Happy, happy Friday!!!
The leaves are changing, the air is crisp and Fall is undoubtedly upon us! I’m sure you can’t have missed that it has absolutely exploded in the bloggy world too! Having begun this blogging journey last Spring, I haven’t had the opportunity to experience a change in season aside from Summer, which was consistently referred to as the slow time of year for bloggers. Wait just a minute … S-L-O-W?! In the thick of it all I remember thinking that if Summer was slow, then I was in BIG trouble come Fall! I feel like this blogging journey has been the steepest learning curve that I’ve had to face in quite some time and it’s been far more challenging than I ever expected it would be. At the same time, you must know that I’ve enjoyed every minute of it! I’m transforming our home, making a ton of new friends and it’s really all been SO incredibly fun and rewarding! I must say that coming into Fall as a blogger for the first time has been absolutely exhilarating! The energy in the blogging world is truly amazing to me and I completely understand what everyone meant about our slow Summer now. I’ve never before seen such an explosion of inspiration and excitement from SO many people all at once and it’s really got me thinking about how AHHHHMAZING Christmas is going to be this year! Anyway, my point is (I swear I have a point!): All of this excitement about Fall has totally overshadowed all of the fabulous projects I had been planning for our house. We’ve done our duty and tackled some of the biggies before Winter, which I’ll be sure to share with y’all through the next few weeks, but I’m absolutely dying to get going on all things Fall!!! So prepare yourselves my friends, for two weeks (maybe even three if things get really crazy!) of cozy Fall themed projects that are sure to get you as excited about this beautiful time of year as I am!!!
As promised, we’ve been incredibly busy behind the scenes and I’ve got loads of projects to share! Because I’ve been searching for the time to sit down and write this post for over a week now and I couldn’t possibly make myself wait another day to share it with you, I’m going to skip my Favorite Things Friday this week to share something equally as cool (in my humble opinion)!
Check our new fireplace mantel! And just in time for the holidays!!!
So, here’s how we did it:
We started by measuring the wall space left between the rocks of our fireplace, which was just shy of 10 inches. We were picturing a big, square beam, but we weren’t super keen on the look of the mantle sticking out the 10 inches from the wall to make it all square, so we decided to scale it back to only 8 inches from the wall instead. We eyeballed a length that we thought we would like, which was 7 feet for us.
With all of these measurements, Brady got to cutting the wood and assembling the 3 long sides of our “box” with a bit of wood glue and some finishing nails.
Brady then nailed a piece of wood inside either end to complete the “box” look. We plastered over the nail holes and any imperfect edges with some polly wall fill to level it all up.
We decided to “dry mount it” before painting it just to make sure that everything was going to work. That way we weren’t risking mucking up the perfect paint! Brady mounted a board just shy of the length of the entire mantle (about 52 1/2 inches). He mounted it 3/4 inch down from the bottom of that top section of rocks because the boards we used to make the box were 3/4 of an inch thick, which should make it meet up perfectly with the rocks.
Thank goodness, somehow, it all went smoothly and according to plan.
So, back down to the garage it went for a coat of primer and two coats of paint. We chose to use the same white as our trim, Cloud White by Benjamin Moore.
Finally it was time to mount this baby on our fireplace for good! With just a couple of screws through the top into that mounted board inside, and a bit of mud and paint to cover the holes, we had ourselves a beautiful new mantel! I cannot believe we’ve lived here almost a year without a fireplace mantel! And it was SO easy to make!!! At least we’ll have somewhere to hang our stockings this Christmas!
We would have loved to use some sort of reclaimed wood beam, and maybe someday we will, but I’m pretty thrilled with what we were able to come up with all on our own! I cannot wait to decorate it up with all sorts of fun Fall crafts next week!!!
What do you think? Much better than that empty whole I’d say and for less than $25!
Wishing you SUCH a lovely weekend!!!
You can find me sharing here & at Savvy Southern Style.
Oh this is so amazing! Can’t wait to see how you decorate it now!!
Awwww, thank you SO much Bre!!!
Well, I enjoy most everything you do and I hate to be negative, but think the color is too much of a stark change…perhaps paint a lighter tone found in the stone, or add a tinted wax, or distressing the mantel, might help. But hey, whatever makes you happy, it’s your lovely home and your journey…
Thank you for your advice Linda! Painting it white wasn’t my first choice – we originally wanted to make a wooden beam look, but found it difficult to make it all look like one piece of wood, so in the end we decided to paint it. I’ve actually thought about distressing it, but haven’t decided for sure – I think we’ll live with it like this for a while and see if that urge to distress it grows. Thanks again!
That is absolutely beautiful! You did a really great job. I love the color of the stones, it’s like a riverrock color.
Thank you SO much Leslie!!! I’m so excited to finally have a fireplace mantel!
ooh, I love it! And your fireplace is amazing, too. Have fun decorating it–you’ve got a great blank slate for it 🙂
Thank you SO, SO much Gretchen!!! I’m going to have a blast decorating it for Fall! Wishing you a lovely weekend!
What a badass fireplace!! It’s going to look awesome with holiday stuff swagged all over it 🙂
Well thank you Emily!!! I can’t wait to fill it up with all sorts of fun stuff!!!
You are incredible! I don’t know how you find the time and skill to do all of this. Great job and such a nice upgrade to your fireplace!
Thank you Bre!!! My handy hubs is SUCH a huge help!!! Have a fab weekend my friend!
It turned out great! I have a stone fireplace and painted the mantel a white. I love the stark contrast of the two. You did a great job building that!
