sometimes i just cant win.......

[Charlie Fox]

made this pecan mantel last week - it came from a tree i milled from the back yard last year, it was damaged from a hurricane and too much utility company trimming so i milled it out.

problem? the wife doesnt like it. says it doesnt match our "decor". well, our decor is a bit mismatched already, we have a nice comfortable modest home and not some urban showcase.

oh well.....hoping when the kids visit they will change her mind.....

anyway - its 4-1/4" pecan, legs are tenons into a mortise in the underside, supported by countersunk lag screws from the top with walnut dowel plugs. the mortises were overcut and filled with epoxy for extra stability. finish is danish oil followed by 2 coats of GF Gel Topcoat which is very flat, so a final coat blended with GF Arm-R-Seal gloss gave it just the right satiny sheen.

262355262356262357262358

[Art Mulder]

Hmmm, I think it would have looked better if you had made the top float -- skipped the legs and just bolted it to the brick.

As for the decor... Sorry, but I think the curtains are the things that should go, not the mantle. Their colour tone is too close to that of the brick. I'll run and hide now.

[Troy Turner]

nice piece. Wish I could find some downed timber like that :D

So uh, how does the mantle not go with the round table there on the right?

[eugene thomas]

Looks nice but i second skipping the legs

[Mark Bolton]

Or perhaps have rolled the legs with the flat face to the brick to give them a little more weight. You have the issues of maintaining clearance from the fire box but the mantle itself looks a little tall to me and the legs look a little lanky. Perhaps if it were a touch lower and the legs were a bit wider or more refined to contrast the wain in the top.

There always ver. 2.0

[Tom Ewell]

I feel your pain, all of my "natural form creations" from the 70"s is now either with my kids, gran'kids or in the basement under piles of stuff.

[johnny means]

I think the Mantle looks great. It's the back drop thats all wrong. How about a matte black frame around the fireplace, say 6" inches wide to bring it up to scale? Then a couple of black iron details on the mantle itself, some nice beefy hooks and rings come to mind. Them get the chach off the mantel in favor of one big metal sculpture ( I like fu dogs and horses). Then put the mirror on a matte black backer about 4" wider than itself on each side. Then she'd see that mantel for the beau that it is.

[Jeff Duncan]

The style of the mantle is a matter of personal taste and I try not to get into those types of opinions.

Whether or not your wife is right on the other hand is an easy one....your wife is always right.....if you want to be a happy man:D

JeffD

[Charlie Fox]

The style of the mantle is a matter of personal taste and I try not to get into those types of opinions.

Whether or not your wife is right on the other hand is an easy one....your wife is always right.....if you want to be a happy man:D

JeffD

you are the wisest man of the bunch Jeff... ;-)

to answer the other questions/comments:

- as far as matching the table next to it - well, thats a "placed" project also.
- as far as making it floated instead of with legs, that would have required complete dismantling of the mantel that is there now (i photoshopped it out). so with the legs i could do this "try out", and it will be more versatile for a potential buyer. further, it could also just be used as an entry/foyer table.
- as far as heigth, i found a site that cited minimum heights for mantels of a given width. for 10" it has to be at 19". this is actually about 18*, so technically its a fire hazard but i doubt very seriously it is a hazard in the real world.
- and as far as turning the legs flat to the wall, certainly could have been an option. never crossed my mind, but in retrospec it would be less stable to and fro - not an issue for a mantel, but it would need to be attached to the wall if used as an entry/foyer table.

all good points.

now, as far as the curtains - i'll refer back to the top of the page to Jeff's quote... ;-)