|

Fresh Cedar Christmas Mantel Dressed Orange Slices and Plaid

Posted Updated

A beautiful and festive Fresh Cedar Christmas Mantel Dressed Orange Slice Ornaments and Plaid Ribbon.  Simple to do, smells wonderful and looks lovely.  

Thank you for stopping by, I’m so happy you are here!  Today I’m participating in the Seasonal Simplicity  Christmas Series hosted by my friend Krista of Happy Housie. As part of this festive series, today 25 of us have joined together to share our Christmas Mantels with you!  We all hope that we can inspire your holiday decorating! Make sure to take a tour through all the beautiful mantels at the bottom of this post. If you missed my previous post as part of this Seasonal Simplicity Series, make sure to check out my DIY Christmas Sleigh Ornament. xo

a view of half of a fireplace mantel decorated with fresh cedar boughs, orange slice ornaments, string fairy lights and plaid ribbon. With a fire roaring in the fireplaces and a stack of wood on the left

Simple, Natural and Festive

For my Christmas mantel this year I wanted to keep things very simple…it’s been crazy enough this year and I just didn’t want to add to my own chaos…there’s only so much one can do in weird times, you know?  I still want (and need) to create a festive holiday home, so I made sure to do that, but toned it down.  My goal was to keep it easy, inexpensive and to incorporate as many natural elements as possible.  Fresh and natural elements help to keep me grounded and feeling at peace…it’s no surprise that I need almost daily walks in our parks, and really that love kind of just flowed into my Christmas decorating this year…and onto my Fresh Cedar Christmas Mantel.

a blurry close up of fresh cedar boughs, orange slices ornaments and fairy lights
a close up of fresh cedar greens, orange slice ornaments, fairy lights and three candles

Fresh Greens, Homemade Ornaments and Twinkly Lights

All the things that I’m LOVING this year.  Last year I added orange slice ornaments to my holiday decor, and I decided to do the same this year…in fact I have added a lot more.  Not only are they hanging in my Christmas kitchen, but I decided to add them to my mantel.  I just love how they look hung amongst fresh cedar greens and twinkly lights.

a fireplace mantel decorated with fresh cedar boughs, orange slice ornaments, string fairy lights and plaid ribbon. With a fire roaring in the fireplaces and a stack of wood on the left

Fresh Cedar Greens are great for decorating!

I used fresh cedar boughs to create my Fresh Cedar Christmas Mantel.  This is for a few reasons, one they’re gorgeous, two they smell lovely, and three, cedar boughs tend to hold their shape and colour better than other fresh greens.  Because the truth is, fresh greens just do not last when they’re used indoors.  They dry out, it’s just the way it is, unless you can find a way to keep them hydrated (sometimes I will mist them with water).  But I don’t really have the desire (or time) to baby fresh greens, so I just try to use greens, such as cedar, that will still look great, even when they’re dry as wind.  haha

a close up view of half of a fireplace mantel decorated with fresh cedar boughs, orange slice ornaments, string fairy lights and plaid ribbon

How I put it all together:

I have no magic secret for how I put this together…honestly, I just laid out the branches until I got the look I was going for.  The only rule I follow when doing things like this is, what I do to one side, I do to the other.  It’s not perfect, but it’s perfect for me.

  • I started by draping branches off each end of the mantel, so they’re kind of hanging off the edge.
  • I laid another branch beside the one there, and repeated the process until I was at the middle of the mantel. Again, following what I do to one side of the mantel, I do to the other.
  • Then I laid extra boughs to fill in gaps.
  • Once I had the greens laying the way I wanted, which was draping and rustic, I added a string of fairy lights.
  • Then finished it off with my dried orange slice ornaments and 2 long strands of plaid ribbon on each end of the mantel.
a close up view of half of a fireplace mantel decorated with fresh cedar boughs, orange slice ornaments, string fairy lights and plaid ribbon
a fireplace mantel decorated with fresh cedar boughs, orange slice ornaments, string fairy lights and plaid ribbon. With a fire roaring in the fireplaces and a stack of wood on the left

It’s all in the details!

