Fireplace Mega Deals

We all love our fireplace during the winter months when it is a great source of comfort and security away from the bleakest of weather and in a way is almost a living symbol of the old saying ‘home is where the heart is.’ Yet in summer when we are enjoying all the fun and natural benefits of outdoor living we hardly give our trusty fireplace a second thought, except maybe to feel guilty that there are still dusty ashes left over in the grate.

Perhaps now the fireplace is not being used it is time to put your creative skills to work by turning it into a beautiful accent, simply by decorating your fireplace for summer. With a bit of skill and imagination you can turn even the most basic fireplace into a stunning focal point. It may sound sentimental or even plain daft but as your fire has been there for you through rain, hail, wind, snow and thunder storms surely now it is time to show it a little tangible gratitude.

In old country communities our agrarian ancestors decorated ploughs, horses and even corn sheaves to confirm their needful relationship with Mother Nature. There were pagan, and then Christian, festivals held to give thanks for impending crops and then a good harvest and also to offer respect for whatever kept their lives safe and bearable; so in a way perhaps we also should give thanks for the joy of our fireplace by enhancing it, rather than disregarding it in summer.

The most obvious way to make an unused fireplace look much more cheerful is to embellish it with plenty of plants and fresh flowers. Silk flowers will do at a pinch but they are never going to have the charm of real flowers, especially if they gather dust and you choose flowers that are definitely not in season; such as daffodils in mid August.

If you have ample hearth space you can fill it with all sorts of flowering plants in pots that range from stylish for a grand fireplace, to winsome for the cottage grate. Potted plants are a great way to decorate your fireplace as they are available in almost any colour and in such a variety of heights that the whole arrangement can be quite enchanting. So much so that once again people are drawn to the fireplace not to keep warm but instead to admire the lavish floral tapestry in situ.

Another captivating option for a special occasion is to decorate your fireplace mantle by adding great swathes of ivy, honeysuckle and climbing roses, clusters of fresh fruit, strewn rose petals and beautiful wide ribbons, for an even better effect try adding cream pillar candles and fresh green grapes.

Ivory candles are particularly appealing as they bring cheer and beauty into your home and if you don’t have a real fire, but want to add a warm glow to your room, you could always use a bank of different sized candles as a substitute. What is also very attractive on top of the mantle is to have a display of candles in old-fashioned terracotta pots topped with fresh moss. Never be tempted though to leave candles unattended.

You can also make the fireplace smell nice by adding a few drops of essential oils, such as orange and cinnamon, to bowls of fir cones, fir tree cuttings and dried orange slices placed on the hearth. Alternatively fill a huge urn or copper bowl with dried rose heads steeped in tearose oil and stand it in just in front of the fireplace opening. You can easily dry your own roses or buy them from a specialist supplier.

If you have a kitchen fireplace that looks a bit dowdy in summer, liven it up with a herb garland made by wiring dried herb bunches to a grapevine wreath and adding chillies, bouquet garni, tiny terracotta pots and a big green bow. For parties or kitchen based family get-togethers you could even hang it with lots of your favourite edible delights.

Finally what is very effective decoration for any living room or hallway fireplace is to push masses of white-painted birch twigs into a sturdy wicker basket and then wind twinkling white lights around the branches. These simple, but sophisticated, lit-up twig displays strategically placed in a large hearth can be quite dramatic and even a talking point.