Modern White Brick Fireplace with Shiplap Built-ins.

In partnership with Wayfair

I’ve been holding on to this reveal for a while! I’m thrilled to share part one of the fireplace makeover. What initially began as a quick design addition soon spun into a larger makeover and one that has been proving to be completely worth the effort. If you read last week’s post where I shared my mood board and plans for the space, you’ll know that many of the additions mentioned appear in today’s post. I teased a bit of the behind-the-scenes work on Instagram Stories, where I shared the process of removing the old overpainted shelves and the addition of the nickel-gap panels.

It was an easy weekend project that only required a bit of paint and caulking on my part. My dad built the pinewood shelves, which brought the entire look together.

How to Decorated a White Brick Fireplace Mantle for Christmas

This season I took a different approach towards my fireplace decor. I wanted to stick to a neutral color palette and warm up the room's overall look. With the new pine wood shelves, I kept the styling simple and opted for a combination of ceramic additions and bottle-brush trees. I wanted everything to be balanced but not feel too sterile or "untouchable," after all, we have a toddler in the house.

I had no problem finding excellent holiday decorations on Wayfair. Many of my purchases seen in this set-up are among my favorites of the season.

This ceramic deer was one of the first items I found, and I was even more pleasantly surprised to see the piece's quality in person. It was heavy, well-made, and very reasonable for the price! For the mantle, I spanned a few pine-leaf garland in addition to a handful of gold-leaf magnolia leaf bundles. I still think it could use another one or two garlands to make it appear thicker. Finally, to play on the gold tones used in the shelf decor, I added two sets of twinkle lights to the branches.

I added a few DIY touches in the garland with the frayed ribbon and antique brass bells. I also did a quick swap on the artwork and purchased a few new seasonal prints for my frames. The tree sketch has been my favorite, especially the smaller image on the pinewood shelves. The frames we’re all already on hand and are a combination of thrift-store finds and items I’ve purchased over the years. I think it’s important to balance old and new when designing spaces within your home.

Hanging onto pieces from the past or well-made thrifted pieces will only add to the look and feel of your home.

Whats Next?

I mentioned our complete plans in our fireplace makeover post (seen here) that the next step is much larger! We have plans to replace the hardwood floor throughout our home. Although it looks fine in the photo seen above, the installation was not done correctly, and there are significant issues in several other rooms in our home. Because of these issues and the fact that they cannot be repaired, we’ll need to move forward with a complete overhaul.

I prefer a warmer toned wood flooring, as does Kevin, so we’re hoping to find an option within our budget in a wide floor plank. Once we have the green light on the flooring, we’ll remove the brick on the floor and add the flooring right up to the face of the hearth for a more streamlined look. After this, we’ll focus on the fireplace facade and add the cement board and cement finishing to resemble lime wash.

The arched bookshelves we’ll light be an overlay on the existing shelves and happen sometime soon. With Christmas next week, I didn’t want to overwhelm myself with too many projects, but it is on the agenda!

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