Modern Mantle Alternatives with Christmas Swags

I hope that you are all having a very Merry Christmas Eve. We have talked all season about decorating doors and mantles but during a visit to my aunt’s new house this morning, I was inspired to talk about alternatives to traditional mantles.

My aunt and uncle recently built a brand new house and instead of installing a traditional wood mantle, they installed an art niche over a modern gas fireplace. The result is a contemporary hearth area that still has plenty of space to display holiday decor. A centered Christmas swag is beautifully showcased in this shallow niche. A pair of candlesticks, little christmas tree, star bowl, and a couple little touches of greenery complete this show-stopping vignette. Their Christmas tree is located to the immediate left and features the same red, silver, and green color scheme for beautiful continuity.

Modern Hearth

Hanging stockings from this mantle would have made the whole scene a bit too busy, but they had an innovative solution for that as well. Instead of hanging their family stockings from the mantle, they came up with the creative and beautiful idea of hanging them from the banister of their staircase. Clear banister clips hold each stocking securely while a festive artificial garlands helps to conceal the clips and finish off the display.

Christmas Stockings Hanging on a Banister

If you do not have a modern mantle in your home, consider one of these modern mantle alternatives when decorating your home for the holidays.