Our New DIY Mantel

The new mantel is finally finished! Yay!

I still can't believe we actually made this. Our carpentry and design skills are basic, at best, so it was design, build and learn as we went along. 
Last weekend, Hubby decided the mantel really needed a surround, and started drawing sketches and taking measurements. 
We decided on a Craftsman look...simple, and hopefully, easy to build.

Here's the "before", which you've see lots of times. 
The mantel came with the house, when we bought it in 1985.
I was never in love with the style, plus it was way too high. I had to get on a step stool to put anything on it.

Over the years we've done a lot of upgrades in the house, hiring a professional to do them, but we never got around to changing the mantel.
So, after all these years, we decided to try to make it ourselves...go figure.

Here's a recap of what we did in November:
Hubby took off the big hunk-of-wood mantel, leaving the two support pieces... 

...and built the floating mantel around the supports. 
That lowered the mantel about 4 inches. 
Originally, we talked about a surround, but after we did the floating part, we forgot about it during the Christmas holidays.  I guess we really should have done it all at the same time, but... :)

Earlier this week, Hubby put up pieces of cardboard, so I could see how it might look. 
I'm not good at visualizing things. 

Next, up go the "legs".

Then, the middle part and the trim.

 And finally, the paint. 

What do you think? Did we do OK?

All in all, we're pleased with how it turned out. 

I still have a few spots to touch up...a nail hole, or two, that I forgot to Spackle, etc. 
Budget wise, Hubby guesstimated the total cost at $75 to $100.
Thanks for stopping by and seeing our new mantel.
xo Babs


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