DIY

Faux Fireplace Mantle

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So while I am about to enter month four of my DIY kitchen renovation, I thought I should catch up on blogging about some of the projects I’ve done over the last few months. One of my favorite, is the creation of this fireplace mantle. It finally looks right in this space for me! Check out the before photos of when we bought the space to see what a transition it went through.

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I really love the look of white washed brick or German schmear, so origonally that was the look I went for. It just didn’t ever look quite right to me in our space, and the fireplace got lost on the shiplap walls. I had toyed around with the idea of painting the shiplap, but liked the idea of adding more drama to the fireplace instead. The white wash also seemed to pull more purple, rather than the red and white, I was wanting.

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So essentially to make this, I just boxed in my exisiting mantle. I wish I had been able to use a 45 degree mitered edge so that the seams were not noticible at all so it gave an even stronger imitation of one solid beam. However, the way my room is shaped, you do not walk by the sides of the fireplace, so by making the front piece extend the full width of the mantle, helps with the illusion of a solid beam.

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You can see I boxed it in as well as I could underneath, both for asthetic reasons (only kids would see underneath though honestly), but it also helps to make it more secure. I also used the underside for the stocking hooks at Christmas time.

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I used a piece of cedar for the front, just to make the mantle look a bit more authentic and nicer. I was close to leaving it unstained, I liked the natural cedar so much. However, the stain color ties into the shelves, island, and barstools in the kitchen, so it flows togther nicely.

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So glad I decided to stain it! I filled it with wood putty as well, and feel like it created a pretty seamless look! In addition with it being a very snug sit, and the bottom keeping it from being able to tip off, I also added a few nails to the top to keep it from sliding around, without causing hardly any damage to the mantle underneath.

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This is where the fireplace was in transiition with me adding the wood trim and painting it. I LOVE the contrast of the black, both with the ship lap, and with the art work in the frame TV.

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And because this post took me so long to put together, you get to see how I styled it for the fall and for Christmas!

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This Christmas mantle was actually my inspiration for the whole fireplace. I love this look and was so excited to create and decorate the fireplace for the holidays.

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Obviously we have come a long way from when we moved in, and the lighting, the flooring, the built ins, paint, and shiplap are all contributing factors on me loving this space. But the mantle is one of the easier and more affordable ways that I elevated this space!

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