A Family Heirloom Revival!

3 Materials
2 Hours
Easy
When I first met my husband, 4 years ago, he told me about this beautiful mantel he rescued from his grandmother's house before it was demolished. He had painstakingly removed about 25 coats of paint and sanded it down to the bare wood and placed it in storage, where it remained for several years until we got married and moved into our home a year ago.
I fell in love with the mantel but could not find a place for it so it stayed in our garage office for over a year until I got inspired.
I measured the mantel and discovered it was the perfect size for a queen bed headboard.
This is the mantel a year ago after moving it out of storage and into our garage.
The wood had a lot of shrinkage but he was able to salvage the original trim AND the original mirror.
A better look at the antique craftsmanship.
And again....
It took 4 strong guys to move it into the bedroom. We installed the original mirror and bolted the entire unit to the wall using the original holes.
Next we installed the original trim and added a few coats of stain.
The end result is amazing!
Suggested materials:
  • Wood Stain
  • Hardware (screws, nails)
  • Lots of muscle
Bonnie Shirley Coates
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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Frequently asked questions
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  3 questions
  • Michelle lehr Michelle lehr on Jul 11, 2016
    What, if anything did you do about the wood shrinkage?
  • Harriette Fletcher Harriette Fletcher on Jul 13, 2016
    Love the bedspread!!!! Where can I get it????
  • Chezewoman Chezewoman on Dec 18, 2017

    what do you do with the empty space that would normally go around the fireplace? My daught has redone an old mantel and hasn't figured out what to do.I suggested painting the wall a different color than the rest of the wall

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