Get organized! See our favorites in the shop

Remodelaholic

DIY tutorials, Woodworking plans and more.

FREE BONUS: Kitchen Organization Boot Camp
  • Home
  • About Us
    • About US
    • Contributors
    • Facebook
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
    • Instagram
    • Disclosure and Advertising
    • Contact Us
  • Shop
  • Project Ideas
    • Our Houses
      • Birch House (current projects)
      • Canyon House
      • Park House
      • Downing House
      • Logan House
    • DIY Project Plans
    • All projects
    • Barn Door Baby Gate
    • Dutch Door
    • Framing A Wall Mounted TV
    • Indoor Playhouse
    • Beach Themed Living Room Design
    • Chicken Coop Building!
    • Computer Desk
    • Computer Desk Plans
    • Custom Newel Posts and Stair Remodel
    • Family Room Sneak Peek
    • Headboard Tutorial
    • Living Room Progress
    • Mood Boards
    • Scrabbled Family Names
    • Pets
  • Design By Room
    • Bathrooms
    • Landscape
    • Kids Bedrooms
    • Kitchen
    • Living Rooms
    • Laundry Rooms
    • Master Bedrooms
    • Mood Boards
    • Office
  • Holiday
    • Christmas
    • Halloween
    • Patriotic
    • Easter
    • Fall
    • Saint Patrick’s Day
    • Thanksgiving
    • Spring
    • Valentines Day
    • Winter
  • Crafts
    • Printable
    • Art
    • Paper Crafts
    • Kids
    • Fabric Crafts
    • Decorate
  • Recipes
    • Appetizers
    • Beef
    • Beverages
    • Breakfast
    • Chicken
    • Desserts
    • Dinner
    • Fruit
    • Healthy
    • Holiday
    • Lunch
    • Main Dishes
    • Salads
    • Sandwiches
    • Sauces
    • Seafood
    • Side Dishes
    • Soup
    • Vegetables
  • Videos

Faux Mantel Plan

Written by Cassity

  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Well, I have been hinting about the project we have been working on for the last little while, and I am finally here to show you a little more about what we’ve decided to do..

 

Let me back up a little first, when we moved to Texas and were first looking for houses, I really wanted a 1950-60s ranch (all the right features, usually wood flooring, formal living and dining and fireplaces!)… but the homes in our budget were more more work than I was desiring at the time…  Which ended up being a good thing since I got pregnant the month after we moved here and nothing on the house happened for AGES!

 

The house we bought is a relatively new nondescript/builder grade home without a fireplace, or decent piece of molding in the entire house.  Ugh!  But we have been working on fixing that… More recently, with this big built in project we just showed you, and one of my goals within this project was to create a fake mantel. I admit it, I have been majorly influenced by blog-land mantel decorating…

 

mantel-decor

 Pottery Barn

Tommy likey!…  I. REEEEALLY. WANT. ONE.

 

Maybe if I had one, I would decorate for holidays, or seasons… maybe?!  But seriously, having a spot to focus on decorating would make me feel like I was festive (for whatever holiday), and keep it from getting out of control or simply too overwhelming.  AND I just really want a place to hang stockings (although, I found that my 10 month old really just likes to pull them off, the second I hang them up… so go figure)

 

Way back in June I looked around for some awesome fireplace inspiration, And I thought I would show you a little more! today before I reveal my plans:

fireplace mantle style bhg

BHG

beautiful mantel

Caitlin Wilson Design

 

mantel

Pawleys Island Posh

 

When I first started drawing the plan (before realizing we could break into the wall above the stairs) this is what I was picturing… but really quickly (pretty much the second I finished drawing it, I decided I didn’t like the proportions of the mantel it was too elongated on the bottom…

first sketch of mantel copy

So I made a copy of that image, and then did some erasing and created a stepped up hearth to even out the scale of height to width… until I liked it.  After this drawing (below) we went to work measuring it out exactly and got building.  You can see the process here, the plan, building 1, building 2 and semi-final reveal.

Family Room Elevation

Our time was short, so we skipped out on the mantel.  And honestly we’ve been working on it off and on for three weeks and we still aren’t done, so there is no human way we could have been done in time before.  I am glad we didn’t try!

