How to Easily Add Display Space to A Mantel

|
UPDATE:  Enjoy this project from our former home.  We’re giving our new home a complete remodel.  Click HERE to take a look!
When it comes to fireplaces and mantels, I have several pet peeves.
One of them being the shallowness of prefab mantels.  The mantel above my fireplace has a mere 7″ of space from front to back.
Ack!  I can’t do anything with that!  Especially since the thickness of the picture frame hanging above it takes up part of that 7″.
It limits everything that I ever want to put on my mantel.  Very frustrating.
So I came up with an easy solution that Pookie did for me.
I wanted to extend the amount of space on my mantel by 3″, meaning that I wanted to have 10″ from the front to back of the it.
I simply purchased an 1″ x 12″ x 8′ piece of birch wood from Lowes and had them cut it to the size that I needed.  In my case, I needed it cut to 1″ x 10″ x 6.5′.
BTW – I chose birch instead of pine so that I would have a flawless surface once it was painted.
To avoid having to use a router to get a decorative edge, I found some trim that closely resembles the edge of our existing mantle.
Here you can see the profile of the trim that has been applied just to the front of the board using carpenter’s glue and a nail gun (to hold the trim in place until the glue dried).
And here is the same end with the decorative trim applied to the side.
The trim doesn’t match perfectly, but I knew that no one would notice (unless it was a trim inspection person) once it was all painted.
After filling all of the gaps and nail holes and applying paint, the board was attached to the existing mantel using carpenter’s glue and a few nails to help hold it in place until the glue dried.
I know that carpenter’s glue dries pretty quickly, but just to be on the safe side, I left the clamps on for twenty-four hours.
 Trust me – decorating my mantel for Fall was much more pleasurable this year!
In case you’re wondering what my other fireplace pet peeves are:
  • A fireplace that is out of proportion to the size of the room (like mine).  I have a two story family room – the fireplace should be taller!
  • No hearth to sit on.  I guess it’s just cheaper and easier to slap a piece of slate flat on the floor than to build a hearth.
Maybe I should go into the fireplace design business.  :o)

Leave A Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

32 Comments

  1. You and Pookie did a fantastic job! I love layering things and the 7 inches does make that difficult. Great idea! And you made it look pretty easy for those of us who are not great at woodworking.

  2. Great idea and it turned out very nice!
    I know our mantel is made with a series of moldings and trim to achieve the look we got. I think a lot if carpenters are just not skilled enough to do the work so they opt for the easy way out.
    You definitely improved yours and now you can enjoy decorating it!

  3. You are just too smart!! What a great idea! Wish I had a Pookie to help with things like that : (

  4. I think you definitely should go into the fireplace design business! Whoever would have thought to do that?! It’s such a great idea, giving you so much more room to decorate, and you know that’s what we’re all about, decorating! BTW, your decorated mantle is so gorgeous! Mary

  5. What a great idea…and so simple! I don’t have a mantle to decorate…I have a fireplace, but no mantle. I do have a hearth! So maybe you should go in the fireplace business…at least then you could get it right!! 😉

  6. Shirley@Housepitality Designs says:

    Suzy….great solution for many of our “depth challenged” mantels!!….Pookie did a great job…When we built our home, I made certain that the fireplace was proportionate to the size of the room…however, I still think the mantel could have had more depth…

  7. Cindy Ritchie says:

    What a great tip! It looks like it has always been that way.

  8. We had to do that to our mantle, in order to accommodate the tv. It is definitely one of the easiest fixes.
    Have a great week.

  9. Why, yes, you should! I LOVE what you did, Suzy. It is a genius idea, and isn’t it fun to have extra depth for all of your gorgeous decorating goodies, especially during the holiday season!

  10. Daniela @Frugal Aint Cheap says:

    I agree with you, and glad that you made it work with the extra wood piece. GReat idea on adding the trim

    1. What are the measurements for your mantle prior to your redesign? This is such an amazing idea! I want to do the same with our mantle to accommodate the tv! My pookie however is serving our country so I’ll be attempting this on my own!

      1. I’m sorry for taking so long to reply – I just found out that there was a technical issue on the backend of my blog that was preventing me from seeing comments. I no longer live in that house, so I can’t measure, but I believe it was only about 6″ deep. I have no idea of how long it was.

      2. God bless your husband. Today we celebrate those who have and are serving to allow and protect our freedom in the United States. I am grateful for those who choose to do so. I salute them as heroes.

  11. You are truly the smartest one and your mantel looks gorgeous! 🙂
    Be a sweetie,
    Shelia 😉

  12. That is a great idea.Your mantle looks so pretty.

  13. I have the same problem and now I know how to fix it! But that also means I might have to clean up my living room to get to the fireplace! hehehe!

  14. Suzy, I have the same problem with our mantel and it drives me crazy trying to decorate it. Thanks for sharing this solution at my party.

  15. Great idea and it looks great. My mantel is actually 10 inches but I would still love more room. I also agree about the hearth. My fireplace is in the dining room so it would also add extra seating. I pictured my mantle today at http://www.asouthernlife.com if you would like to take a look. Yours is lovely!

  16. I’m soooo glad that you posted this! I’ve been telling hubby that this is what i want to do to our FP. He kept telling me it wouldn’t look right. I think my mantle is only 5 1/2 inches deep. Its very hard to accesorize.

    As for the hearth … we have a brick hearth that is about 3 bricks high. I wish we had the slate slab like you have. My room isn’t as big and the FP really makes a bit more of a statement than i’d like. If that hearth didn’t stick out like it does I could snuccle a couple chairs closer to the FP. I think it really about the design esthetics of the room.