Fireplace Remodel

When we were picking options for our house we picked the basic finish for the fireplace as the builder's option to upgrade {to a mediocre} mantel cost $800 {$800!?}.

Well, I thought that I could do better than that so this past Saturday we went to Home Depot and spent under $100.

It went from this...

...to this.
I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.

{*note: not permanent decorations, I just took these out of a box and popped them up there for a picture. It will probably end up having completely different stuff on it}

So my first step was to take off all of the existing trim.

Then I took my miter saw and nail gun to the pieces above.

To make this.
I initially cut the pillars long and then messed with everything, taping pieces to the wall to see how they would look and then making several more small cuts to get to where I was happy with it.

But now I love it.

The builder left us almost a full gallon of the trim paint {how handy!}, so I was able to match everything in the house perfectly.
The bad about this is that it is an oil based paint, what a pain.
It made these drips and overlaps of thicker paint. Grrr.

So I got some steel wool and sanded everything down after the first coat.

I took a piece that looked like the one on the left and made it into the one on the right.

And made a mess doing so.
So after vacuuming/wiping up really good I did a second and a third coat.

And I'm pleased with how it looks.

And look, we have a fun view out of our living room.
We are so lucky!

*Update: I am participating in Shanty2Chic's "I made it without my hubby" party*