How To... Build Your Own Mantel Shelf

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Is anyone else like me, and doesn't have a fire place? Cause, I don't have a fire place. Boo. But of course, to achieve all of these gorgeous looks that I see all around blog land and Pinterest, one must have a mantel. Or shelf or something. So I decided to make my own! It's incredibly simple and doesn't really take much time. Aren't those the best projects?

You like? Cause I LOVE it! And I'm just so giddy to have a mantel/shelf now! Oh the things that I will do with it.... Right now it has a lovely old window frame propped up on it with a coffee filter wreath hanging over it that I made a while back.

So lets get started!

Materials:
Three wood scroll brackets {Or brackets of your choice}
Appropriate hardware to hang shelf on wall
One 9x1x6 board {that's width, heigth, length}
Paint color of your choice {Craft and Spray Paint}
Sand paper
Foam brush

 

I got my board and wood scroll brackets at Lowe's. The brackets were in the same aisle as the finished table legs and molding pieces.
I had to cut my board to 60 inches to have it fit how I wanted it to on my wall. Then I took some brown acrylic paint and used a foam brush to paint the areas that I wanted it to show trough when I distressed it. I did the same thing on the brackets.

Once the brown paint dries, spray paint the brackets and board white. I used Krylon's Dover White in Satin. When the white layer was dry, I took my 100 grit sand paper and went to town. Now, I'm not fancy like lots of other bloggers who have an electric sander. Oh how I wish I did have one. Is it too soon to start a Christmas list? I just have a sanding block, and I do it all by hand.

When I was done sanding it, I enlisted the Hubzy's help, and he screwed the brackets in for me. Just line your brackets up on the "bottom" of the board, and come up from the top to screw it in. Since the shelf is hanging higher than eye level, it wont really matter that you can see the screw heads.

Now the shelf is totally finished, and it's ready to go on the wall! Here is where you need to decide the best way to hang it for your area. It took the hubzy and I a few tries to get it on the wall. For some reason, the wall was really weak in one area, and we had to get a bracket to go inside the wall so that it wouldn't come out.

And there's the little beauty above the t.v. Sooo, whatchya think? Have you tried anything like this before? Will you now that you see there really isn't anything to it?

I am just tickled pink that I finally have a faux mantel to decorate. Ahhhhh. Life is good. And just in time for the holidays!

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