Creative Ways To Decorate Your Mantel For Valentine's Day

When you think about Christmas decorating, the mantel usually comes to mind. Since you're already hanging up your stockings by the chimney with care, it's fun to add a swag of pine boughs or some snowflake ornaments to top it off. But why stop at December? As The Spruce points out, the fireplace is such a focal point in the living room, den, or bedroom that it seems a shame to let it go bare when it can be used for other holidays. 

Valentine's Day, for instance, is a perfect opportunity to deck out the mantel with flowers, hearts, and anything else that signifies love and romance. With a minimum of time and fuss — plus a trip or two to your local dollar store or craft emporium — you can come up with a festive display without breaking your budget. Don't have a fireplace? No worries! A wall shelf will do just fine. We've come up with a long list of ideas you can use as inspiration for your own décor choices.

An antique-style silver candelabra is the focus of this romantic arrangement. To avoid distracting from the beauty of the piece, keep the other decorations symmetrical, as seen in this balance of candles and hearts on either side. Using pillar candles in varied sizes creates a pleasing appearance. However, when you're using candles on top of a mantel, it's best to keep them unlit, as seen here, to avoid a fire hazard. If you want to create light on top of the mantel, use jar candles, votives, or electric lights, recommends Environmental Chimney Service.

Are you more of a "Wednesday" person than a Hallmark movie binge-watcher? Then go for a goth look for your fireplace. The ferns and fringe add to the darker atmosphere, as do the clusters of hurricane-lantern candles on the mantle and in the fireplace. Keep the lights low for full effect. The decorator here used deep pink and red roses, but black roses would be even more effective here. Apartment Therapy notes that using candles in holders is safer than a traditional wood fire. Plus, it reduces smoke and soot, and there's no messy ash to clean up afterward.

Just like your true love, teddy bears are cute, cuddly, and always ready to support you after a bad day. Make your mantel statement with teddy bears: a single one holding a heart, a pairing like the one here, or your entire bear collection if you like. Not into teddies? Go with the plush animal of your choice: monkeys, cats, dogs, unicorns, or even huggable stuffed axolotls. You could also nestle the animals into a swag of greenery to suggest an outdoor environment.

Balloons are popping up everywhere (so to speak) in the form of elaborate party arches, centerpieces, and gender reveals like the one Joy-Anna Duggar Forsyth recently had. (Guests popped a board full of balloons, each of which contained either pink or blue powder. The colors were tallied, and blue won.) For Valentine's Day, you can make balloons the highlight of your fireplace décor. Here, as styled by Hangin With Haley, a single "Love" balloon hangs above the row of vases, while more balloons spill merrily out of the fireplace itself.

If your aesthetic is homey and handcrafted, then take your decorating cue from this arrangement. The hearts are all miniature stuffed pillows, and the banner is embroidered cloth. They look especially striking against this dark fireplace. You can pick up a similar set from the many crafters on Etsy (this one comes from Etsy store Treeific Creations) or try your hand at creating some yourself. This YouTube tutorial explains how to sew adorable felt heart "lollipops" using cloth scraps and a basic blanket stitch.

The only thing that directly says "Valentine's Day" in this display is the layered heart and tassel garlands above the hearth from The Collective Hearth. Creator Emily said she was looking for a "cozy" look. The mantel itself takes a subtler approach with warm homey items such as brass candlesticks, small white pillar candles, neutral-colored flowers, and miniature houses. A stone fireplace like this one works well with the softer color scheme of rose and white.

Putting a mirror above your mantel not only commands attention, but it can also enhance whatever decorations you put on the shelf itself, per Soul and Lane. You don't need to clutter the mantel with knickknacks since the mirror naturally duplicates whatever you put in front of it. Here, as shown by Kari of Our Fig Tree Cottage, a sign, a small wreath, and a single oversized bloom convey the holiday message. Are you in the market for a mantel mirror? Follow the advice of experts who spoke to The Spruce: Choose one with a width about two-thirds the size of the mantel, and hang it 4 to 6 inches above the mantel for best effect.