Thank you Emily! It really does pop! And I love that it matches our doors and trim!
Looks SO great, Kristi! It looks like it totally belongs there and has been there all along!! I like the white contrast against the rock. Beautiful! 🙂
Awww, thank you SO much Amanda!!! I’m absolutely thrilled with how it came together!
Kristi, I think you should always keep it white. You will never have to limit your decorating decisions. Great job! Can’t wait to see what you do with it at Christmas. I just love how you decorate for Christmas!
Awwww, thank you SO much Karen!!! You’re absolutely right, it will be SO easy to decorate around white! And it will make everything really pop! With the move last year, we didn’t do much for Christmas aside from the tree, so this year I’m just dying to make up for it! xo
Very nice!!! No one will ever believe you built your mantel for less than $25.00!!!Great job!
Awwww, well thank you Cathy!!!
Wow, this fireplace mantel looks lovely! It definitely adds a focal point to the fireplace, and who doesn’t love a good mantel to decorate for the holidays? Looks great!
Thank you SO much Caitlin!!! I’m dying to get it all swagged out in Fall decor!!!
Looks great, Kristi!! Love that crisp white!! We’ll hopefully be adding a mantel to our existing fireplace sometime this winter too!
Thank you Nicole!!! Can’t wait to see what you come up with too!
Thanks for linking up to the Bloggers Brags Pinterest Party. I have pinned your post to the Bloggers Brags Pinterest Board.
Thank you Taralyn!!!!!!
I LOVE how this turned out! Your fireplace design is awesome and the stones are gorgeous. Your new mantel makes the perfect accent to it! Can’t wait to see how you style it 🙂
Awww, thank you SO much Erica!!! I’m SO excited to fill it up with all sorts of holiday swag!
What a cool fireplace. And, I <3 your mantel!!!! Pinned
Thank you SO much Michele!!! I’m thrilled with how it turned out!
Looks beautiful! We just bought a house that has a beautiful fireplace, but no mantel! I never even thought putting one in would be possible. This gives me a good place to start, thanks so much!
Really?! We thought we were the only ones!!! It’s definitely nice to have one now!
Wow! What an undertaking. It looks great! Thanks for sharing at Merry Monday.
April
http://www.stampinfool.com
Thank you SO much April! We’re thrilled to finally have a mantel! Thanks for popping by!
I love how this turned out! It’s beautiful Kristi! Building a mantel can seem like a overwhelming project but you made it look easy!
Awww, well thank you! It was SO much easier than we thought it would be, I still can’t believe we waited so long to try it! Definitely looking forward to filling it up with all sorts of holiday swag!
This is actually pretty similar to what we want to do but we have to reface our entire fireplace and I am still trying to convince hubby to life it off the floor. I think a hearth would be so much better. Love yours and great job.
I never would have thought it would matter, but I LOVE having a hearth! Not only is it fab to decorate, but it’s such a nice spot to perch when we have a lot of friends over, or just to warm up in front of the fire. We often lay our gloves out there after a big ski day and it’s actually our little guy’s favorite spot to sit and read stories! Who knew there would be so many memories on a hearth?! Good luck with your reno Rachel – I’m sure that no matter what you decide, it’ll look fantastic!!!
Oh, I don’t know the hole in the middle was so avant-garde. Well done that mantle is beautiful.
Hahaha! Thanks Carmody!!!
Love it Kristi! I love seeing all your projects. Your house is coming along so beautifully!
Thank you so, so much Amy! Slowly, but surely 😉
Wow Kristi, your entire mantel is quite the looker! I’m head over heels in love with that brick, and I’m not quite sure I’ve seen anything like it! Off to go pin!
Thank you so much for linking up to Outside [the Box], hope to see more projects next week (Tuesdays at 5pm EST http://bit.ly/BlackAndWhiteObsession).
Awww, well thank you so much Trisha! I’m really excited to finally have a mantel to decorate!!!
This turned out great, Kristi! What a difference it makes! Wish I had a beautiful fireplace like that.
Thank you Tara!!! I’m really happy with how it turned out and even happier that I’ll have somewhere to hang our stockings this Christmas!!!
Less than $25?! This is a easy and inexpensive project but it made such a difference! Your fireplace looks like a cozy place to warm up on a cold night. Thanks for joining us for Hump Day Happenings.
Awwwww, thank you SO much Jenna!!! It really has made SUCH a huge difference! I can’t wait to fill it up with all sorts of pretty holiday decor now!!!
Love it! Pinning and thanks for linking up with us at the DIY’ers!
Thank YOU Ashley!!!
The mantel really completes the look of the fireplace. The white wood is a nice contrast with the stone. It is going to be such a great place to decorate, Kristi!
Awwww, thank you SO much Jamie!!! It definitely looks WAY better than that gaping hole and it will be SO much fun to have a mantel to decorate!!!
This is awesome! Can’t wait to see how you styled it! Found you on The Girl Creative Link Up Party!
Thank you SO much Kyla!!! I’m dying to fill it up with all sorts of Fall swag!
I absolutely love this! Pinned. It is so fun to party with you. Thank you. I hope to see you at our party on Monday at 7 pm. http://loulougirls.blogspot.com/
Happy Saturday! Lou Lou Girls
Thank you SO much Kimberly!!! I’ll definitely see you there!!!
It looks SO GOOD! What a perfect fit. (I love Cloud White too, and I’ve decided to repaint ALL of our trim and doors in it… much to Hubby’s dismay.) Have a great week!
Hahaha! That’s a BIG job, but I’m sure it’ll be worth it!!! Wishing you a great week as well!