Find a Focal Point
Designers often choose to play up the fireplace with a central mirror, painting, or sculpture flanked by accessories. Dallas designer Paul Garzotto likes a mirror over the mantel because of the sparkle and light it provides. To avoid a common pitfall -- a mirror reflecting nothing that becomes a blank space with a frame around it -- Garzotto places a picture opposite the fireplace so that the mirror above the mantel will reflect the art.

Designers whose tastes tend toward the traditional often hang trumeaux over the mantel because the frames typically incorporate both mirrors and paintings and work with the architectural elements of a mantel. Paintings, such as antique portraits, landscapes, and modern art are always an option. They are substantive and counteract the visual weight of the dark hearth.

Group Collections
Sometimes a group of objects can be a more fitting centerpiece than one single object. Montgomery designer Jane Smith lined a mantel in a rustic cabin with fishing baskets, while Atlanta designer Suzanne Kasler displayed a collection of architectural tools.

In Palm Beach, designer Brooke Huttig layers mounds of shells along the shelf. "Pieces maintain their collective impact when grouped in a dedicated space rather than spread over several rooms or tucked behind closed cabinet doors," says Smith.

Ceramic platters, bowls, and vases, be they in blue-and-white or creamware, make striking arrangements, particularly when hung on a wall of a contrasting color. The trick is to weight the arrangement so that it looks and feels balanced.

A symmetrical approach organizes a mantel easily and is pleasing to the eye. Palm Beach and Memphis designer Bill Eubanks often chooses a five-piece garniture (two pairs flanking a single object in the center) as a classic balancing act. "We try to pair elements that are important and compatible with the mantel and the room," he says. An asymmetrical arrangement can achieve balance as well. Homeowner Stephen Black placed a pair of urns on one side of a mirror and a painting on the other.

In one of Birmingham designer Bill Ingram's projects, he left the mantel bare and hung a collection of four prints to one side, which worked with a doorway on the opposite side to create a sense of balance.

Whatever your decorating style, treat the fireplace as the centerpiece it is, and it will work its magic for you year-round.