Ignore the pot that's being moved too

Can the sign go elsewhere in the room? The mantle is quite chunky and it feels like a round mirror might work better?

i’ve used AI and the mirror wasn’t big enough so it’s turned it into an oval when trying to enlarge it! The candleholders are a little chunky too but you get the idea. Think in pyramid shapes, tall on the left, then going up and down in height and in odd numbers.

Akternatively if the sign is large, just hang it 2/3 inches above the fire and don’t accessorise

I do do like that a lot , I can't do a mirror unfortunately hubby doesn't like looking at himself so no mirrors allowed and yes the sign is going above it's the only place for it and there will be two wall lights eitherside.

Hubby said what about leaving the dog sign there and putting 2 artichoke ornaments eitherside but I'm not sure on that but I like what you have done just going to try to figure it out now I especially like the candle holders

Hi , ok so I'm still waiting on a few things for my living room but I have got everything I was going to style my mantel with however even though I like it my partner says it's too white and he doesn't like it so I'm clearly not good at this he thinks the artichokes are put of place and we should return them and get candles instead? We're swapping the photo above for a gold framed portrait being drawn of our boys (dogs) but I'm still unsure on the mantel and it's driving me nuts. Partner also won't allow a mirror so I'd appreciate any ideas especially visual ones as I'm not great as visualising things myself.

@minnie101

I used chatGPT to help give me a visual idea and it said that everything it took matchy and dull and this is what it came up with , do you think this is better? Should I keep the artichoke on that side or swap it for a matching photo frame? Just so you know this is all AI this is not our portrait I tried my best to describe it but it's a little off from what our portrait will look like but it got the gold frame right just ours is a tad lighter.

These are also nothing like the candle holders I am getting either mine are not shiny gold I'll attach a photo of my candle holders I'm buying which were going to be for Christmas but I could keep them out all year round now

One of the things I learned from Houzz about styling mantles and shelves was to overlap stuff so your eye is led on a journey. You can see in Minnie101’s examples how this is done.
You have a idea of the stuff you want to display, and a few no nos from your husband. I would set these factors aside for now and ask yourself how you feel when you look at examples of styled areas. You’ll find loads on Houzz and online generally. What makes you feel energised, peaceful, or balanced? Make a note of your favourites. What do they have in common?
Have fun and play with your space. Nothing is permanent, try different arrangements. Live with them for a few days. Ask your husband to do so too. Talk together about what elements you liked best/ least. How do they make you each feel? Explore why this might be. I have great conversations with my other half about decor that end up beng about our childhoods, things that have happened to us , places we’ve visited over the years , all sorts of things!

I know your all properly not bothered but I really did appreciate the help I get here so wanted to update you all.

I have sorted my mantel now so I've only just been told by my hubby as he commissioned the portrait of our boys that it is rather large and id like that to be my focal point as my boys are my whole world and personality. So I'm going to put my flowers to the left in a rustic ceramic vase in a warm beige and I'm going to make the flowers have a more wild look then on the right I'm going to do a set of 3 antique gold rustic taper candle holders with different size ivory candles then in the centre as there is only 15cm space from the bottom of the frame to the mantel I'm going to layer the books and put a smaller bird ornament on the right side of the books slightly forward and put next to it a Mrs hinch candle the wider three wick one in duvet day as it's a taupe colour so will add further warmth to my other candles and beige tones. Then I have different sizes and textures and nothing competes with my portrait.

I'm also not going to put wall lamps either side of my portrait I'm going to put them eitherside of the photos above my sofa instead.

Oh yes we are bothered! We love to see a project completed. I like the AI layout and what you're planning sounds great. 🙂

Ok I've been messing around with AI to give me a idea to work with and I think I've got it but not sure why I both like it and dislike it I think it is the frame I'm not use to so much gold as I'm a beige girl at heart but I want it to feel like a cosy Cotswold cottage.

Here is a few I mocked up with different colours for the fireplace what do you all think?

Here's

I think it's the horse that feels off. It looks too big to stand on the books. I prefer the natural wood surround.

@Sarah L the horse is actually smaller AI couldn't make it smaller I kept saying in would sit under the frame as the horse I'm getting is smaller than what AI came up with and my flowers won't be as overpowering

Ok me again sorry one final update , something as I said was still off and I've finally cracked it, it wasn't the gold frame like I thought it was the fireplace itself I did two more mock ups with a more Cotswolds country fireplace vibe and instantly everything seemed to fit better and I even liked the frame.

Again being AI it's made the horse taller than it is and the flowers are still way too wide and overpowering than what I would do and the hearth is chunkier than I'd do that would be a lot thinner but I now really like it. I prefer the black stove as it makes it look more grounded where the cream I feel is faded and blends in too much

It won't let me post the black stove pic with my previous post

Great! Yes, that does give a country vibe.