Everything Home Means ...: New DIY Mantel Shelf

August 31, 2013

More Mantel Shelf to Love

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Hey there everyone! It is good to be back from vacation. My family and I had such a BLAST boating, and soaking up this last week of summer.

Speaking of summer, I cannot believe it's over! Honestly, though, I'm actually really excited. Fall is my absolute FAVORITE season.

And that kind of brings me to the topic of this post.

My mantel shelf.

About a week ago I did NOT have much of shelf to love:

It was small.

And it definitely was NOT fulfilling my "I don't have a fireplace mantel to decorate" angst.

The whole thing was actually kind of upsetting, because up close it was a really beautiful piece of wood:

My husband built it for me out of some cherry we had in the garage.

But ... it just wasn't enough.

So, I first looked online for a new, bigger, shelf to buy. I found one from Pottery Barn that I kind of loved:

You can find it here.

But, let's be real. I'm wasn't about to spend $299.

SO ...

I showed that Pottery Barn version to my handy hubs. And he came back to me with this:

Not only did he want to build me another one, but he ALSO said it would only cost us around $50 if we used pine. So, naturally, I said "Go for it!" :-)

And, now, I'm very happy to report ... I have this:

Wowzer.

Soooo much more mantel to love.

My old stuff is swimming in all the new space:

I mean, seriously! Look at those candles! I could fit at least two more up there!

Here's a closer look at the difference:

Even though it's a bigger shelf, it's not overwhelming to the space:

It juuuust right.

The stain I used is called "Autumn."

I got it at Lowes.

It only needed one coat.

And I really like how the shelf color kind of matches my baskets, that go underneath the side tables:

I'd like to say I planned that, but it was mostly accidental ;-).

I did a little distressing on the finished product, but not much:

I may hit it with the hammer some more later. But, for now, I just want to get used to the new look.

I'm actually in the process of planning out my Halloween and Fall mantels. I have SO much more space to work with this year ... and this is a very good problem to have: