How to Decorate an Electric Fireplace: 7 Stylish Ideas for Every Room

An electric fireplace already does a lot of the work for you. It shines, it heats the room, and it provides you with an immediate focal point without a chimney, gas line, and contractor. Even an undecorated fireplace may appear as an appliance against a wall rather than the center of the room it is supposed to be.

The good news: you do not have to do a complete renovation to fix that. In the right location, some styling formulae, and a little consideration of texture and light, you can make an electric fireplace look purposeful, welcoming and fully integrated, with or without a mantel.

Shortcut: To decorate an electric fireplace most quickly, you can simply select one wall to be a focal point, dress the mantel (or shelf) with a formula of hero piece + mixed heights + greenery, place a mirror or art above the mantel that is about two-thirds the width of the fireplace, introduce natural materials like wood and wool, and finally add warm secondary lighting. Ensure that decor is not within a few inches of any heat vents.

We will divide that into seven ideas that you can combine and/or mix, and a safety section that you must not overlook below.

Quick Facts

• Electric fireplaces do not need a chimney, gas line or exterior venting, which means that nearly any interior wall can be considered a candidate.
• The majority of the units vent hot air out of the top or front – these are the only parts that decor must not touch.
• a mantel is not necessary to dress a fireplace; a floating shelf, a ladder, or a console can accomplish the same task.
• Groupings of odd numbers (three or five objects) tend to appear more deliberate than even ones.

Why Styling an Electric Fireplace Is Different from a Woodburning One

How to Decorate an Electric Fireplace Some old habits are worth learning out of, should you have been brought up by a traditional fireplace. No hearth stone to guard against sparks, no soot to keep decor off, no open fire to scheme over, which in fact leaves you freer in design than with a fire. An electric fireplace can be installed in a bedroom, kitchen, home office or apartment without any concern of a flu or structural modification, and most models use a standard three-prong outlet, allowing you to even move or reposition one as your layout changes.

The sacrifice is that the realism is no longer provided by the fire itself, but by the styling. When a fireplace is wood-burning, it appears complete as soon as it is lit. A picture-gallery electric one has the advantage of a frame, art, a mirror, mantel, or even merely well-chosen furniture, which says to the eye, this was put here, not this was put there afterwards. And that is the actual purpose of all ideas below.

Know Your Clearance Zone Before You Decorate

Before you hang a single stocking or lean a single frame, find your unit’s heat vents. Electric fireplaces do not contain an open flame, but most of them expel warmed air via vents in the top or front of the device, and sealing those vents can destroy your decor, or trigger the overheat sensor of the device.

The exact location of the vent should be stated in your owner manual, however, this is a rough guide to clearance:

And the one rule that you must remember is this: Decorate about the vent, but not over it.

Idea 1: Choose a Focal-Point Placement First

And when you already have a fireplace installed, you are simply playing around with a given focal point. When you are still making a decision on the wall, consider the fireplace as an artwork, it has to have space to be read as an element, not as a collection of cluttered items.

Placement guidelines that hold up in almost any room:

• Place the fireplace in the middle of the longest straight wall of the room, or under the TV where it will be located.
• Use the wall in a bedroom where you can see it when lying in bed as the light will be seen as you rest.
• Keep about 3 feet of open space on each side of the next large piece of furniture, a stuffed bookshelf or oversized chair pushed directly against it will not only visually compete with the fire, but will frame it.
• Bypass windows with big windows. The flame effect is washed out by natural day light and an interior wall or a corner with indirect light is much more realistic.

Pro tip: A corner installation can make a small living room appear more cozy, as the angled sightline will attract the eye instead of running along a straight wall.

Placement also influences the appearance of the flame effect. Direct sunlight may bleach out the detail in a flame display, and, given a choice between two walls, you want to choose one which receives less direct afternoon sunlight. The colour and motion of the flame can be read on a wall of a colour, which is more important to the completed appearance than nearly any of the accessories you may add afterwards.