For a wide fireplace like this one, you have an advantage: You can lay on more than one banner without overpowering the mantel. The three-layered heart banners offer a necklace-like look to the shelf. Tanya of the Instagram page Cottage by the Creek enjoys switching up the look yearly; her 2021 mantel design eliminated the banners entirely and focused on the shelf, using a bit of greenery, red candles in silver holders, and different-sized red Valentine's Day signs. Both looks are winners in our book.

Everything about this mantel arrangement from The Grand Ole Lady oozes old-fashioned romance. Strings of ribbons and beads become a beautiful accent when arranged to become a loop-and-bow swag. "Ribbon is a simple & inexpensive component that can really make a statement," says Instagrammer Sarah Anne. A box of peach roses, which symbolize "sincerity, innocent affection, care, gratitude, and warm feelings," per Glam Fleur, are mingled with small white calla lilies, which represent innocence and purity, according to HGTV. Miniature lights are tucked in among the flowers' greenery to enhance the loving mood.

In ancient Roman mythology, Cupid was the son of Mercury and Venus and the god of love, according to Britannica. One zing from his magic arrows was all that was needed to make his target fall in love instantly. Although we rely more on dating apps to find our mates these days, Cupid is still a popular image in Valentine's Day displays. Vintage decorator Misty Butcher of La Petite Maison uses him to great effect here. A large plaster Cupid hangs from the mantel, while a vintage-style postcard sign featuring the famous cherub graces the top.

There are no hard and fast rules when it comes to decorating for Valentine's Day. For instance, where is it written that you have to drown your home in every shade of pink to make it holiday-appropriate? This mantel from Coastal Girl Living gets the message across just fine with a very nontraditional natural theme. Everything from the pale green glass vase on the shelf to the wood-finish "XOXO" banner offers a clean and earthy contrast to the usual frills. Love really is all you need on this holiday.

There's a Valentine theme for every taste — including one for decorators who live for spooky season. Among them is Instagram store The Glass Manor. Pictured here are just a few of the Halloween/Valentine mash-up items you can use to grace your mantel. (There's even a name for this trend: "Valloween.") To get the full effect, you could drape your mantel in a black lace shawl and attach red hearts to it. Or haunt your local craft store for unpainted wooden hearts you can use to add messages like "Be My Boo," "Love Bites," and "Ghoul Friend."

This simple but effective mantel can genuinely be called cottagecore; the White Cottage Company YouTube channel is hosted by Mary Yoder, a crafter and Etsy seller who also rents out two cottages. Yoder took two existing framed signs, used spray paint to cover the designs, then added her own simple "Be Mine" message. A needle, string, card stock and small pompoms come together to make the banners. (We're also loving her "heart tree" in a pitcher that appears in her dining room.)

Keep the hearts, lose the red. This vintage Westmoreland glass plate would make a beautiful stand-alone on a fireplace mantel, or used as part of a set. Per Glass Encyclopedia, the Westmoreland Glass company saw its greatest success in the post-World War II years, but eventually shuttered in the early 1980s. You can find Westmoreland glass products for resale on Etsy or eBay, or do some browsing at local thrift stores and estate sales. 

This design from TikToker Jordan Reed would work equally well on a fireplace mantel as on the decorative shelf seen here. The cathedral-inspired hangings atop the mantel and along either side lend an air of dignified beauty to the display, which is then softened by the bright heart garland below. Reed's display also features small faux topiary greens placed on top of pedestal candleholders. She bought all her décor at Etsy and at craft and home stores.

This "Be Mine" mantel comes courtesy of TikTok user TaterTotsandJello. She works with the simple white boxy nature of her fireplace by hanging a triple layer of heart garlands from the mantel, then adding vertical strings of red hearts above. She keeps things interesting on the mantel itself with the combo of two large message signs and an assortment of vases in a shade of pink that complements the garlands. Keeping the color scheme is key to making this style work.

