May 11, 2010

The New Jersey Mantel is a collaboration between the Mantel Shoppe and one of our great customers that gave us a great idea(Thanks Marisella).  This is how many of our new mantel styles are born due to a customer tweaking a current design to somethng just a little different.  It belongs to our increasingly popular Mission Style Collection.

December 22, 2009

There isn't a better focal point for Christmas decorations than the fireplace mantel.  If a home is decorated in any fashion over the holiday season you can rest assured most of the attention centers on the focal point of the room, the fireplace.  Where else would you hang the stockings?  Below are a few examples of photos sent in by our great customers of 2009 with their new mantels decorated for the season.

A special mantel created using the Gastonia legs, Tellico top, and dentil molding:

A Double Harrisburg Mantel with television cabinet:

A Williamsport Mantel built entirely of cherry wood"

A Gastonia Mantel built in oak:

A cherry New York Mantel"

An Augusta Mantel:

A customized New York Mantel:

A New Orleans Mantel:

A Hamilton Mantel:

November 24, 2009

The Philadelphia Mantel was designed and created on November 24, 2009, two days before Thanksgiving.  Since we already had a Boston and New York mantel we decided to go a little farther south and name this beauty the Philadelphia.  Philadelphia's a good Thankgiving town, right?  Whether it is or isn't this is a mantel that evokes brotherly love.  Many of the Mantel Shoppe's most noticeable characteristics are featured on the Philadelphia Mantel--Acanthus overlays, giant round fluted columns,  lip panel molding, and Roman Corinthian capitals.  If ordered in paint grade materials, the Philadelphia Mantel will ship in 3-7 days after the order is placed.  If you wish to order the mantel out of maple, cherry, or oak it may take 1-2 weeks longer than normal.

-Nick

October 6, 2009

August 12, 2009

Thank you to Nola and The Bloom Girls for their very nice blog featuring our Double Williamsport Mantel.  There is an excellent article on their website featuring Nola's fireplace transformation.  We feel very lucky to be a part of it because it is such a tremendous remodel.  We didn't know we would be in for such a special treat when she came down from Nashville to look at our mantels.  I have to agree with her about the finish that was previously on the mantel as it was pretty wacky.  Not real sure who painted that one.  Check out all of The Bloom girls blogs.  They are great.  There is a link to the article below...

http://www.thebloomgirls.com/2009/07/fireplace-mantel-bargain-and-tile.html

-Nick

June 9, 2009

We have had many inquiries lately on how we achieved the look of the mantels used in our slideshow.  Since we don't offer finishing at this time we will develop kits to include with the fireplace mantels in the near future so you can achieve the same look.  Most of our mantels are displayed in a faux glazed finish.  For the time being here are products you can purchase at a local hardware store to achieve this look.

1.  Primer: Any primer will work but I've always liked Kilz.  I personally like to add a little tint to it instead of having white.  Not too much just a little brown to give it an aged look.

2.  Lightweight Spackling:  If needed fill the tiny pinner nail holes with lightweight Spackling.

3.  Sanding Sponges:  These are used after the primer coat.  Make sure you get the mantel as slick as you can before applying the sanding sealer.

4. Sanding Sealer:  The Sanding Sealer will create an extremely slick surface to apply the glaze to.  Make sure you thoroughly apply the sanding sealer or the glaze will stick to the mantel on contact, not allowing you to create the exact look you want.

5.  Glaze:  I like to go very dark brown on the glaze.  Apply the glaze all over the mantel and wipe off however much you like. 

6.  Rags:  You will need a lot of them to wipe the glaze off properly.

7.  Lacquer or polyurethane:  I strongly recommend using the spray can.  This part of the process protects the finish and locks in the glaze.

-Nick

March 9, 2009

We built 26 of our Madison Mantels in October of 2008 for renovated dorm rooms at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire.  Thanks to Pizzagalli Construction for trusting in The Mantel Shoppe to handle this project. Below is a photo of one of the mantels and a few kind words from the project manager.

"Wanted to let you know that the fireplaces you supplied turned out to be fantastic.  Dartmouth College and the architect were very pleased with the outcome.  I certainly appreciate your attention to the details on them as I know it was a bit of a challenge trying to match the existing conditions.

Once again, thanks for all the help… they turned out great!"

Jason

New Hampshire

www.pizzagalli.com

March 5, 2009

We are proud to introduce our newest fireplace mantel style.  The Atlanta Mantel.  It comes directly from our New York Mantel style we designed a few weeks back.  It features everything the New York Mantel does except we have added one large column per leg as opposed to two smaller columns per leg.  The Atlanta Mantel is offered in poplar, cherry, maple, and oak.  Check back often because we're really about to start churning out a lot of new designs.