New Fireplace Mantel With Fusion Mineral Paint

Our family room has gone through many changes over the years.  Half round log siding, an addition, changing couches and changing colors.

But one thing stays the same.... it's a well used room.

I mentioned that I would like to update the mantel to something bigger and brighter, and the man with the power tools and Fusion Mineral Paint accomplished both.

When we built this house it had a rustic-living-in-the-woods-by-the-lake feel.  Most of that style has been gone for quite a while, but the old worn rustic wood mantel stayed on.

I liked my rustic old mantel................

But I love my new mantel.

I spent a lot of time in the same location while Brawn was working on the mantel.  Blanket over my toes, cell phone in hand to take pictures of the process.

Then when the mantel was complete I spent a lot of time admiring it with the same blanket over my toes.

 I have reclined a lot this winter.

Using masking tape to decide on two doors or one large door.

The new cabinetry posed some design issues, which resulted in a reconfigure after one side cabinet had been built.

The edge of the rocks are jagged which doesn't allow for a board to sit flush against the rock.  Could each notch be "whittled" out?  Yes they could, but we've been there and done that on past projects since we have field rock all over our house - it's time consuming and won't necessarily result in a good looking project.

 
So after a couple different options were discussed, the cabinet to the right was redesigned smaller and to NOT go over the hearth, instead opting to leave a dead space to stack wood.

The new white mantel however goes all the way around.

Every bit of white you see is Fusion Mineral Paint - my paint of choice - in Picket Fence.  It's a nice bright white and exactly what I wanted for this project. 

One of the many virtues of Fusion Mineral Paint is that it doesn't stink.  That's very important when you are cooped up under a warm blanket in the winter supervising your husbands paint job. 

Fusion Mineral Paint also glides on and needs no top coat.  My mantel is smooth, and the white paint brought the vision I had in my head to life.  I was going for a bit of a "cottage-y" look with the field rocks, did I succeed?

The other design-around's were the heat vent that is in the floor, and two different stacks of electrical outlets that we didn't want to move, and on the left of the fireplace was the previous wood box where the rocks jot off toward the wall.

I needed this to be a on the quicker side for a project, without too many time consuming structural changes - this wasn't the only thing on the to-do list for winter!

I chose MDF for the build because I knew we would be painting the mantel and I wanted it smooth without any grain.

Working mostly when he got home from work, the Brawn of the operation started the process after dark, while simultaneously building a bar area at the home of Daughter #1, and working on a breakfast nook update right around the corner from the fireplace.

I hold him captive during the cold winter, because once the temp's are above freezing I lose him to the great outdoor projects.

It wasn't quite midnight when the holes were getting putty, but the flashlight was still needed to help the eyes.  It was dark by 5:00 most days of the job.

The cabinet doors received recycled glass from old windows we keep on hand for just this purpose.

Or maybe we keep them on hand because I'm a window hoarder?

Whatever, we didn't have to buy new glass.

That little light type looking thing in the bottom top right cabinet corner is a laser beam that will cut you in half if you try to cross it after breaking into our house.

Not all of the above statement is true.

The corbels.  Ahhhhhhh, the search for the perfect corbels took me weeks.

Cash register prototypes.

Why you ask?

Well first of all they had to be made of that heavy weight foam stuff so they could be sliced to fit against the rock.

I've said before, when Brawn is 90 you will find him in his porch rocker whittling wood toys for his great great grand-kids, but if they need a corbel sized to order, he'll be the great great granddad for that job too.

Before the sides were finished or the corbels were installed, but when the mantel top was done, I loaded it up with my vintage hammered aluminum to get it out of the way on the floor where I had to keep stepping over it.

It was looking pretty good already, but those corbels, oh those corbels that I hunted for online till my fingers bled, how I love them.........

The family room is where we watch tv and eat popcorn, lay around when we are on the mend from some ailment and throw down the gauntlet for a competitive game of Uno.

I can't remember who holds the current Uno Champion title, we don't get the chance to play as often as we used to, but I think a certain 6 year old is the reigning champ.

Maybe I should have had a fire blazing in the pit for that photo instead of just a half charred log.

And then again, maybe not - I would have had to get up out of my spot on the couch to do that, which would have interrupted the admiring of my new view.

To see all the colors of Fusion Mineral Paint, click HERE.