When we moved in I loved that we had a fireplace and a mantle. I even loved that it was all brick. The only drawback for me was that since the actual mantle was brick it wasn’t very deep which really limited what I could put on there. So the Mr. set out to basically make a cap to fit over the current brick mantle that would make it deeper.
Let’s check out the before:
It’s definitely a mantle already that I could live with. It’s pretty and all, but is just wasn’t quite enough room.
See how narrow this mantle was? I couldn’t even safely fit candle sticks on there.
Safety issue? Yes!
Decorator’s issue? Yes!
Picky person issue? Yes!
The first step was to purchase a wooden board that was wide enough and deep enough (1 x 6 ). Once the board was cut to the correct width, the Mr. placed it right on top of the old brick mantle and, using a mason bit, drilled it into place.
Using a compound mitre saw, which can cut on an angel, the Mr. cut a piece of crown modeling at a 45 degree angle so that it would fit together like a puzzle and go around the three sides of the mantle. 
Using finishing nails, he hammered the three pieces of crown molding to the top board.
Using the left over breadboard from our kitchen island, the Mr. cut a piece that would serve as the bottom of the mantle. He had to take special measurements to go around the support bricks at the base of the mantle because I really liked the charm that the bricks added and didn’t want them removed.
#ipromiseidonttrytomakehislifedifficult
The first step was to purchase a wooden board that was wide enough and deep enough (1 x 6 ). Once the board was cut to the correct width, the Mr. placed it right on top of the old brick mantle and, using a mason bit, drilled it into place.
Using a compound mitre saw, which can cut on an angel, the Mr. cut a piece of crown modeling at a 45 degree angle so that it would fit together like a puzzle and go around the three sides of the mantle. 
Using finishing nails, he hammered the three pieces of crown molding to the top board.
Using the left over breadboard from our kitchen island, the Mr. cut a piece that would serve as the bottom of the mantle. He had to take special measurements to go around the support bricks at the base of the mantle because I really liked the charm that the bricks added and didn’t want them removed.#ipromiseidonttrytomakehislifedifficult
Then all of the edges were sealed with white caulk, clamped, and painted.
Then it was time to decorate to my hearts content! 
Then it was time to decorate to my hearts content! 
It was so nice to have the deeper mantle for the holiday season! It was everything I imagined it would be.
A mantle is so much more useful when I can stack my junk on it ;-)
Here are pictures of our fall and Christmas mantles:
Thank you hubby for making this mantle for me :-)
Didn’t he do such a great job?!