A quick placement checklist:

• Does the wall have sufficient length so that you do not have to have furniture crowding the sides?
• Is it in the shade most of the day?
• Does it comfortably view in the main seating area (or the bed, in a bedroom)?
• Does it have an outlet nearby or is there a plan to have one, as most units have a standard plug?

When you answered yes to all four, you have your focal wall.

Idea 2: Master the Mantel Styling Formula

The only thing that makes an electric fireplace appear to be hand-made, as opposed to being a store-bought one, is a mantel. When yours has one, make it a rotating display shelf of the things that make your home look like your home – photos, travel finds, books, and seasonal touches.

The mantels that designers rely on to design never appear cluttered are based on a simple formula:

1. One hero piece, a work of art, a big mirror, or a statement vase, which is typically positioned slightly off-center.
2. Two supporting objects of varying heights on either side – imagine a candle and a small sculpture, or a pile of books with a small object on top.
3. A green element, a small potted plant or a trailing vine soothes all the straight lines.
4. Odd numbers – pair three or five items instead of two or four. Odd groupings are easier to the eye than even groupings.

Reorganize this after a few months. Since a mantel is supposed to be swapped, do not consider your first attempt as a permanent one, replacing photos with new ones or replacing the vase with a new one according to the season will help to keep the space up-to-date.

No Mantel? Try This Instead

Numerous electric fireplaces mounted on the wall do not even have a mantel. Should that be your arrangement:

• mount a small floating shelf over or next to the unit to serve as a mini mantel.
• Have a decorative ladder tipped against the fireplace to put a throw and a small plant.
• Place a freestanding console or slim side table beside the unit to have the same styling possibilities without any wall hardware – perfect with renters.

Whatever the surface you are working on, do not be tempted to do it once and be done with it. One of the few places in a house that is supposed to change is a mantel or shelf, so make it like a gallery wall, which is updated a few times a year, not a permanent installation.

Idea 3: Frame It With Art, a Mirror, or a TV

Your fire-place already attracts the eye. Provide that sightline with something to do.

What looks good over an electric fireplace:

• A big round or rectangular mirror – it reflects the light around the room, and makes the room look bigger.
• A dull landscape or abstract art work.
• A mounted TV, the most popular and the least demanding, as it is also the visual anchor that does not require additional styling.

Sizing rule of thumb: Have your art or mirror about two-thirds the width of the fireplace or surround underneath it. Expanding the piece may give the impression that it is drifting out of its frame; contracting it may cause the wall to appear incomplete.

When you are putting up a TV, conceal the cords. Install them in the wall where your installation permits, or install a cord cover painted to match the wall colour – exposed cables are the quickest method of turning a otherwise well-decorated space into one that is unfinished. The same applies to the power cord of the fireplace itself: either have it blend into the darker furniture or baseboard trim, or have it run along the back of a media console, and not to have it hanging over an open floor.

Which one is the correct one?

• Select a TV when the room is also a media space and you desire a low-maintenance focal point.
• Select a mirror when the room is small or receives little natural light, as it increases both.
• Select art when you already have a solid color palette or style direction that you would like the wall to support.

Idea 4: Layer in Texture and Natural Materials

Fire is naturally inviting, so lean into that with materials that are warm to touch, despite the underlying electricity of the fire.

Layer these textures near the fireplace:

• An oversized knit or faux-fur blanket on a nearby chair.
• A sisal, jute or wool carpet before the fire.
• Wood side tables with natural wood, or wooden framed mirror.
• Linen or cotton cloth in neutral, soft colors.
• Vases on mantel, stone, or ceramic, or concrete.

Natural materials do not wear out and seldom appear old, this is important when you are designing a decor scheme that you would not wish to change every few months. When your fireplace surround itself is textured, a faux stone finish, woven cane doors, a clean matte panel, etc., allow that texture to dictate the overall tone of the rest of the room rather than clash with it.

