Chippy White fireplace mantel

One of my goals for the coming year is to spend more time creating....to nurture my artistic/creative/diy self. This includes everything from paper goods to the blood, sweat, and tears projects for JunkFest. What better way to nudge myself than to join the gals over at CSI (Create Something Inspiring)? Each week they choose a theme and select a winner from tons of entries. My intentions are to be inspired by the upcoming themes and create something new.....either for my home, or for JunkFest. Since I just jumped on the bandwagon today, I chose a project that I had already done, which you may remember seeing here. This week's theme is "white" and the first thing that came to my mind was time-worn, chippy, cottage style. This style might not be for everyone, but it is definitely my favorite and white is the perfect color for it. One consistent color, even in a mix of styles, can create a coherent look. On to the project.

What do you get when you mix 2 old chippy white square columns, some weathered corral boards and a fleur de lis? A fireplace!

Here are the two columns I started with. Don't they just scream "fireplace!" to you? After taking apart the columns, only to discover that 2 of the 4 sides on each had a one inch lip sticking out, I sawed off the lip so that the boards would lay flush side by side.

Next, I layed the boards out flat to determine the width of the mantel....and hope like heck I had enough to make this work! Sketches, rough drafts......even measuring were not part of my plan at this point. I was working purely from the vision in my head...and eyeballing as I went along.
I don't really recommend this, it's just how I roll sometimes.

Next, I flipped the boards over and secured them with some horizontal planks. So far, so good.

After adding the sides, I trimmed the top & bottom and added a thick piece of plywood for the back. Then (this time I measured) I cut the opening in the front. It appears as though the opening is a bit small, but I still had a decorative element to add above it.

Dry fit the mantel, eyeballed some more....looking pretty good. Attached the mantel and a beefy corral board for the bottom. After darkening the top & bottom with a "secret" stain/paint formula, I added the metal fleur de lis to the front to "French" her up a bit.

And there you have it! A chippy-white, faux fireplace mantel.

If you're looking for more "white" inspiration, head over to CSI this week! Just click on the button below. Thanks for stopping by!