Recently, Matthew and I completed one
of my favorite projects to date--buying and restoring a 100+ year
old mantel to add to our breakfast nook. One entire wall in our breakfast area
is floor to ceiling brick with a gas-converted fireplace. It. is. gorgeous. I painted one coat of white paint over the brick to give it a white
wash appearance before we moved into the house. At first, I felt as though I
needed more coverage but I have grown to love the rustic feel it brings to the
space; it definitely fits in my style and my panache for anything
farmhouse-esque. After adding a coffee and wine bar to fill some of the space
on the wall, I still felt as though something was missing; Matthew and I both
agreed that a mantel surrounding the fireplace would finish off the space and
give the room a more polished look.
And so, I was off…searching for the
perfect mantel! I scoured antique stores all around the area to no avail; I
went to a few of my go-to stores that specialize in restoring old furniture;
and I searched Craigslist. Nothing. This continued on for several weeks and
Matthew and I were about to go with either Plan B or Plan C-- converting a twin
headboard into a mantel or building our own-- when I tried Craigslist
again, this time searching under 'antiques'. Voila! Up pops a beautiful antique
mantel listed for $75, which, I might note, is h u n d r e d s less than ones I
found while comparison shopping. I couldn't get to my phone quickly enough to
call the seller; I spoke with the sweet lady and asked her several questions
about the condition of the mantel-- "is there any significant
damage?" "is it sturdy?" "is the wood rotting?" etc.
because the pictures were very poor quality and I couldn't believe that such an
old mantel in great condition would be listed for so little!
She annulled my disbelief (gasp!) and we scheduled to meet soon.
I was so giddy when I finally saw the
mantel in person-- it was beautiful! Aside from a few areas that we would need
to seal with wood filler and two small pieces of trim that I felt needed
replacing, it was solid with such great craftsmanship. It had been painted several times over the
years and displayed so much character-- which I loved! After talking the seller
down to $65, we grabbed the mantel and bolted for the car before she could
change her mind. Kidding. But I was practically skipping my way down the
driveway after such a steal! After holding it up to the brick wall when we got
home, I decided I wanted to paint it my favorite color of the season, Sea Salt
by Sherwin Williams; this is the same color that is on our kitchen walls and I
thought that it would tie in nicely without being too overbearing or matchy.
Plus, I knew the color would show differently against the old wood grain than
it does against smooth drywall.
Matthew quickly got to work sanding
off all of the old paint chips and filling in the small holes and cracks with
wood filler. We decided to remove the two pieces of trim that were in poor
condition; however, since the pieces were on opposite and symmetrical sides of
the mantel, and we liked the look of it sans the trim, we didn't add
replacement pieces. We applied one coat of primer and two coats of Sea Salt and
roughed up a few of the edges slightly. Matthew was able to install the mantel fairly easily (you won't catch me drilling into brick!) and we stood there for
a few minutes admiring our budget-friendly handiwork. I went out the workshop
and grabbed and cleaned an old window and began snatching items from around the
house to style the mantel.
Here are some pictures from the
process (caveat-- some pictures are poor quality iphone photos. Whoops. I
promise I will get better with this, y'all!):
This easy project is now my favorite aspect of
the breakfast area and Matthew and I both agreed that we will continue to take
it with us throughout our subsequent moves with the Army, adding to its long
history and charm along the way!
Xo,
Meg
Absolutely Gorgeous! I truly think you missed your calling...interior decorating/design comes so naturally to you!
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