Two nights ago I was sitting in my fairly newly purchased condo with my room mate when she decided that we just HAD to have a mantle to add Christmas decorations to. Granted, we had a mantel on our list of things to do within the two year time frame we are trying to fix this place up, rent it, and move out. However, it wasn't placed on the top of the priority list until Holiday season rolled around!
At Lowes, none of the pre-made mantels had the exact measurement of the width of our fireplace and unfortunately, custom mantels cost a minimum of $400 and upwards. Plus, there is obviously going to be a good amount of wait time. So, why not try to MAKE a mantle from scratch? LOL!
We bought a piece of plywood, a piece of crown molding, and two wooden decorative end pieces, paint, nails, and glue and we went home to build and mount a fireplace mantel. (Against the better judgment of every Lowe's employee). But who are they to give us home improvement advice? Pssshhh! (<--sarcasm)
Here's the empty fireplace with no mantel:
Here are the wood-scraps we bought to build our mantel from scratch:
Here is the AFTER shot. Our new mantel built and hung:
For two girls that have no home improvement experience; I think our idea came out quite nicely!! In the end, the total cost of this project was $120. Not too shabby, eh?
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