The mantle seems too high, can it be lowered or are those bricks supporting it? For starters, I would remove at least one of the candle sets, too matchy matchy, & also the small items atop the mantle.

I believe a colorful art print that appeals to you and hung horizontally would look nice. Totally agree with K Laurence.

Agree with K Laurence. Really all you need on the mantel are the 3 frames.

To me, the mantel and firebox cover look dark/harsh against the brick, especially the firebox. Could just be how they appear on my screen.

Looks much better. The brick looks pinkish? Is it? I would consider painting it a creamy white or some other color complimentary to the rest of your room ....

Are those frames 3 mirrors that are reflecting the ceiling wash lights? One large piece of art with some color in it would be much better.

That looks much better with just the 3 frames. I agree with Gwen...finding art work for them will make a big difference.

Victoria you also have a substantial hearth. A decorative bucket of some sort, or a large lantern or vase or sculpture wouldn't be amiss down there. Something with height.

Here's a link to a simple box construction: Easy DIY Floating Shelf. Obviously, you wouldn't need to build the cleat, just the box, making sure the sides are high enough to slide over existing brick supports. Here's another example: Making a Slip Covered Mantel.

I suppose this works best with the rustic, barn wood style look and I don't know if you like that. A fancier version could be made of course, with layered molding and crown. But I personally like the idea of a thick wooden mantel up there. Goes well with the woodburning stove.

For the summer months can you put a decorative screen in front of the stove? The black space is really grabbing all the attention on that wall.

I would remove the mantel entirely and just have art work above the brick supports.

Nothing wrong with symmetry if you like it. Don't let personal opinions sway you from what you think is pretty.

Since you mentioned painting the brick, here's a photo with fireplace painted creamy white (same color as walls, notice) and thicker wooden mantel like I would suggest (natural wood to balance the black - adds warmth). Mantel also pretty high like yours currently is. Also there is symmetry and rather small items up there on display. So if it appeals to you, go for it!

Chastain Park · More Info

Here's an example of some stuff that could be on your hearth. I'm sure yours is a working stove insert and gets quite hot, so keep that in mind. :)

This one combines symmetry, with the candlesticks balanced around the centered artwork, with unmatched items. I love the glass vase - large item to fill the space but light and airy.

I have no idea of your style so I'm just throwing stuff out here. Again with this I like the glass and again you see symmetry with this. Also note the decorated hearth and again be cautious of flammability if yours is a working/used fireplace.

And with yours being a more horizontal space to fill, I like layered frames going across the space. Less boring then all lined up. Don't know what the black thing is on the left; the way the frames overlap is what I want to show here.

Victoria, you are ambitious! You may not be able to lower the mantel that much after all. I was thinking about fire codes. I can find charts about how high above the firebox it has to be (it relates to how deep the mantel is) but I can't find yet if the rules are the same for a woodburning stove like yours. I will keep looking.

Everything just says that the clearance for combustibles above the stove will be in the manual. If you happen to have it, or can look on the stove and find the make and model, I may be able to help you find the information. Otherwise I'd just keep it where it is and focus on the color and styling. :)

Design · More Info

I think since you want to change it down the line, then paint the whole wall white, white, white, and hang a print that will fill the whole wall width to balance out the black hole looking firebox.

Spring Island Plantation 2 · More Info

Oh I'm glad to hear that Victoria. My goodness, I miss that age with the little ones but they do keep you busy. I was just looking at some pictures today of my youngest when he was a baby. He's seven now.

You say your colors everywhere are cream, brown, black. If that's what you're drawn to, there's nothing wrong with a neutral home; soooo many pics here on houzz of designer homes done up in all neutrals. But many people don't get anything in a color because they don't want to commit. It's true that styles change, preferences change, and you may get tired of things, and then you're looking at expenses to freshen things up. If you're the type, like me, that can't commit but doesn't want a neutral home, the best thing to do is a neutral base (walls, furnishings, tiles, cabinets), and use your "soft things" for pops of color. The soft things are area rugs, curtains, and pillows.

