Making a Mantelpiece | Part 2

by Badgertails - Monday, October 07, 2013

Afternoon friends! I hope you all had a fabulous weekend. Our sleepovers went wonderfully, with lots of lovely food and drink too. I'd quite like to go back to Friday night and start it all over again!
So, my Sunday afternoon was spent staining the wood for our mantelpiece. Due to some gorgeous weather I set myself up on the garden table, with the sunlight dancing on the fence and a fresh autumn nip in the air.

To see Part 1 of Making a Mantelpiece, click here.

Since routing and sanding the shelf last weekend, I've been very eager to get the next stages finished and put it up on the wall. Staining the wood in the garden made it an incredibly relaxing job to do, with birdsong and the gentle hum of late season bees keeping me company. This is another moment I'd like to go back to now, if I could!

So this is where I began yesterday. That curve with the square lip is the part we routed last weekend, it is subtle but makes all the difference in transforming a plank of wood into an actual shelf.

Everything's been well thought out, too. As you can see we routed to (pretty much) match the pre-bought pine brackets.

And then I got my staining hat on.

The dark stain has really brought out the way we shaped the edges. I gave the shelf 5 coats, and the brackets about 4. The pine brackets had been exposed to light for a long time in the shop so were already a little darker when I started.

I must say, it feels incredibly strange putting something this dark that I like this much on my blog where most of you lovely readers know how much I love white. Not to mention white wood... But all the lounge furniture is walnut, due to P already owning it before we moved in together. One day I plan on having a white lounge with white wood but that'll be something I'll have to argue nearer the time!

Because I know this would look FAB done with white wood stain. Although I do still love this shade, it's got a beautiful satin finish to it and it feels amazing. The one I used is from Homebase, it's the interior version (blue label) of this one, but for some reason they don't have it on their website.

This is the finished result... for this stage anyway! I hadn't realised when we bought it, just how beautiful this bit of wood is. Now the stain has emphasised the knots and the grain, and it looks so warm and inviting. The tone is a little warmer than our lounge furniture, but once it's inside I don't think that will show. I can't wait to get it up on the wall!

Just so you know, this is where it's going:

Oh, I can't wait! We had our Christmas tree in front of the fireplace last year but this year I want my mantelpiece to be well and truly on show! I intend to decorate it to the nines and beyond!

Have a fab afternoon everyone and I'll see you back here soon. I've got some praises to sing about some very talented Instagram ladies...