The "Valentine's tree" idea works well in miniature form, as well. The ones shown here from Griffin Furniture's Insta page are simple DIY projects using materials such as felt, card stock, and a bamboo skewer. Fleece Fun shows how to make a felt tree like the taller one (you'll need a Cricut if you can't find pre-cut hearts). The red tree could be duplicated using a strand of red tinsel, a cone-shaped piece of craft foam, and hot glue.

Hit your craft or office supply store for patterned card stock (the more variety, the better!) to make these pretty hanging hearts. As seen here on Karina's Scrap Space Insta page, the how-to includes cutting out three differing size lengths of thin strips, stapling them at the top in size order, folding them into heart shapes, then stapling them together at the bottom. In no time, you'll have enough to hang all along your mantel. Pair them with a pompom banner, add some heart figurines or signs on the shelf, and you'll be Insta-ready too.

Another rustic mantel look we're adoring comes courtesy of Instagram user Jennifer Little of The Little Farmhouse. Rather than fighting the natural beauty of her wooden mantel and stone fireplace face, she accentuates it with stoneware vases and twigs. A vintage lattice basket takes center stage, and a large white textured heart in the center is all that's needed to convey the Valentine's theme. Truthfully, it works so well that it could be left up all year long!

If you own yearly passes to Walt Disney World and have "It's a Small World" as your cell ringtone, then we don't need to tell you how to decorate your mantel for Valentine's Day. Luckily, Disney has been making holiday merch for eons, which you can find on their website or through garage sales, eBay, and fellow collectors. Mickey and Minnie Mouse-themed items are especially popular, which makes sense when you realize how long those two have been dating. An arrangement of figurines and/or kitchenware makes a logical mantel showpiece. Insta user Our Disney Family Life used this assortment for a shelf display.

Create Make Decorate's Valentine TikTok shows off her French country-inspired mantel. Instead of hearts and flowers, Baroque cupids, mini topiaries, a leafy base, and lantern sconces set the tone. Angel-wing artwork echoes the cherub figurines, and a string of flashing lights brightens the greens along the shelf. The same influencer also put together a more traditional Valentine's mantel design using DIY yarn and felt trees, a fabric heart garland, and an assortment complementary themed signs, including — you guessed it! — a set of Valentine's gnome pictures.

Here's another balloon-themed mantel with a playful flair. Like the fireplace previously shown, TikTok user Steffybird filled hers with pink, purple, and red balloons spilling out over the hearth. (Let's hope no one stepped on them!) But the real star is the clever balloon heart above the mantel. Stephanie wisely chose to keep the rest of the shelf understated with a few classic brass accessories: a vase on one end and candlesticks on the other. "I love Valentine's Day, don't you?" she writes. 

"Soft and Romantic Mantel Refresh" is how TikToker Simply Styled Life describes this look, and we couldn't have said it better ourselves. She allowed three overlapping mirrors to take the lead here, adding only the simplest of accents: a low potted plant (she chose this over a miniature tree) and two gently glowing candles. And not a heart or a gnome anywhere in sight. For the best effect when layering mirrors, Thou Swell recommends setting the larger mirror in the rear, then leaning the second one in front. It's also better to put a fancier mirror in front of a plainer one. 

To create this attractive arrangement, Clean in Vogue took bunches of dried hydrangeas and spray-painted them pink and silver before arranging them on her mantel. (She wisely did her spraying outside to keep both smelly fumes and mess to a minimum. If you try this, take a cue from her and spread a protective tarp over the ground first.) Using an understated white and gold heart garland adds an accent without pulling focus from the posies. Any dried flower sturdy enough to hold its shape would also work; how about roses or baby's breath?

In this striking arrangement, the focus here is not on the fireplace mantel, but on the wall above, where a rustic wooden heart takes center stage. The cloth and pompom banners on the shelf act as an underline accent. Instagram user 12timbers explains that fellow user sharee.designs made both the heart and the miniature houses using scrap wood cut to the desired sizes and shapes, proving yet again that great style doesn't have to cost a fortune.

