You eyes are not fooling you. Yes, this is a new blog post here at White Cottage Farm. This blog post I have been meaning to put together for sometime but due to… a few big things we have been just unbelievably busy here at the farm.
This was a project that I walked into, not really knowing what I wanted to do. As we moved throughout the build process, I came up with some fun ways to add character to a new mantel, and walked away very happy and proud with this build.
I have a special appreciation for old vintage mantels, and really scoured the internet for some inspirational elements across different rustic styles. Ultimately I wanted to keep it simple, because this was my first mantel build to go around this electric fireplace insert (link) I found on Amazon.
The build was done in layers. The backing was 1/2 inch sanded plywood. From three pieces, it creates the silhouette of the mantel.
On top of the base layer of plywood. There are two 1 x 3 screwed to the plywood vertically, working from the outside-in. These 1 x 3 are really to connect the three pieces of plywood, as well as lift up the top layer of trim to keep the mantel from being too flat. Two 1 x 8’s are installed perpendicular to the 1 x 3’s to lift the top decorative trim layer up away from the backing.
The trim was placed on top of the 1 x 3’s & 1 x 8’s. There is a 1/4 inch lip from the 1 x 3’s on each side. A finishing nail is placed along all of the trim. A 9 1/4 footer is placed under the panel trim and decorative cap.
The mantel ledge really ties it all together. A 2 x 10 is trimmed down to 7 3/4″. Below the ledge there is a 2 3/4 x 2 3/4 backer board. Crown trim is installed around the backer board with 5/8 peaking out below the trim. One of my favorite elements on antique mantels are custom made corbels. While mine were very simple, I think they really added a great and need touch to the silhouette of the mantle ledge.
Not too bad for my first mantel. I would love to build a few more of these with different elements. I hope you all enjoy. Check out Liz Marie Blog (here) to see how she styled the mantel and more of the rest of our master bedroom. Thank you for stopping by the blog and let me know what you think of the build. As always Give Grace!
Here you will follow Mr. and Mrs. LMB on their journey with redoing their 1800's farmhouse, taking on new hobbies, and sharing their day to day adventures.
Thank you for stopping by and we hope you come back very soon. 
Jose, it is beautiful! Thank you so much for sharing the awesome drawings, as I have been very excited for my handy hubby to build a second fireplace in our 102-year-old farmhouse. (We already built one several years ago, but it is stone.) This gives us some great ideas on building one from wood. You are very talented. We readers appreciate you taking the time to share your creations with us. God Bless, Tina from Oklahoma
Aww thank you so much. Please share when you guys build one. I think we are doing another one soon too in our front living room!
Really pretty – thanks for the clear instructions! Lots of super fun details!