Fireplace Mantel Remodel

My fireplace is the focal point of my living room.  Since it's a small room, it's also pretty much the only point of interest in the room.  But, I wasn't happy with the way the fireplace surround looked.  And, I've always wanted a mantel!  Something needed to be done...

The finished remodel is below.  I used about $100 of materials from Home Depot, and needed to borrow some power tools (a router and air trim gun).  I'm really proud of how it turned out!  Since I've not had any experience with woodworking, I got to play with some new tools and learn some new skills.

I'll walk you through the process of how I made the changes.

AFTER

Materials (all from Home Depot):
2   Mission Style Corbels (4-3/4 in. x 9-1/2 in. x 5-3/4 in)
1   1" x 8" x 6' pine board
1   1.2" x 6" x 6' pine board
1   2" x 2" x 4' pine
3/4" cove molding
1/2" molding
1 tube white caulking
White spray paint (Rustoleum High Heat)
White gloss paint

The project started when I spray painted the red brick on the fireplace surround.  That step alone mad a big difference in improving the appearance!  TIP: do the spray painting when the weather is nice, so you can open doors and windows to ventilate paint fumes.  

The initial mantel concept is below: the corbels were supposed to hold the mantel shelf in place.  But, the whole thing looked pretty skimpy and needed to be beefed up a bit.  I was also worried about the structural integrity of the shelf.  I didn't want it to sag over time.  TIP: prime all wood parts prior to installation.

I cut out a piece of the original moulding around the fireplace so that the corbels would look like they were part of the original installation.  If I had just installed them without cutting into the moulding, the corbels would have looked like they were balanced on top.

Beefing up the shelf:
I routered the bottom edges of both shelf boards.  I layered the boards with the thicker, narrower one on the bottom, and the thinner, wider one on top.

Making the supports:

The support under the shelf is both functional and decorative.  It's made of three different pieces of wood.  The top piece is 2" x 2" pine, where I routnered the bottom edge to match the edges routered into the shelf.  I found a piece of cove moulding that matched the profile of the curve on the corbel.  I installed a pieced of the cove moulding below the 2x2,  A piece of 3/4" trim below the cove moulding finished off the piece.  I mitered the outside edges of all pieces to angle towards a central point on the fireplace.

I finished the trim work by adding 3/4" moulding around the original moulding.  This step helped integrate teh whole piece into a single, cohesive unit.  I painted the wall between the shelf and the original moulding, and between the 3/4" moulding and the original moulding.

I finished the project by caulking all gaps and putting on a couple coats of paint.  Beautiful!