Well this past week not much was done in our guest room because we were on vacation for the entire week , so outside of painting some of the trim today, not much has been done.
However, just because we weren't physically working on a project for the guest room, doesn't mean we had a completely unproductive week (or at least that is what I am telling myself)!
This week's focus was on the fireplace. The chimney bump out in the guest room is smaller than your average size (the chimney works as operable vent for the dining room gas fireplace and will not act as an operable vent for the fireplace in this room---as this fireplace will be faux). A standard size, mantle is 58" wide and our bump out is only 46" wide, so that being said we are not able to utilize an off the shelf mantle but rather we will have to build our own tiny tall mantle!
A lot of the DIY mantle's that I've seen on youtube and pinterest had more of that farmhouse craftsman feel, which dont get me wrong--they are super nice and I did just design a really pretty one for my SIL's house, but for this space I am looking to create more of an old world french style mantle that flows with the rest of the room.
Photo Credit: Pinterest
Now when scrolling through dream fireplaces on pinterest in books I am continually drawn to the cast stone and marble style fireplaces.....which I'd love love loveeeeee to have in this room but that is wayyyyy out of budget soooo we are going to try and create a similar look with wood and Plaster of Paris.
photo credit: pinterest
photo credit: pinterest
photo credit: pinterest
So since I cant afford said dream fireplace, DIY is the way to go, and the first step is figuring out the actual design and dimensions. This took a few hours of playing in canva and manipulating multiple pieces of different fireplaces to create a frankenstein mantle that fits build for this room....I'm almost hesitant to show you guys this roughed up image but ya know what it is what it is, I'm no photoshop queen so just glance at this image with one eye closed ahaha
My plan is to add the curved lines with the legs of the mantle and to keep the height of the mantle proportionate and I can accomplish this by adding a hearth to elevate the fireplace to the appropriate height and create a box that comes off the wall enough so that I can fit a little box inside the mantle to add candles or little cannon balls.
The plan for next week is to finish painting the trim and to start on the mantle, keep your fingers crossed that this comes out better than the mock up ahaha
follow along with spackle and shine on instastories to see more and learn how to make this mantle yourself!
And don’t forget to follow along with the other amazing designers participating in the one room challenge and to follow spackleandshine on Instagram for daily updates! =)
Ashley, I think your idea for the design is going to look great! I love the idea of adding height by building a hearth. I'm anxiously waiting for your reveal 😀 I know its going to turn out fabulous 😍
Hope @hopelessly_vintage