 So excited to have Sara from The Aqua House here again today, sharing how she made this darling Faux Fireplace Mantle. Such a great design solution for those without a fireplace!
-Ashley
. . . . .
To start out you will cut your MDF board down to 5 foot long. Â Why didn’t I just buy 5 feet of it to begin with? These boards aren’t sold by the foot, so the 6 foot board was the closest one to the size I needed. If you choose to go with a different board that is sold by the foot then, of course, you would only need to buy 5 feet.
Next you will need to grab the piece of trim and turn your saw to a 45 degree angle. Â We are going to use 45 degree angles to give the mantle a nice finished look on the corners.
Cut your trim to the following dimensions:
Here are my two 7 1/2 inch sections. Our mantle top is only 7 1/4 inches, but we are adding in 1/4 inch to our side trim pieces to account for the 1/4 inch of trim that will be attached to the front of the board first.
This next step is optional. Â I decided that I wanted a groove along the top of my mantle to help hold pictures up on it. If you would like to add a groove to your mantle, now is the time to do it, before we attach the trim. Â I used a 1/4 inch round nose router bit. Â The bit looks like this:
Next, I set up a guide (the brown board that is clipped to the mantle top) so the line would be an even three inches from the back. Â Then I had my husband router it as I don’t have a lot of practice with a router and I didn’t want to ruin my mantle top.
After routering, it’s time to flip the mantle top over and mark where to attach the brackets. Â Measure in 4 inches from one end, and make a mark. Â This is where the outside of the bracket will attach. In other words, you will attach the bracket to the left of this mark (from this view). Â You will have a 4 inch mantle overhang on the side of the bracket.
Apply wood glue to the back of the bracket and attach it to the bottom of the mantle top.
Next, we are going to use a nail gun to attach the bracket instead of the screws that came with it. Â Why? Because the screws are too long and would puncture the mantle top.
After the brackets are attached, it is time to grab your five foot piece of trim and nail it to to the front of your mantle top.
Then attach your side pieces and use your wood putty to fill in any nail holes.
Now its time to bust out your paint cloth and go to town painting! I recommend using a satin or semi-gloss paint and lots of Floetrol to give it a smooth finished look.
After your paint dries, it is time to hang it on your wall.  Then, as I mentioned before, comes the most difficult part…deciding what to put on it!
Hi, I’m Ashley—the DIY-enthusiast behind this crazy blog!
