Tis the season for family gatherings and holiday parties. If you’re anything like us, you show your holiday cheer by decorating your home with light’s, wreaths, a Christmas tree and other holiday decorations. Since your fireplace is the centerpiece of your home’s interior design scheme the rest of the year, naturally you are going to want to make it look festive for the holidays as well. At TN Chimney & Home we specialize in creating customized mantels to fit any home designer need, so it’s no surprise that we also have some good holiday decorating tips when it comes to your fireplace and fireplace mantel.
There are a lot of different holiday themes to choose from when decorating your fireplace and mantel. However, there are a few common suggestions that should be taken into consideration no matter what your theme.
Paint
If you are thinking of painting the inside of your fireplace, you need to keep a couple things in mind. First of all, the interior of your fireplace needs to be thoroughly cleaned. This means cleaning out all the ash and scrubbing the interior walls with a stiff steel brush and a cleaner like trisodium phosphate (TSP). Second, you will need to use a special kind of paint that doesn’t react with the heat and fire byproducts.
If you are painting your mantel, be sure to get the correct paint for the material that your mantel is made from. Also be sure that the colors you choose mesh well with your holiday decorating scheme as well as with your normal, year-round decorations.
Clips
A lot of holiday decorating schemes involve hanging stockings from your fireplace mantel. However, you will want to avoid hammering nails into your fireplace brickwork or woodwork. You can protect your mantel by using brick clips to hang your stockings, wreaths, or other holiday decors. There are also adhesive hooks that work well for hanging stockings and ornaments off of wooden mantels.
Safety
Adding holiday decorations on top of your mantel is a generally safe way to display your holiday decorations. However, you need to be sure that your decorations aren’t so heavy that they are putting stress on your mantel. Also, make sure that all of your decorations are secure on top of your mantel. You don’t want something to fall off and become a potential fire hazard.
You also need to be sure your decorations have the proper clearance from your fireplace. Make sure that there is nothing within three feet of your fireplace opening. This includes stockings and ornaments. Remove holiday stocking and ornaments while your fire is going. You can always hang them up again once your fire is extinguished.
Happy Holidays!
We here at TN Chimney & Home want to wish you a happy holiday season! If you need your chimney and fireplace cleaned before the holidays, there is still time. Call us today at (865) 922-2262, or go to our website today to set up an appointment. We’ll have your fireplace looking like new for the holidays!
