Wednesday, September 19, 2012

ABOUT OUR MANTLE


In the last couple of weeks, I had several people email me,
asking me where did we buy the mantle in our family room.
I thought I make a quick post to explain how our mantle came about.

This was a DIY project. 
My husband built the mantle about three years ago.
When our home was built, all they did was add a small mantle,
also made out of the rock used for the fireplace.
It was a very tiny and almost impossible to decorate due to the shape of the rock.

It was kind of a difficult project because it took him a while
to figure out how to attach the wood mantle to the rock on the fireplace wall.
But, he is good! LOL And the finished project was awesome!

Here is what it looked like when we moved in our new home.


 Little by little the mantle started to take shape and,
after a few weekends of hard work, a few temper tantrums LOL and
several " I give up",  the mantle was finished.






We painted it with Delicate White in satin by Valspar.
This is when I learned that there is a trillion shades of white!
Had no idea! It took a while to choose one, believe it or not.
And this is what it looked like when it was finished.



We always thought that something was missing, until one day we
came across these little appliques and the light bulb went off! :)
We painted them with the same color and, after that, 
we were very happy with the results.





Something so simple made such a difference!


  
Here you can see it with and without the appliques and a view
of the family room back then.




And the next few pictures is how the room looks today.
Nothing much has changed, just a few added decor items and
the Fall decor on the mantle.







I don't have any pictures of the building process.
I wasn't blogging back then and I never even thought of taking some.
But take my word for it, this mantle is huge and it is 
taking me a while to learn how to decorate it. 

And although it is always a challenge for me, I look forward to 
many years of mantle decorating! :)

Thank you all for stopping 


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32 comments:

  1. You are quite right, it is amazing the difference a tiny detail can make. The entire mantle now looks fabulous.

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  2. Wow, what a great story! Your hubby sure is handy! LOVE the fleur de lis accents! Your decor is always so pretty!

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  3. LOVE the detail of the appliques! Looks great.

    Jennifer

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  4. It's a beautiful mantel! Your husband is quite amazing with his woodworking skills...wow!

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  5. It's a beautiful mantel, Maria Elena! Your husband did a great job. It's a definite difference from what it was when you first moved in.

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  6. It is beautiful! And just look at those perfect vacuuming lines!!!!
    XO Kris

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  7. It's amazing what a fleur de lis can do for a girl! You and your husband are a talented couple.

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  8. Your mantel is stunning, and you are so right that the medallions were the perfect addition!

    CAS

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  9. You guys did such a good job!! Your husband is so talented as well! I have those same couches in my front living room they are comfy :) And your vacuuming lines are on point :) Mine starts out that way and then I get lazy and go a bunch of different ways haha!

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  10. The mantel looks gorgeous! And I would love to find those fleur de lys appliques ( I am constantly stencilling them on everything lol )
    Hugs,
    Suzan

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  11. Absolutely beautiful! It really is a work of art ~ I can only imagine your husband trying to attach it to the wall. Your decor is very pretty! Fall is my favorite season.

    I'm a new follower and anxious to look around and find more of your talent. Stop by and say hi when you can!

    Pat

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  12. I just cannot get over the transformation! It is simply breathtaking. Well done!

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  13. I love your mantle, and the story about the fleur-de-lis, it's funny how you just know when somethings not finished. Looks great as well as your fall accessorizes.
    Karen

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  14. Oh this mantle is absolutely fabulous and it does set off your fireplace. Your
    fall mantle is wonderful, love that clock too.
    I am stopping over from Debbbiedoo's newbie party and am now a follower.
    Chrissy

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  15. The mantle is beautiful and you have decorated it so nicely. You and your hubby are a good team. Thank you for for coming to my new blog. I need all the help I can get since I am starting over. Thanks again, Shannon.

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  16. What a difference the wooden mantel makes on the fireplace. I love all of the details and molding. Your 'fallscape' looks lovely.
    Rhonda

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  17. Your mantle is stunning, but I don't have to tell you that since I liked it so my I featured it, but again everything is beautiful!

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  18. What a gorgeous room. The fireplace looks beautiful. I love the flur de les. Very very beautiful. Thanks for stopping by my blog. I hope you come back again. Have a wonderful day. Karie

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  19. You just have all the right touches there my friend. LOVES the little embellishments. thanks for sharing.

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  20. Your mantel looks fantastic! The fleur-de-lis added that special touch!

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  21. I love that you shared how the mantel came to be. You have such a lovely home. Your mantel looks lovely all decked out to welcome Autumn. Thank you for sharing at the Thursday Favorite Things hop my friend xo

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  22. oops left the thank you comment with the wrong log in xo

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  23. This is great! And the little fleur de lis did make a wonderful difference. Amazing what the smallest of things can enhance, isn't it? I love the clock!!

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  24. Wow, amazing. I really love the appliques. I'm new so, check out my vintage Halloween apron post. I could use some love, so stop by and like me on linky. Sewsweetvintage.com Awesome room!!!

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  25. Your mantle is lovely the appliques really made the difference, love the room!! So Cozy
    Sherry

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  26. It's wonderful! You and your hubby did such a lovely job! Thank you for sharing the in info about your project at Potpourri Friday!

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  27. Maria Elena, your mantel is absolutely gorgeous! Your hubby is truly a talented man. I would be in 7th heaven with that large beauty. I have been wanting to pain all of my trim and doors white. I was wondering what color I would use. Going to check out the Delicate White. When we bought our home three years ago the walls were all cream and trim all tan. So ready for it to be white. Just seems cheerier to me. Your Fall mantel is very lovely. Thanks for sharing it with SYC.
    Hugs,
    Jann

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  28. LOve the update to your mantle and your fall mantle is beautiful. Thanx for linking up to THT.

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  29. Lovely! So much better than the rock mantel. Your husband deserves a lot of credit for building that--and you do a great job of decorating it!

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  30. Your mantel came out beautiful! I also like your decorations for fall....vacuum marks on the rug made me smile! (i love them, actually!) LOL Great job! Ana

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