New Mantle

I have lived in my condo for almost 8 years and I have always wanted some sort of mantle above my fireplace.

You all have heard about my stack of barn boards and how we used some to make a shelf for my parents house.

Well, now it's my turn! I used some left-over shelf brackets from my parents (hee, hee...free!), painted/ sanded them and bought 2 small L-brackets and screws for a few bucks.

In the background above is the board that I am using. Below is a closeup of the bark that is still on the board...love it!!

My dad and I started with the 2 small L-brackets resting on top of the fireplace trim.

Then we hung the big end brackets. I did not want to move my sparkly mirror, that is anchored to the wall, so we hung the mantle as low as we could.

Here are the brackets before the board.

I still need to paint the small L-brackets to blend in with the light blue walls.






To be honest, I will play with the look of the mantle for the next few weeks...but I had to arrange something on it right away!

I want to something tall for the 2 ends, this arrangement is too much of the same height.

I also think I want a longer board...but that can wait for now. I just want to dream of hanging stockings at Christmas for now!!