DIY Fireplace Mantle

by | Nov 4, 2021

By Melissa Moyles

Happy November Y’all! Lot’s of home décor projects this fall and this is probably my favorite.

First off I love my fireplace. LOVE IT. It is stone and goes from floor to 20ft ceiling. Every few months I get a hankering to white wash it but have never pulled the trigger. I also have always wanted to make the mantle stand out a bit more and FINALLY took the leap.

stone fireplace

I had seen a bunch of examples on Pinterest where homes with light fireplaces went with dark wood mantles.

fireplace mantle example

But since I have natural stone I wanted a lighter wood mantle. I googled and pinterested (is that a word?) and decided a slide on mantle box was my best option.
A couple trips to Home Depot and $100 later, here is what I got:

Materials
3 pine planks
screws8 small L bracketswhite paint (I used Behr Clay Dust)clear matt spray paint
ToolsMiter Sawclampsdrillsander

ready to build fireplace mantle

sawing wood

As this was a little awkward to do solo, I brought in my favorite helper – My Dad! He was a rockstar with all the cuts as I notoriously cut too short.
After I measured the length and width, I put together a box using screws and clamps without the face to make sure it could slide on. Success!

making wooden box for mantle

added wooden mantle ready to complete

To ensure there were no screws showing on the face, I used 8 L brackets connecting to the top and bottom from inside. Some wood filler over the screws and a lot of sanding and voila!

wooden mantle in place

For color, I didn’t want to fully cover the beautiful wood grain of the box but also wanted to tie in the living room built ins and kitchen cabinets. So I grabbed the built-in paint I had in the garage, Behr Clay Dust, and created a white wash. After it dried, I sprayed on a coat of Rustoleum clear matte spray paint.

This project was super simple but made a huge impact to my living room. Let me know if you make your own!

Best, Melissa

holding sunflowers in front of DIY fireplace mantle

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Melissa Moyles

Hi! I'm Melissa

In the borders of being a full time Marketing VP and a full time wife and mom, I strive to build a beautiful home for my family… 1 DIY Project at a time. Join us on this journey!