House Project 357: the mantle

I had this unreasonable expectation that I'd get all the reno projects done within a year. Well, it's been two years and I'm not finished. I've got the big things out of the way: the kitchen, the master bath. But the mantle has been getting done in dribs and drabs.

When I moved in, this is what it looked like:

Shortly after moving in, I had a doorway added between the living room and kitchen:

The fake brick wasn't my taste, so I had it removed about a year ago:

Last summer, I finally had the room painted, getting rid of all that white:

This week, I got my custom sandblasted beam from fauxwoodbeams.com:

I may paint the bump out white before I really call it done, but I'm happy with it.