

Or, perhaps I’m just property-market savvy. According to Henry Wiltshire London, an international estate agent, increasing numbers of buyers are willing to pay more for a property with a fireplace, positing that fireplaces can increase a home’s value by up to 5 per cent. Period properties are in high demand in the London property market in particular, or at least they certainly were before lockdown, and this is generally to do with the character afforded to them by their original features. Fireplaces are top of the list, and not just my list. Spending as much time at home as we are, the “mantlescape” might fast be becoming the new tablescape.

Lisa Mehydene believes busy is better and that you shouldn’t be afraid to ‘really go to town’ on the styling. ‘Our fireplace is the heart of the living room,’ she tells me, ‘so it’s a reflection of our lives’

Owen Pacey, the founder of the Shoreditch fireplace-restoration and reproduction specialist, Renaissance London, believes that “the aesthetic value of choosing an antique or reproduction fireplace for your home is immeasurable. They have the ability to make a house more alluring to live in and make a property far, far more attractive to buyers.” Pacey is the fireplace specialist to the stars, with a glowing portfolio of celebrity clients including Kate Winslet, Georgia May and Mick Jagger, Robbie Williams, Jeremy Irons, Naomi Campbell, Jamie Oliver and the late George Michael. His showroom, a converted pub on City Road, is a trove of unique antiques and vintage pieces, that plays host to some of the most fascinating home artefacts, lighting and seating sourced from all over the world, just waiting to be snapped up by the next A-lister lucky enough to find themselves in east London.

Once you’ve got the fireplace, or the property attached to one, it’s time to make it your own, styling it with art, trinkets, flowers and vases. The general consensus amongst some of the most current names in interior design, who I speak to below, is that an eclectic, diverse collection of styled objects makes for the most appealing mantlescape.

Lisa Mehydene, founder of Edit58, believes that busy is better and that you shouldn’t be afraid to “really go to town” on the styling. “Our fireplace is the heart of the living room,” she tells me, “so it’s a reflection of our lives. Notes and postcards from loved ones take pride of place, alongside candles, books and flowers.” Meydene’s top tip for mantlescaping is to ensure you have layers. She says: “Like with a tablescape, it’s equally important to have an undulating mantlepiece.

“The differing heights add interest and help the eye travel. Try adding a small vase of flowers on top of a stack of books, for example.” Victoria and Emily Ceraudo of their eponymous homewares brand agree, saying: “We love mantelpieces that act as a little collection of objects picked up along your travels or handed down through the family. It’s an opportunity to display interesting knick-knacks that add a bit of your character to the space, such as tongue-in-cheek takes on Staffordshire figurines and vintage mirrors.”

Flowers are unsurprisingly important in florist Kitten Grayson’s fireplaces design ideas too. She suggests putting small bunches of cow parsley into bud vases, jugs and jam jars for a relaxed and whimsical look. “Clouds of cow parsley are growing everywhere at the moment, and it spreads further than you think once you get it home, so forage mindfully.” To display the cow parsley, Grayson suggests filling your preferred vessels with water and placing them around your fireplace where you envision the cow parsley to grow.

“I like to place a few on the mantle along with a couple at the base. This creates multiple layers and helps to build up the scene.” Another option for styling up your fireplace with flowers and foliage is with preserved flowers that bring a highly romantic look and require far less effort than potted plants. Dowsing & Reynolds, a homewares brand, has recently launched a new collection of preserved flowers with a natural, fully biodegradable treatment to lengthen the most beautiful point in their lifespan. According to Ally Dowsing-Reynolds, co-owner: “Preserved flowers have a character that accentuates the period features of traditional fireplaces. Although they are striking, fresh flowers can sometimes be overpowering in a scheme that is already decorative.”

You needn’t stop at flowers, though. One of the most Instagram-famous fireplaces is that of Whinnie Williams, inspired by the shell grotto at Margate. A former singer and the interior designer behind Poodle & Blonde with co-founder Kierra Campbell, Williams believes that even the most historically traditional pieces of furniture need not be normal. “My shell fireplace started life as £20 Louis-style plaster fireplace from eBay,” she tells me. “I sat for hours glueing on the shells and slowly fell in love with it, shell by shell.” For styling, Williams urges her clients to get creative with scale, height and texture, saying: “Use tall vases or plants, lean and layer artwork and your most treasured trinkets for fun and interesting displays.”