6 Ways to Create a Garland Mantel In Your Kitchen, No Fireplace Needed

This year, many people are feeling the urge to go all out for the holiday season, and that includes decking the halls (plus every other room in the home). And while the fireplace mantel is the traditional spot to hang garlands, people are recreating the festive leafy display in another room that’s often used during the holidays: the kitchen.

As seen on Instagram, people are dressing their cooking areas in creative ways with lengthy garlands. It’s a fun and easy way to get your kitchen holiday ready, and these pictures are some great proof of it.

Take Brooklyn Decker, for example, who donned her kitchen last year with traditional Christmas garland (which she scored on Etsy, she revealed in the comments) that’s usually placed around a fireplace. Because her range sits in its own little alcove, the strand of eucalyptus leaves perfectly frames the space and adds the necessary touch of evergreen color needed to spruce up the place with some Christmas cheer. 

But even if your kitchen layout doesn’t match Decker’s, you can still take her idea and run with it. If you have a built-out range hood, like this Instagram user, you can poke some garlands (and twinkle lights) above the stonework.

If you have exposed wooden beams in your kitchen, you can easily wrap your garland around those and create a levitating holiday design, like the user above did.

Or, replace your kitchen valance with a single strand of evergreen clippings, as done above. The mix of eucalyptus and fir sprigs is both fragrant and beautiful to look at.

To really punch up your kitchen for the holidays, dress the space above your overhead cabinets—it’s dying to be done up with greenery, lights, and ornaments.

And if you have a large kitchen island, stretch a long piece of garland across the top to make for an easy, festive centerpiece.

You can purchase your garlands both online, as Decker did, or at your local Christmas tree farm or garden center. Going with a fresh garland will fill your home with the sweet smell of pine and eucalyptus as well as add that warm feeling we all desperately need right about now.