We mentioned in this year’s holiday decorating post that we wanted to add a fireplace mantel this month — and we actually finished it!
Setting a goal to have a place to hang the kids’ stockings might seem small, but it pushed us to finish this project sooner rather than later.
When we moved in, the fireplace looked like this:
Here’s a wider shot from our first day — those packing blankets as curtains are a memory:
It feels good to be settled:
Over the summer Sherry refreshed the black surround and lightened the interior brick with paint, then finished it with crystal “logs” since the fireplace is non-functional. That update already improved the look, but we still wanted more dimension and a clean mantel to cover the rough transition from metal edge to drywall.
This is our third fireplace surround project. Years ago we covered an old brick mantel and added a marble tile surround in our second house, and later we built a mantel using leftover marble countertop in our last house. For this home we wanted something more modern to match the cleaner lines of the house exterior and our current aesthetic.
We gathered modern inspiration and decided on a simple design that could be done quickly. I like to plan builds by laying pieces out on the hardware store floor until a combination feels right. We texted options back and forth and landed on a design that cost about $105 and is easy enough to recreate over a weekend.
The finished mantel is essentially an upside-down U, identical on all three sides. We settled on a 9″ wide profile on each side and a 4″ depth so it wouldn’t jut too far into the room. The construction uses a hidden brace anchored to the wall that’s trimmed out to create the visible mantel.
The build is straightforward: basic common boards (1×2, 1×3, 1×4, 1×6, 1×8) and a simple inside corner molding for the only decorative detail. Raw boards work well for hidden pieces, but we used primed boards for visible surfaces. The most challenging part was the upfront measurements to make sure the mantel sat exactly where we wanted it, leaving some drywall and baseboard visible around the column rather than running corner to corner.
The result is a clean corner that turns with the baseboard and stops at the mantel, leaving a slim strip of drywall on each side of the fireplace column for a dimensional look.
Here’s how it came together, step-by-step.
Step 1. Construct the Base of the Brace
We removed the baseboard carefully for reuse and built the hidden brace from three 1×6 common boards into the upside-down U shape. The top piece was attached to the sides with pocket holes, but you could also fasten each board directly to the wall. Make sure everything is level and square before securing it.
Step 2. Trim Out the Brace
With the brace anchored, we trimmed the inside and outside edges with 1×2 boards to push the mantel slightly away from the wall and create depth. We used wood glue and nails for added strength. These border pieces are hidden so you don’t need perfect mitered corners.
Step 3. Add the Face Panels
For the visible parts we used mitered cuts for crisp corners. Two 1×8 primed boards went on each side of the brace, glued and nailed for a durable bond. Then we cut and attached the top piece to complete the upside-down U.
Note the 1×8 face panels overhang the brace slightly — plan your measurements so the overhang is consistent and the finished mantel centers where you want it.
Step 4. Trim the Edges
We added 1×4 boards around the outside edge for extra depth with mitered corners, then a 1×3 along the inside edge to create a subtle border. A simple inside corner molding on the outer edge added a touch of detail without making the mantel look traditional.
Step 5. Finish the Bottom Edge
To finish the open end of the U, we reattached the previously removed baseboard, cutting it to fit between the new surround. Because we were fastening to metal, a bead of caulk served as a light adhesive where needed.
Step 6. Spackle, Caulk, and Paint
Finally we spackled nail holes, caulked seams, and painted the mantel with Sherwin-Williams Pure White in a semi-gloss finish to match our interior trim.
We kept the profile slim so chairs and the tree don’t have to push further into the room. The finished mantel projects only about four inches from the wall, giving the room dimension without taking up floor space.
Those fireside chairs ended up staying because we use the bedroom as a main-level living space; Sherry even takes Zoom calls from them sometimes. The mantel also gave us a perfect place to hang stockings — we used small white cup hooks screwed into the underside of the mantel. In January we remove the hooks and store them in the stockings; the tiny holes are barely noticeable.
Inside the fireplace we made one small change to make the glow easier to turn on without bending over, and it eliminates any risk of stockings catching fire. Sherry filmed a short video showing this in action.
We also removed the tree and stockings to photograph how the mantel will look most of the year for our house tour. We plan to build cabinets on either side of the fireplace so the gap under the current storage will be closed and baseboard will run beneath them.
While we were updating the bedroom we also added a linen headboard. We picked a relaxed french-seam style and found a surprisingly good match in a kid’s-size headboard that fit our needs. It was easy to install and instantly improved evenings spent reading or watching shows in bed.
We’ll finish the built-in cabinets and share more photos and video soon. For now, we’re enjoying a cozy holiday-ready bedroom with a clean, modern mantel that was affordable and fairly quick to build.
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