Mantel Ornaments & Candlesticks The self-sacrificing woman who possesses many fine ornaments appropriate for the mantel shelf and who does not put them all upon it, deserves much credit. Quality counts more than quantity, however appropriate the surplus ornaments may be. The main ideal is to keep the mantel shelf uncluttered. Mantel ornaments generally consist of a pair of candlesticks and they should be suitable to the period of the room and in scale to the mantelpiece. The candelabra or sticks should not be so heavy as to seem to bear down upon the shelf, and they should be of sufficient size to prove of some decorative importance. Balance is maintained by using objects in pairs, a pair of vases, candlesticks, bowls, jars or statues. Placed at either end of the shelf, they should be higher than the intervening objects, to form a sweeping curve. Also they help to frame in the over mantel picture or mirror. A good grouping consists of a pair of Chinese bronze candlesticks with red candles and in the center a bronze jar of interesting shape, relieved by two small pieces of colorful pottery. Old-fashioned lamps may be fitted up as electric fixtures or with candles, making a good mantel end garniture in a Colonial room. A set of old-fashioned glass or China ornaments may be placed between them. In a modern living-room, furnished in a mixed style, copper candlesticks with pottery bowls between, used to hold flowers, suit the no-period room. The quantity of ornaments should be decided upon according to their own value, i.e., if a remarkable piece of statuary or ornament is used, it should be given the place unhampered by trivial things. Using a pair of beautiful vases on a mantel shelf should preclude the possibility of putting with them anything else. Everything should be well chosen and carefully placed. A strip of fabric, an antique priest's stole, a piece of lace may be used on the mantel shelf or put on it as a lambrequin, but unless the period of the room permits of this, it were better to leave the shelf uncovered. In a room where the public enters, no personal photographs should be placed; these should be reserved for the bedroom. The suggestion for fireplace mantel decorations given here may be applied to the other shelves and the tables in the room. Keep them free from dust-collecting, trivial things, and thus create a sense of order and cleanliness. Next Page: Selecting Furniture. | 