Since this room really hasn’t been on the blog before (cuz, I’ve never done anything with it!) let me show you the progression of this spot.  Originally we had a long dresser, that had been moved from another room and had no home…it sort of just became the entertainment center.  I never loved it and  Etta kept pulling out the drawers and climbing up!  So I Craig’s Listed it.

old dresser tv stand

Then our friends remodeled their fireplace and gave us their old mantel.  In my crazy nesting phase, literally 5 days before having Lydia, (while we were working like crazy on our living room) we sold the dresser that we had our TV on and I had Justin hang up the TV and also hang the mantel on the wall.  (this picture makes me miss my little Buddy!  He was always helping!)

fake mantel 1

faske mantel 2

fake mantel 3

When we did the built in project, we basically did nothing else to that mantel, but add some sides, and the hearth, (which was part of the final plan).   Nothing else was permanent and it looked like this.

Now I must admit, I really can’t stand the look of it.  It isn’t awful, but the proportion is just way off to me.

IMG_7401

The overall built in project I love, but the mantel just stuck out like a sore thumb to me…. So, we decided to go ahead and finish.  I re-drew the plan to scale.  Justin and I discussed it for a while, drawing and erasing for a while until we got a look we liked…

mantel sketch copy

Okay, so that is the plan… I will show you what we’ve been doing next week!

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
Remodelaholic is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. Please see our full disclosure here.

Published: January 19, 2012Filed Under: *Our Projects, Remodel Inspiration By Room Tagged: Fireplace, mantels, Park House, Park House Family Room

About Cassity

Cassity started Remodelaholic with her husband, Justin, to share their love for knocking out walls together. She is an interior designer, wife, and mother of two. She and Justin have remodeled three homes from top to bottom and are working on their fourth. Making a house a home is her favorite hobby.


free email bonus

Kitchen Organization Boot Camp

Is your kitchen a zen paradise? It can be. I'll show you how.

Previous Post
Patchwork Distressed Side Table Revamp
Next Post
Shabby Apple Giveaway! and RA 106

Comments

  1. heather says

    January 19, 2012 at 5:49 pm

    I like what you have but I LOVE the new plan!!! Can’t wait to see it!

    Reply
  2. Jenny says

    January 19, 2012 at 6:20 pm

    It’s going to be fantastic! I can’t wait to see the final project!

    Reply
  3. Kelli says

    January 19, 2012 at 7:55 pm

    That looks beautiful! We recently did our own faux mantel too, found here https://thehelmhouse.wordpress.com/ I have to say that you never fail to impress!

    Reply
    • Cassity says

      January 19, 2012 at 9:12 pm

      Yours looks great too! i love how you built the box inside! Fabulous!

      Reply
  4. Jennifer says

    January 19, 2012 at 10:39 pm

    I feel your pain! I live in a builder grade home (in Texas, too!) with no fireplace and no molding. We put a “mantel” on the wall in our dining room and I also had a guy build me a giant mantel that is now our headboard. I love the look of a decorated mantel….now I have two! I can’t wait to see what you are doing to yours.

    Reply
  5. Vanessa says

    January 20, 2012 at 12:09 am

    That is going to look so incredible! Can’t wait to see how it all turns out and I know it will be beautiful. 🙂
    Vanessa

    Reply
  6. [email protected] says

    January 20, 2012 at 3:08 am

    Cassity this is so great! Your hubby is a handy man! Can’t wait to see the rest of the projects!
    Love, Olga

    Reply
  7. Suzanne King says

    January 20, 2012 at 9:38 am

    I love what you have done. I have been following this reno carefully. The new fireplace plan looks awesome. Can’t wait to see it!

    Reply
  8. Roeshel says

    January 20, 2012 at 6:27 pm

    Looking forward to seeing it! I love your plans! 🙂

    Reply
  9. Sandy says

    January 21, 2012 at 7:42 pm

    I love it! Can’t wait to see how it turned out!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

We love hearing from fellow Remodelaholics, so let us know what you like about this and leave any questions below in the comments. If you have followed a tutorial or been inspired by something you have seen here, we would love to see pictures! Submit pictures here or by messaging us over on Facebook.
Recipe Rating




Hey there, I am Cassity! Nice to virtually meet you!

This blog is about DIY at its finest. We are obsessed with it and so are you, so while we're working and have nothing to show you of our own projects we show off yours. So submit your projects! More About Us…

Categories

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Meet The Team

Privacy Policy

Remodelaholic is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. Please see our full disclosure here.

© 2005-2016 Remodelaholic LLC, All Rights Reserved

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Copyright © 2021 · Remodelaholic

  • Pinterest
  • Facebook
  • Twitter