Not sure which color for your pops of color? Here's two ways I know designers help you decide:

1. Find a piece of artwork you love and work around it.

2. Look in your closet! What color do you mostly see?

For prints that fit a standard frame (definitely the most cost effective way to go) I like Etsy. There's an option to search locally if you want, which I think is pretty cool. I just bought three watercolor paintings of some of the bridges here in town from a local artist that I'm excited about. But you don't have to search locally. You can do any search term you like and you'll find an artist that has done a photograph, a painting, a computer generated design... It's amazing! I've searched for specific things like cacti (for my son), favorite quotes I like, and Mount St. Helens (local to me) and never been disappointed. And many of them you can purchase as a digital download for just a few bucks and print it at home if you have a nice color printer, or send to a print shop if it's a larger size. I get can get 16"x20" prints at Costco for ten bucks.

Good luck! I've noticed the community on here loves to help people shop for art, so you can always post your choices on here if you're having a hard time deciding. :)

Wow. Nice transformation. That’s a lot to do with kidlets. Look forward to more updates.

Lots of great progress! Here are two pics. I The first is medium stain like your floors. I think I like the black better with your inset. I would consider adding some trim to the mantle. The trim on the black mantle pic is a little clunky but I like how it softens the blockiness. (is that a word?)

I'm just so impressed with how much you've worked on this. How are you feeling about the changes? It's fun to see someone actually come back on with updates - usually people just disappear!

I like the natural wood mantels to add warmth to a space. I also do love the black in the mockup d_gw did (although that one is definitely more rustic than what yours would look like) and I see I also posted a black mantel above! So I guess it could go either way? Corbels are definitely cool if you can afford them. I see plenty without, and could always be added later.

You did already have a black mantel to begin with, so I personally would stain it first just to try a different look, and if I just didn't like it I could always paint it. Use Minwax pre-conditioner and shoot for a color that matches your floors but doesn't go orange or red, I'd try Minwax Provincial.

Just for fun, showing you side-by-side progress so far:

I'm not sure what you mean about adding trim so you'd have to show me some examples. Am so glad you're enjoying the project so far.

If you want help picking art you'll probably have to be brave and post more pictures of your space so people can help you find something. :)

I did happen across your other dining room thread. Sounds like you just kinda want to get it all done! If you just post examples of art you find that you wonder if you might like, some generous folks on here will usually pop them in your picture for you. You can make it simpler for them, and more accurate, by marking out the dimensions of the art on the wall with tape and uploading a picture of that. I can do artwork on a blank wall, but can't really do much else with mockups.

Regarding your new mantel box above, are you willing to soften the edges a bit with some sanding before you stain? I think it would really help with the blockiness d_gw was mentioning. See examples above or look at this one below:

Jesse Hollow Home · More Info

I think you are amazing getting all that work done with two children. I tend to lean towards your husbands art preference as beautiful landscape or seascape can be so calming and your children would enjoy and remember it always. Hayneedle.com has some very good ones.

Something like this might work as you like the neutrals. ART WORK

So I'm not that great at estimating dimensions, but if I had to guess I would have thought you only have about 30" from mantel to ceiling? If that's true, the artwork you linked to above won't fit at 38" tall. Can you tell me actual width of mantel and vertical space you have from mantel to ceiling please?

Now keep in mind that art is personal. We can mock things up, but it's really up to you to decide what makes you happy when you see it up there. We all have different opinions of what looks nice. I wouldn't worry about light vs. dark to balance the stove.

Also, corbels may be decorative only in some situations, but they are technically designed to serve as supports for structures above them. So they would not be installed under the mantel with the appearance of being attached to the brick, they would be installed on the brick with the appearance of supporting your mantel.

I think Julie with Home Interiors With Ease has a board of buffets/credenza's. Wonder how to invite someone to a discussion? Oh, I found her ideabook.