It’s easy to make holiday decor look nice when it’s neat. But a good designer’s work rarely plays it safe – and no one understands the art of the unexpected better than Shea McGee. In a recent Instagram video, the designer pulled back the curtain on her asymmetrical Christmas mantel idea, proving once again that imperfection, done right, can feel infinitely more elegant.
‘To get this huge statement on my mantel – which is very large – it needed a lot of garland, so I did five,’ Shea explains, referencing her dramatic cascade of McGee & Co. greenery – a mix of hyper-realistic pine, pinecones, white berries, and eucalyptus. ‘I pulled three into this corner and then did an additional to kind of taper it off on each side, because I wanted that buildup in the corner.’
The vignette is gorgeously undone: one side full and cascading, the other lighter, creating a waterfall-like flow. It reads both sculptural and editorial – a cool, off-kilter balance that looks very impressive but simple to recreate.
As for the stockings, those too, follow the less-is-more philosophy. ‘I get so many questions about how I hang stockings on my mantel because it has this really thick profile,’ she says. Her secret is so simple, you might already have them in your junk drawer: 3M hooks, hidden beneath the garland for a seamless, float-like look. Naturally, she clusters the stockings to one side, balancing the lush fullness on the other.
And because it’s 2025 – definitely the year of the decorative ribbon – Shea completes the scene with an ivory satin bow, doubled for drama and tied loosely to one side in true coquette fashion.
Shop Shea's Asymmetrical Christmas Mantel
You’ve got the blueprint. Now all that’s left is to shop for the ingredients. Ahead, everything you need to recreate Shea’s artfully undone Christmas mantel.
Above Shea’s holiday mantel hangs a moody still-life that looks like it was discovered at a Provence antique sale. Its gilded wood frame and gallery-wrapped canvas add gravitas, making the piece feel worthy of this prime slice of over-mantel real estate.
Five of Shea’s McCalister Stockings hang, of course, on just one side. Their cranberry stitching against soft neutral fabric doesn’t clamor for attention but earns it anyway. They ground the asymmetry, playing together beautifully while still understated enough to blend with whatever else you’ve got in your holiday mix.
We’ve learned that big mantels demand big reinforcements. Five garlands somehow don’t feel like overkill here. For those of us with more modest hearths, you can get a similar effect with three: two cascading on the fuller side, one tapering off for balance.
If there isn’t at least one bow in your living room this year, is it even festive? Shea doubled up on her ivory satin ribbon for emphasis. The extra yardage goes a long way, so use what’s left to tie off bare Christmas wreaths, or loop around the backs of dining chairs for cohesion.
On the coffee table in front of the fireplace, Shea placed a pair of vintage-inspired taper holders to echo the heirloom feel established by the artwork and stockings. They’d look just as chic up on the mantel, though. Instead of the usual symmetry – one on each end – try clustering two together on one side.
What’s a taper holder without the candles? Shea threads in a deep burgundy, a moody counterpoint against the lush, mixed-foliage garlands lining the mantel. But know they're also free agents – tapers are the punctuation mark every holiday surface (and candle sconce) needs.
Speaking of rewriting the holiday rulebook, Shea McGee’s proving she knows exactly which traditions to bend – and make look better in the process. Next up: her ten-foot Christmas tree, styled not in the living room, but in the entryway.
