Cast Iron Mantle
3:22:00 PM |
| Yes, its Gilmore Girls. Yes I am ALWAYS watching it. |
Well, aside from the arrows this is the most popular part of my living room feature. The mantle always seems to be the biggest conversation starter. So Today I will share its story :)
In my old townhouse I had dreamed of having a candle or wood filled fire place, something that could hide my cable boxes and modem. With most projects I give myself a budget and tell myself "if its meant to be- it will happen!". For months I looked on craigslist, checked out antique shops and googled for "THE" perfect mantle. Originally I wanted a old wood shabby chic one. I started to realize I wasn't alone in this plan and those do not come cheap.
I finally settled on one that I found on Craigslist. The seller was selling two, one white, one black. He was in the process of doing a flip and gutting a house, so he was selling them dirt cheap. My budget was $80. He had them listed for $90. I emailed asking about condition and such and asked if I could come look at them. He emailed me back saying he needed them gone fast because the ad had been up for a while and he would do a lower price. I countered back with 50. He agreed. When I got there to look at them I realized they were cast iron! I also noticed the white one that I told him I wanted was in pieces! He said when the demo crew took them off the wall the white one came off in 4 parts ( how it was installed). I would have had no idea how to put it together and was majorly bummed. I did not need/want a black one. I mentioned this to him and also mentioned how I was not prepared for a 100 pound mantle and would have to see if I could find someone to help me move it.
He ended up emailing me that night saying if I came to get it he would give it to me for free!!! I couldn't turn this down! I would find a way to make it work! I immediately called home depot, rented a truck for the hour and headed over there all by myself ha ha! When I got there the demo crew all just stood back on their lunch break laughing at me as I tried to figure out how to get said 100+ pound mantle into the truck. I turned and looked at them all sweetly and begged them to help me move it for $20. They kindly agreed! 3 men loaded it up and I headed home. Un aware of what to do next. I called my neighbor who has become my go to with house projects (without his permission). After some begging and pleading and bribing with beer I asked him to help me unload it. Like most projects I ask him for help with, he ended up doing it all on his own. I still do this day, after watching other movers move it have no idea where/how he found super human strength to do it.
Once we got it inside, he screwed it to a beam in one place and I was set. It then dawned on me that there was no way this beast was going to be taken back outside to paint so I had to paint it where it was installed. I had not yet discovered chalk paint, knew regular paint would chip so I headed to the hardware store in search of appliance paint. I kid you not... Left Home Depot with 4 cans of white Rustoleum white outdoor spray paint!!
I shimmied some construction paper and plastic bags under the bottom of the mantle and went to town. I still do not know how I did not gas myself out of my house. I would not recommend this to anyone. Major hand cramps and 6 (had to get two more) cans later this beauty was finished! She could probably use another few coats after my latest move but I am so in love with it. Through the years I have changed the look with it, from candles in the center, to wood in the center to now logs. Below you can see the changes of the fire place and different setting ideas. Then I will explain my process for my favorite/ current set up.
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| This is just pieces of different sized wood pieced together, hammered and stained to fill in the arch |
So as you can see from the top photo I filled my arch with wood logs. Something that is always shocking to people and a surprise to understand is that those logs are 3/4th to one inch pieces of branches cut up ha ha! When I was home for Christmas last year I shared with my Granny and Papa how my dream mantle would be filled with what looks like fire wood. When I bough the mantle I had visions of having a three detention fo-wall in the arch lined with houndstooth tile or barn wood, but after many trips to home depot, and MANY discussions with the men there they talked me out of it every time. I do not have the tools or the budget to do this, plus the depth to the wall was not as deep as I had envisioned so nothing would have been able to sit inside the fireplace anyways. So what is the next best thing?! Firewood!
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| My Pappa cutting tree branches from a family friends yard. |
To start, I bought an extra tall trifold poster board. Target was the only place I could find one tall enough but so many supply and craft stores have them in different sizes.
Then I slide the poster board behind the mantle. I have 2 inch gap between the mantle and the wall how it sits. I traced the arch of the mantle and pulled the board back out.
Took the board outside and sprayed the poster board black, inside and a bit outside of the traced arch. That way if there are any gaps in the wood it will be dark and not be noticeable on depth.
After that dried I attached the wood pieces. First I laid them all out on the board how I would like them and went through and glued them down. I had to do this part in two steps because I ran out of wood. The first time I attached the pieces I used a glue bond that I had in my house from an old project on my coffee table (next post) It probably wasn't what I should have used, but as we discussed I wanted to stay on my budget. The second time I used my hot glue gun. I would not recommend that. The strings where everywhere and they are not as bonded to the board as they could be and in time will snap off with the glue.
The best part of this project is that it slides in and out for easy access to my outlet and cable box :) No more wires, bulky boxes.
Below you can see the photos of the the process and a close up :).
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| attaching my first few. You can see the spray paint edge on the bottom left. |
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| I actually liked the look with it not all the way full while I waited for my next wood delivery ;) |
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| The finished product! |
My 3 legged helper.
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