Mantel and Upholstery Help

[carmenere]

We need to replace our mantel and I’m not sure what to do with it. The current mantel is a bad DIY job by the previous owners - it’s heavy AF and it’s hanging crooked and slowly pulling out masonry.

Ideally I’d like to replace it with a lightweight mantle shelf that we can mount onto the wood to cover the seam where it meets the brick. Adding a surround or anything that requires drilling into the masonry isn’t in our budget right now (because I’m not brave enough to DIY that).

So I would love some ideas. What style of shelf would you put in here? (PDQ pic)



Once the mantel is done we’ll mount the TV above the fireplace (I know, I know) and we’ve ordered a light beige rug.

ETA: we also need to have the window seat cushion re-covered and can’t decide what color. Beige, ivory, navy, gray-blue? Other ideas?

[mrsukyankee]

No idea regarding the mantle though I think it should remain the same colour (to match with beams) or something dark.

For seat cushion, I'd go with the same colour as your sofa.

[scout8]

Is the new rug solid? If so, I'd do a pattern on the cushion as you have a lot of solids. Maybe something with navy and white to pull in the colors in the sofa and chairs.

[Deleted]

I agree with having the window seat recovered with something that has a pattern and maybe that will bring in an accent color.

As for the mantle, could you maybe find a local carpenter to come out and take a look? It's hard to say what you can be able to do there without knowing what kind of structure is behind the paneling. My first thought would be to do a hollow core mantle as long as you are not looking to put any significant weight on it and have it be large enough to cover where the existing mantle will be removed from. It really depends on your own capabilities I would think.

[auroraloo]

Feb 10, 2020 7:28:52 GMT -5 mrsukyankee said:

No idea regarding the mantle though I think it should remain the same colour (to match with beams) or something dark.

For seat cushion, I'd go with the same colour as your sofa.

All of this. No pattern on the cushion IMO, use throws for that if you want. 

[carmenere]

Feb 11, 2020 15:08:06 GMT -5 @sameoldstory said:

I agree with having the window seat recovered with something that has a pattern and maybe that will bring in an accent color.

As for the mantle, could you maybe find a local carpenter to come out and take a look? It's hard to say what you can be able to do there without knowing what kind of structure is behind the paneling. My first thought would be to do a hollow core mantle as long as you are not looking to put any significant weight on it and have it be large enough to cover where the existing mantle will be removed from. It really depends on your own capabilities I would think.

Agreed, I think hollow core is our best bet, and the wood paneling should definitely be able to hold it. We can handle mounting onto the wood, we just don't have the tools to mount onto the masonry and I'm afraid I'd mess something up. I've been looking at custom mantels on Etsy, but maybe it would be good to have someone come out and see it in person.

Right now I'm thinking maybe something like this, stained to match the beams:

[Wallflower]

Another voice with no idea about the mantle.

But the cushion - I wouldn't try to match the sofa because you'll probably change out the sofa more than frequently you'll want to recover that cushion. So, I'd go with something neutral (maybe a darker gray) and use pillows and throws to draw in other colors, like the blue from the sofa.