The easiest method of testing the amount of texture you have layered: go to the door of the room and find at least three distinct types of materials in the vicinity of the fireplace – such as wood, wool, and stone. Less than that, the space may seem monochromatic despite good color decisions; more than four or five, and it begins to seem busy rather than stratified.

Idea 5: Add Layered, Warm Lighting

An electric fireplace is already a source of ambient light, and a single source of light within any room is likely to be flat. The two or three extra sources are layered to provide a depth and the glow is not accidental.

Lighting ideas to pair with your fireplace:

• Wall sconces on both sides, with warm-colored (2700K3000K) bulbs.
• A reading lamp in an adjacent reading nook.
• LED candles or lanterns clustered on the floor or mantel to add additional flicker.
• Dimming overhead lighting to be able to transform the room into a bright and functional space and a dim and ambient one in the evening.

Lighting that is warm and layered is not just good to look at, but warmer, warmer lighting in a living room has been linked to a more relaxed and comfortable atmosphere, which is precisely the effect that a fireplace is meant to have.

Consider light height, not light source. A room lit only at eye level (one lamp, say) is likely to be perceived as flat, whereas a combination of low light (floor candles or a lantern), middle-level light (a lamp or sconce), and the light of the fireplace itself will produce the effect of depth that makes a space complete in the dark. All three are not required in each room, and even a single additional source in addition to the fireplace will be sufficient to see the difference.

Idea 6: Rotate Decor by Season (Without Clutter)

The electric fireplace mantel can truly pay its dues in seasonal styling, but it is not a room-long re-theminging that is desired here. The mantel is a cluttered one that does not complement the fire.

In case you like to hang stockings, clear adhesive hooks that do not leave any marks on the finish can be used or a weighted stocking holder can be placed on the mantel shelf itself. Stockings should be hung up (or slightly off-centered to make them look more casual), and they should not have any vents in the front of them, as you want to think of your decor as framing the fireplace, but not covering it, so that the fire is always visible.

Idea 7: Build the Room Around It With Furniture and Color

The fireplace establishes the mood, however, the furniture surrounding the fireplace will make the room look complete.

• Symmetry sounds as serene. Flanking the fireplace with two matching accent chairs, matching sconces, or matching built-in shelves creates an intentional, editorial look that’s hard to get wrong.
• Sit facing fire. The fireplace can be the literal center of the room by having a sofa and one or two accent chairs facing it (instead of a TV on an entirely different wall).
• Add a contrasting surround color, in case you want the fireplace to stand out, or a matching color to the wall, in case you would prefer it to blend in.
• Match interiors and exteriors in case your fireplace room leads to a patio or sunroom – similar materials (such as a common color scheme or similar planters) make one style of the entire house.

Mantel vs. No-Mantel: Two Decorating Approaches Compared

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Covering the vent. The single most common — and most avoidable — mistake. Always refer to your manual.
• Overcrowding the mantel. Over five or six objects tends to appear disordered and not edited.
• Leaning it against big pieces of furniture or an overstuffed shelf. The fireplace becomes deprived of its purpose as a center of interest.
• Selecting an art or a mirror which is either too broad or too thin. Adhere to two-thirds-width rule.
• Forgetting the cords. Exposed cables take away the best-decorated mantel.

Key Takeaways

• Use the fireplace as the centerpiece of your room and provide it with about 3 feet of breathing space.
• Any mantel or shelf, use the formula of the hero piece + varied heights + greenery, in odd numbers.
• Place a picture or a mirror over the fireplace, to an extent of approximately two-thirds its breadth.
• Overlay natural fabrics, such as wood, wool, linen, stone, to create a sense of warmth but not heat.
• Insert two or three additional sources of light at various heights to add depth.
• Have no more than 3-4 seasonal decor and never in the heat vent.
• No mantel? The same styling options are available with a floating shelf, ladder, or console.

You May Also Read:

• Electric Fireplace Installation in Small Apartments
• Is it Safe to Put an Electric Fireplace in the Bathroom?

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