OAK MANTLE REDO WITH ANNIE SLOAN PAINT

I purchased this stripped mantle about 20 years ago.  To the left you will see Grandma's  chenille club chair complete with crocheted doily.  This was the chair that I had the off white matelassé slipcover made for in a previous post. 



To bring some color to them mantle, I cut a piece of plywood and using tile mastic, used periwinkle blue and rose colored  tiles to create an insert into the mantle.  I know it was an odd combination, but at the time, it worked with my couches.



Many years and 5 moves later, I was ready to do something.  I was so hesitant to finally paint the mantle, but when I read about Annie Sloan Chalk paint, I just had to give it a try.



I decided to use the Old White by Annie Sloan.  It is a bit more cream than pure white.  Remember that there is no prepping on the wood.  Just paint.  By the time I finished the first coat, I was ready to start the second coat.  The drying time is lightning fast.

 

 

It needed two coats.  Then I used one coat of clear wax over the entire piece.

 

I guess I forgot to mention the purpose of the newly painted mantle.  Mr. Thrifty likes watching the news in the morning when he gets ready for work.  I didn't want to have some bulky stand in the shabby chic bedroom, so we made a compromise.  A flat screen TV would fit perfectly on top of the mantle.  The cords would hide behind the mantle.

Pretty ugly??

  I needed to find something to hide the cords.   Off to the fabric tub.  I had a perfect remnant of off- white matelassé  fabric.

 

Pulling out my sewing machine, I stitched up a seam at the top of the fabric.

  Gathering the hem on a tension rod, I then placed it behind the mantle.

 





 

The placing of the mantle in the bedroom was a win-win situation.  Now, the mantle was worked into the space and had a practical use.  And minimal floor space was used in the bedroom.