Create a cowboy-themed mantel with rustic flair.
A fireplace mantel is often the focal point of an entire room, so its decoration is important for the overall style and design of the space. Western, cowboy-themed mantels are rustic and weathered and often feature items from the Old West in interesting and unique ways. By mixing and matching large items, such as weathered mirrors, photographs, paintings and clocks, with iconic decorative accents, ranging from cowboy hats to steer skulls, a cowboy mantel with visual interest and rustic charm is attainable for most homeowners who desire a Western look and feel to their homes. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Create a mirror display. Enhance the overall look and feel of the rustic space by hanging a barn wood-framed mirror over the center mantel area. Further the cowboy-themed mantel with a rope lasso, colorful bandanna and cowboy hat arrangement on the left side of the mantel surface for an visually pleasing, Western-inspired design.
2. Incorporate a sculpture. Hang a painting of a cowboy on horseback in a heavy, rustic frame above the middle fireplace mantel. Amplify the Western-themed decor with a wrought-iron horse sculpture and weathered spurs on one side of the mantel for an unusual, asymmetrical cowboy arrangement with artistic style.
3. Select a unique cowboy-themed display. To create a more unusual cowboy-themed mantel, hang a rustic steer skull above the center mantel area, and place a set of three small, medium and large wrought-iron candlesticks on each mantel end to make a simple arrangement with maximum rustic appeal.
4. Display a horseshoe collection. Mount a variety of vintage horseshoes on a rectangular piece of barn wood and prop it on the middle mantel space. Arrange a pair of antique cowboy boots on either side of the horseshoe piece to make a cowboy-themed grouping with Old West style.
5. Hang a Western photograph. Display a large photography print from renown photographers, such as Ansel Adams or Georgia O'Keeffe, over the center mantel wall as a focal point for the entire cowboy-inspired room. Place a potted cactus on the left and right sides of the mantel shelf for a more modern interpretation of a cowboy theme.
6. Create a mantel clock focal point. Highlight the overall cowboy decor by decorating the mantel with a Western-themed mantel clock with icons such as horses or wildlife silhouettes. Place the clock in the middle of the mantel, and flank it with a stack of vintage, hard-bound, Western books on either side for a crowning touch to the entire room.
Tags: mantel with, center mantel, cowboy-themed mantel, focal point, arrangement with, center mantel area
