Last weekend I painted my fireplace mantel, an easy job that I had put off for years. It was a compromise between painting the entire fireplace white and leaving it alone. I didn’t want to use straight-from-the-can white for this, so I chose Valspar Swiss Cocoa in eggshell. I originally wanted Behr Polar Bear, since every other paint color in my house is Behr, but I’m starting to suspect that the Wolfchase Home Depot paint counter is a portal to hell. The wait there is never shorter than ten or fifteen minutes just to put in the order, so at least double that time if you’re actually getting paint. Several times I’ve left in disgust and come back later. I actually sent Home Depot an e-mail about it today, and I almost NEVER do that kind of thing.
ANYWAY:
Before:
After:
The mantel itself looks nice – the pretty details are more visible. I’m not sure about the overall effect, though. I feel like it just emphasizes the fact that the mantel is too high over the fireplace. I’ve heard it can be lowered, but Google is surprisingly quiet on the how-tos, and a professional would probably be expensive. I’m considering adding more wood under the existing mantel to beef it up and fill some of that space.
Oh and let’s not talk about those track lights. I’d love different lighting, but that too is outside my area of expertise. :P
I *love* the way the mantle just brings everything together! I think that it’s an awesome improvement to your fireplace.
Have you thought of putting a (nice) swag to hang underneath that will visually pull down the fireplace without having to do much construction to the mantle itself? During Christmas of course there’s the typical pine stuff…I’m sure if you want to go that direction you can find something decorative that will go nicely with the aesthetic you’re going for.