Even though the focus of a mantel is the actual mantel itself, I like to decorate the whole fireplace area.  So I added simple touches like a stack of birch wood, and some pretty throw pillows to cozy up with next to the fire.  It’s just the little things that make it all come together in one complete look.

a fireplace mantel decorated with fresh cedar boughs, orange slice ornaments, string fairy lights and plaid ribbon. With a fire roaring in the fireplaces and a stack of wood on the left and a Christmas tree on the right
a close up of a stack of birch wood
a fireplace mantel decorated with fresh cedar boughs, orange slice ornaments, string fairy lights and plaid ribbon. With a fire roaring in the fireplaces and a stack of wood on the left

Trying new things.

One of the reasons that I decided to put together this simple fresh cedar Christmas mantel, is because I wanted something low key to match our tree. This is my year of doing things a little differently…seriously though, if there’s any year to do that it’s 2020.  This year we started a new tradition with our family and I LOVE IT SO MUCH.

a fireplace mantel decorated with fresh cedar boughs, orange slice ornaments, string fairy lights and plaid ribbon. With a fire roaring in the fireplaces and a stack of wood on the left and a Christmas tree on the right

Starting new traditions.

Instead of buying our tree from our local hardware store, we decided to get a permit to chop down our own Christmas tree.  So last weekend we made a trek out to the forest, saw in hand, and cut down our tree.  Now if you’ve ever been over here to my blog at Christmas, you’ve probably seen my trees before and you know that this new forest tree is quite different than years past.  It’s VERY different (and very sparse haha), but I love it.  I love the new tradition of it, the story behind it, and how much my kids love our Charlie Brown tree.  It doesn’t get better than that.  And bonus that it ties in perfectly with my mantel.

Time to get cozy!

Now that the mantel is decorated, I’m looking forward to decorating the tree and the rest of my home.  I love this season and how cozy it feels…it’s especially needed this year.  Thank you for stopping by today to see my mantel…I hope you’ll return later to see an update and a little tour of my Christmas home.

a fireplace mantel decorated with fresh cedar boughs, orange slice ornaments, string fairy lights and plaid ribbon. With a fire roaring in the fireplaces and a stack of wood on the left and a Christmas tree on the right

More Christmas Mantel Inspiration!

Don’t stop here, make sure to check out more beautiful Christmas mantels…there are so many beautiful ideas here for all decorating tastes!

Cozy Cabin Christmas Mantel Decor with Pops of Red at The Happy Housie

Fresh Cedar Christmas Mantel at A Pretty Life

Bright Colourful Merry Mantel at Tatertots and Jello

Red, White, and Gold Christmas Mantel at This is Our Bliss

Cozy Traditional Christmas Mantle at JoAnna Anastasia

Natural and Cozy Christmas Mantel at Modern Glam

Christmas Mantel Decor Ideas at Craftberry Bush

Merry and Bright Christmas Mantle at The Handmade Home

Assymetrical Christmas Mantel with Fresh Greenery and Blue Accents at The DIY Mommy

How to Hang a Garland on a Shelf for a Christmas Vignette at Fynes Designs

Elegant Holiday Living Room and Mantel at House by Hoff

Traditional Christmas Mantel at Rambling Renovators

Christmas Mantel Decorating Ideas at Jennifer Maune

Christmas Mantel Mixing Faux and Fresh Greenery with Grey Accents at Deeply Southern Home

How to Decorate a Mantel for Christmas at She Gave it a Go

How to Decorate a Mantel with a TV Above It for Christmas at Home Made Lovely

My Classic Christmas Mantel with White and Red at Life is Better at Home

How to Style Your Shelves for the Holidays at My Sweet Savannah

Christmas Mantel Decor Ideas at Clean & Scentsible

Modern Minimalist Shelf Styling for the Holidays at This is Simplicite

Christmas Mantel Decor with Lighted Garland at Grace in My Space

Rustic Luxe Christmas Mantel Decor Ideas at Cherished Bliss

My Green and White Christmas Mantel at Cassie Bustamante

Holiday Mantel at Life is a Party

Asymmetrical Garland Mantel at Taryn Whiteaker Designs

Have a Very Merry Day!

Hi I'm Jo-Anna Rooney, the creator, director, baker, maker and home decorator here at A Pretty Life in the Suburbs! I'm sharing a simple home life through fresh and easy recipes and uncomplicated home tips and home decor.

Similar Posts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

7 Comments

  3. This is gorgeous Jo-Anna! I love the more natural look. I miss cutting down our own tree – I just wished they lasted longer! We used dried oranges in our decor this year too.

    Reply