Not into subtlety when it comes to fireplace décor? We hear you — and so does holidaybaubleswreath2u. As she suggests, "Show your fireplace mantel some LOVE" with oversized hearts: four on top and four below. (We're loving the black-and-white-striped pair.) A plain green garland frames the bottom hearts nicely, centered with a smaller pink heart for contrast. Since her flat screen is directly above the fireplace, putting the focus on the mantel and hearth makes perfect sense. "My inspiration for this year coming up!" raved one of her followers. 

Proving that inexpensive style can actually look luxe, TikTok user Sarena Taff designed her entire mantel using only products from Dollar Tree: heart garland, tinsel strands, and of course, plenty of signage. (We're not sure whether the pedestal candleholders are also Dollar Tree finds, but the store does stock a variety of candles and holders.) All told, it looks as though Taff spent less than $20 on her attractive array; she can use the change to stock up on St. Patrick's Day knickknacks.

With a bit of imagination and some easy-to-find craft store materials, TikTok creator Nubia of nobxo11 fashioned a mantel garland using rope, tassels, and wooden beads. The result: a display that lends a nautical flair to the shiplap wall around her fireplace. It makes a nice change from the endless string of hearts. But to get the holiday message across, she also included a red-clad gnome. Her unfussy round mirror breaks the rules a bit when it comes to placement — it rests on the mantel itself, rather than hanging a few inches above — but in this case, it works.

Mantel decorations look great even when they're not enhancing an actual fire. TikTok user hiphiphoorayforela is a middle-school teacher who set up a faux fireplace in her classroom for Christmas. Instead of taking it down in January, she simply removed the stockings, switched out the Yuletide garland and signage for love-themed ones, and called it a day. The gnome artwork was downloaded after a Google search. "I have them named after each of the teachers," she told a follower. 

For centuries, flowers have been used to send wordless messages to both current and would-be lovers. For instance, roses have different meanings depending on their color. White roses represent purity, innocence, and new beginnings, which is why they're a top choice in wedding bouquets (per Brides). If you're in a new relationship or want to show the world the eternal loyalty between you and your beloved, an arrangement of white roses is the way to go. An assortment of white pillar candles backs up the message.

Chelsea Hood of thehouseofhoodblog posted a TikTok video of her decorating efforts. Here, long sheaves of magenta pampas grass make an eye-catching addition to the mantel. Per Better Homes & Gardens, the plume-like pampas grass is a South American export that's both hardy and fast-growing (don't try planting it unless you want a yard full of feathery blooms). Hood also used an assortment of paper glitter hearts cut with her Cricut, gold candlesticks tied with pink ribbon, and small containers full of mini-mirror balls.

The Till Vacuum Do Us Part YouTube channel offers suggestions for creating a neutral palette for Valentine's Day. "Maybe [pinks and reds] are just too bright and too colorful, but you still want the house festive for your kids," she explains in the video. She spray-painted some craft-store signs black (again, outdoors and using a flattened cardboard box as a base) to put around the house. For the fireplace mantel, she kept the black and white theme — "I just love layering a ton of signs and garland," she noted — using a white fringed heart garland and signs reading "Home" and "Love." The result: An understated style that still conveys the coziness of the holiday.

When you're decorating a fireplace mantel for Valentine's Day, don't limit yourself to the shelf itself. TikTok user Brittany Rice makes the most of her fireplace area by arranging a batch of pink and white paper hearts up one side of the wall to create a "climbing" effect. The asymmetry works, thanks to the evenness of the rest of her display: a vase with pampas grass opposite two pillar candles, a few plaques, and the ever-present swags of pompoms and hearts. 

Using a dual-color theme is always a smart choice for decorating anywhere in your home, including your mantel. While combinations of pink, red, white, and purple are traditional for Valentine's Day, other shades can create an equally love-inspired atmosphere. Take this mantel from French Country Coastal, which uses a peach and green palette to reflect the vintage candlesticks and Cupid print. Take a closer look at the clever handcrafted banner: It was made from pages of a book!