Charming Simple Spring Mantel Decor Ideas

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: mantels are the best places to decorate in any season, for any holiday. Any day of the year. With spring on the horizon, I’ve created a charming simple spring mantel decor for our living room. Join me as I take you through the process.

As the seasons change and winter’s chill begins to fade, I’m ready to give our home a fresh new look.

One of the most impactful places to usher in spring is by transforming your mantel into a vibrant and inviting focal point.

Decorating your mantel for spring all depends on your mantel, your style, and items you want to include. It is an art that combines elegance with simplicity, creating a space that feels both bright and fresh. 

Simple spring mantel decor is all about embracing the season’s vibrant colors, textures, and themes without overwhelming the senses.

Whether you’re looking to incorporate lush greenery, pastel hues, or vintage elements, there are countless ways to style a mantel that reflect the anticipated return of spring.

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Inspiration Mantel for Spring

It’s Pinterest Challenge time. This month our hostess, Cindy of County Road 407, has chosen a spring mantel as our inspiration.

Where are you coming from? My sweet friend Missy of Sonata Home Design? She’s made a really cool feature for her fireplace and mantel.

I couldn’t be more excited. I love decorating our mantel any time of year. Since spring is calling, everyone is ready to add a little seasonal decor to that iconic focal point in our homes.

Our inspiration image this month is from Sharon @HouseonHeatherfield. Even though we are still calling this Pinterest Challenge, Sharon’s inspiration photo comes from Instragram.

So let’s analyze Sharon’s mantel.

• The first thing I noticed is that this fireplace and hearth are rustic with the brick on the fireplace and the hearth and a touch of farmhouse in the shiplap on the wall.
• The color palette is primarily neutral.
• There are nice pops of greenery on the mantel and the hearth.
• A woven basket and tray, terra cotta pots, and wood crates provide natural materials.
• There is one brass watering can which gives a metallic shine.
• There is a little nod to Easter with a few pastel eggs, carrots, and bunnies.
• Bead garland with tassels hang from the mantel which provides interest and movement.

My Spring Mantel Interpretation

Fortunately, we use these images as inspiration, not to literally imitate them. Since everyone’s fireplace mantel and hearth are different, and our styles are different, we have to adapt to our particular situation.

Mantel Starting Points

• My fireplace, mantel and hearth are much more formal and traditional than Sharon’s. Our entire fireplace is painted wood with trim molding. The fireplace surround and hearth are marble.
• I didn’t want to take down our large abstract artwork above the mantel.
• I wanted to use more color on the mantel – primarily blues and greens – against the white mantel.
• I wasn’t ready to include Easter items yet in my mantel.

Since I recently decorated our mantel for Valentine’s Day, I started with that design.

This post contains affiliate links to products used to create this project. If you should order any item from this site, I may receive compensation, but you do not pay a penny more. Your purchase is greatly appreciated as it helps support the continued publication of this site.

Items on Hand to Use

• For greenery, my pair of DIY chinoiserie topiaries and my pair of DIY green topiaries in terra cotta pots.
• Woven tray
• DIY Beaded garland
• White and green faux flowers
• Wood box – if you don’t have one, look at flea markets or buy a plain wood one and stain it to look old.
• Wood crate
• Greenery
• Large glass vases

Styling this Simple Spring Mantel

I’m calling this spring mantel simple because it really was so easy to design. I did make some changes throughout the process, but that was a normal thing for me. There was no DIY project involved (I had already made both topiaries last year.)

Step 1 – Clean Off Your Mantel

I always recommend that you remove everything first. By removing everything from the mantel, you can start with a clean slate.

Step 2 – Add Your First Foundation/Anchor Pieces

Once I removed the heart topiaries and the chinoiserie foot bath with tulips, I was ready to begin my spring mantel styling.

I replaced the heart tulip topiaries with the boxwood ball topiary and the sage green ribbon. I placed the slightly shorter boxwood topiaries on the outside of the mantel next to the chinoiserie planters that I made.

I like arrangements to be balanced like this one. I also like that the blue in the chinoiserie planters pick up some of the blue in our abstract canvas painting– one of my favorite purchases.

Step 3 – Add Your Secondary Element

I added a DIY tall chinoiserie vase with small white faux flowers for height and more color and pattern. I made this vase a couple of years ago.

I placed the vase slight to left of center to allow for other accessories.

Step 4 – Add a Natural Element

Add the natural element of a round woven basket. This woven tray was the best one I had to use in terms of size.

Step 5 – Add a Center Element

Next, I added another element – a blue chinoiserie-style planter (bought at a store in our Dallas Design Center) filled with faux greenery in front of the woven tray. This grounds the tray and provides more blue pattern and greenery.

Step 5 – Realign the Elements of the Mantel

I switched the tall vase with the blue planter to give more height to the center of the mantel. That arrangement would only work if I had another planter to balance the planter on the left.

Step 6 – Streamline the Elements on the Mantel

I looked for another blue planter with greenery for the right right of the mantel. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find another blue planter with greenery to balance the left side of the mantel.

Fortunately, I realized if I did find another planter, it would make the mantel look heavy and crowded. Seven items were too many, but five items would be just right.

The topiaries on each side of the mantel act as one to balance the ends of the mantel.

Can you tell that I’m big on balance? Because the mantel is a long, flat surface, balance is important.

Symmetery is important here, too. It is pleasing to the eye.

Step 7 – Final Embellishments to the Mantel

The final touch to the mantel was to add an embellishment to the mantel.

Sharon added hanging wood beads to the mantel. I liked this idea because it adds more natural elements and a sense of movement to the scene.

I already had made wood beads with tassels for an earlier vignette. It was easy to add the two circle beads around the topiaries and the “garland ” beads draped around the tall chinoiserie vase.

Finishing the Hearth

Sharon added a crate and a wood box to her brick hearth. I like to finish off the hearth, too.

My only crate is painted with Christmas words, but I always love incorporating my vintage nautical captain’s tool box whenever possible.

I left my two tall green glass vases on the right side of the mantel. I found these at Home Goods a few years ago. Would you call them vases or large jars?

On the left side, I placed my antique captain’s box. I have had it for at least 40 years and it has been a much loved accessory.

Then I added a round woven basket (found at a flea market) filled with faux greenery, a eucalyptus garland that had been on our coffee table, and faux white flowers.

Now the hearth was complete. I kept it very simple since the spring mantel decor is very simple.

This mantel is also balanced and symmetrical, has color, pattern, and texture. I can leave it as is for the next six weeks and then slowly add more color and Easter embellishments. Or I can completely start over with an Easter mantel.

In total the mantel decorating took about an hour. The tweaking and rearranging always adds to the timeframe. But that’s what makes decorating challenging, but fun.

TIP: Never hesitate to change things up when you are decorating. Move things around until your instinct tells you it’s right.

Here’s a collection of great ideas for a stunning spring mantel.

I hope that you’ll PIN this simple spring mantel to your Pinterest Boards. I just added a new board to my Pinterest – Mantel Ideas. Also check out Spring Home Decor Ideas, Spring Creativity, and Home Decor Ideas for inspiration.

I would be honored for you to follow any or all of my Pinterest Boards.

Before you head out, please visit my co-Texas blogger, Laura of Decor to Adore.

Then take a look at all the lovely spring mantel ideas from everyone at the Pinterest Challenge. Enjoy the spring mantel browsing.