Custom Mantel

By Tim Kiernan in Pompton Plains, NJ.

This is our new mantel. Once completed, the whole perception of the room changed, and we realized the fireplace was in fact centered in the home. Since the previous mantle was so understated, and our television area was off to the left, the fireplace looked off center. We changed our entire furniture layout to make the fireplace the focal point. This dramatic transformation took a month to complete. The dentil molding was hand made, and every piece was glued onto a custom routed base. The moldings are white oak, and the rest is ash. We had to layer the gel stain to get color uniformity, as the ash is very hard, and non grainy areas are very white. This mantle is dedicated to my incredibly generous parents. I started building this New Year's Day, and finished a month later.