Fireplace Refresh Revealed

If you’ll remember, I spent a good chunk of time this winter freshening our family room.  The fireplace started here.

See that mantel?  We took it down to sand it and see what was under all that dark stain.  Turns out putting it BACK up was harder than I thought. 

Andy and I wanted something metal, maybe a little industrial.  I tried these… 

Looked great but…  there was only one hole in our brick already and I wasn’t ready to try to drill into the brick so we tried again.  I went on Etsy and tried to custom order some really chunky brackets.  

Yeah…  I clearly didn’t communicate the hole situation,  4 holes. I went the wrong way.  

I tried two more brackets.  All failed.  I even tried to drill a hole in the brick to make brackets work.  Even with the special drill bit, I couldn’t do it.  Well, I was determined to get this big, beautiful chunk of wood back above the fireplace.  After all, I need a place to hang stockings at Christmas!  So, I grabbed another cup of coffee and went back to square one.  I went to the original corbels. I had to glue a small piece that broke off when we took them down.  Then, I sanded them down.  I don’t know why I was surprised they looked as pretty as the mantel after sanding.  I started to get hopeful.  Now…  Could I get them back up?  

A new screw and Gorilla Glue…  and VOILA!

Those corbels were BACK up!!  And, if you look closely, you’ll see the little brick colored circle where I tried (unsuccessfully) to drill a hole in the brick.  We added the mantel and it’s like the whole thing was meant to be.  I love the simplicity.  I love the warmth of the wood.  I’m just in love…

Just a quick reminder of the transformation…

I mean…  I don’t know about you all but I am in LOVE and really grateful I didn’t give up!!  Sometimes, being determined is half the battle.  See below for links to some of the items.

Black lanterns from TJ Maxx
Picture shelves from IKEA
Plants and pots from IKEA
Mirror from Target

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xoxo

Donna
I love having you on the road with me!