Who would have thought this would bring me such joy?
When we moved into this house a year ago, I was quite pleased about having a gas fireplace. (Actually, we have two! There’s one in the basement, too.) The only thing that bummed me out was that the built-in “media center” lacked a MANTLE. Where was I supposed to put my knick-knacks and framed pictures and whatnot?
As you can see in this picture from nearly exactly one year ago, there’s a little “bump” of a mantle barely big enough to set the remote on. (And as you can also see, it’s about time for me to vacuum the blinds again!)
No more, though. My handy enginerd husband built me a beautiful mantle! It’s made of pine, designed to match our rustico style coffee table. I LOVE it. This picture doesn’t do it justice at all – it is gorgeous in person!
I had no idea it’d be so easy for him to build, either, or I would have bitched about it a lot more right after we moved in. He built it in just a few hours, stained it that evening, polyurethaned it before bed, and hung it up the next day. And I threw all this Christmas shit up there within about five minutes of him placing the final screw.
Now, I’m dying to put all that Christmas shit AWAY so I can go shopping for new stuff to put on my mantle! Yay!
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Laura, also known as LaLaGirl, is the mother of a teenager and two young sets of twins. She's happily married, loves living in Colorado, and writes almost daily about married life, raising multiples, and parenting a child with autism.
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January 4th, 2010 at 6:11 pm
Like. Also, love the painting above the fireplace.
Oh, and don’t think I didn’t notice the new flat screen in that bad boy!
January 4th, 2010 at 11:31 pm
It’s BEAUTIFUL! He did a great job!!
January 5th, 2010 at 9:30 am
@thecheckoutgirl – yeah, we upgraded the TV when we moved, although not right away, as you can see. And glad you like the tree – the consensus seems to break down as follows: women love it; men hate it. It’s a vinyl sticker thing I bought at Joanne’s Fabric. (I’m only artsy when it comes to painting Yo Gabba Gabba characters in my kids’ bathroom!)
January 5th, 2010 at 9:31 am
@Jess – thanks! He built us a desk, too, and a side table I have in our upstairs hallway. Apparently that Mexican style furniture is pretty easy to slap together. The more you mess it up, the better it looks!
January 6th, 2010 at 3:21 pm
It’s GORGEOUS! Your husband did a great job.
I also love the tree and all the white space. You’re one classy mama!
January 8th, 2010 at 7:03 pm
That is lovely! Way to go Paul. I so wish my hubby was handy around the house but lo and behold he’s not.
January 9th, 2010 at 1:38 am
That new mantle is PERFECT!! Yay Paul! Woo Hoo, Laura … I know how wonderful something like that can be!
January 9th, 2010 at 9:05 pm
The mantle looks great, Laura.
January 14th, 2010 at 2:55 pm
Thanks, Lori! about that tree – women always love it. Men always hate it. Ha!
January 14th, 2010 at 2:55 pm
@Tamara, @Patty, @Michelle – thanks, ladies! I’m trying to decorate it now, on the cheap. Not so easy!