1 of 4
2 of 4
3 of 4
4 of 4
Hang your stockings by the fire with the greatest of care and get inspired by these four creative mantel designs.
Barb Wehking, Bloomin’ Buckets (9844 Manchester, 314-835-9988)
Trenna Lange, Sycamore Moon (314-808-4503)
Barb Wehking and Trenna Lange collaborated on this nostalgic but totally modern mantle. Lange’s wreath is made of glass baubles—many of them vintage—assembled by the designer herself. She also created the black velvet stockings, trimmed with fabric roses sewn from old ties, antique lockets and costume jewelry (including a smart rhinestone monogram pin). Wehking arranged the red roses in colored mercury-glass vases, tying them visually to the glass ornaments in the wreath; the votives, filled with lit candles, warm things up. Four Moroccan votive glasses, etched in silver, give the tableau a slightly exotic touch, and the red roses against the green wall create a subtle holiday feel.
Nicole Tosi & Emily Paino-Brenneman, Fibercations (609 Eastgate, 314-314-721-9237)
This mantel, created by Nicole Tosi & Emily Paino- Brenneman of Fibercations, has the feel of a wunderkabinet, with its sculptural assemblages of button mums, moss, carnation balls and rock crystal (all pulled together by Patrick at Hereford Andrew Design). The sandblasted twigs, hand-painted by Resito Pecson of Twigs & Moss, are the bright focal point. “It’s a fresh green—a very current green,” Tosi says. “It’s a new way to approach a traditional holiday color.” And the striking counterpoint between the delicate (freeze-dried hydrangeas) and the sturdy (black aquarium sand, crystal) is a huge trend for winter ’06.
Sandy Long, Sandra Long Interiors (314-520-7949)
For this mantel, Sandy Long of Sandra Long Interiors used crystal-beaded fir and pine branches, crinkled red and coral metallic ribbon, black and white “Lady Esther” feathers and pearlized metallic baubles in pink and green. She also added black and white to her palette to give her mantel “strength and whimsy,” using black and white plaid ribbon and striped baubles. “I wanted it to be traditional,” Long says, “but with a newer, very customized look—something that grandchildren will remember as something special.” Thinking of those same grandchildren, Long’s finishing touch was to place a pair of Christmas dolls at the base of the fireplace.
Janice Rohan, Park Avenue Design (10 S. Brentwood, 314-863-0095)
Janice Rohan’s kitchen mantel pays homage to one of the most important aspects of the holiday season—food. Copper cookie cutters from Sur La Table hang from rope tassel tie-backs used to swag the mantel; a snowman cookie jar and a copper teakettle dress up the cooktop, which is inset with highly-polished tortoiseshell tile. Rohan’s arrangement evokes Old World European Christmases, with a wreath heavy with sugared fruits; mirrored toy drums stacked with apples and a pineapple; lemon compotes made of glazed porcelain set inside the fireplace niches; toy glockenspiels and sculpted, red velvet bows.
