Monday, May 21, 2007

New/Old mantelpiece!

My husband installed the secondhand mantel for our hidden fireplace!

I need to touch up its cut edges with stain and give the whole thing a good polish with BriWax. I'm going to leave the original stain intact. It balances the dark brown leather sofa across the room.

My, oh my--it feels great to see something other than a gaping hole when I walk through that room!

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh, Meredith, it's just lovely!

Anonymous said...

It looks just wonderful!

Hyperactive Lu said...

Oh wow! Love it! Looks so clean and light in the room!

Sarah E. said...

Looks Great!

Anonymous said...

Looks beautiful! :)

I have a question about Briwax... I have wood floors that I believe are shellacked or varnished... They are beautiful in places, but in high traffic areas like our dining nook they are looking dulled and the finish is "flaking off" (opaque yellow flakes) which is not good considering my 13 month old still eats off the floor.

I was wondering whether applying Briwax (maybe with the steel wool)in this area would help at all? I feel like the floors need something, but I don't want to worsen their condition. We cannot afford to have them refinished, and only certain areas need them anyway.

Sorry for the long question- I'm hoping if you don't know the answer, maybe one of your other readers could help me!

Maggie said...

I love the fireplace and absolutly love the color of the wood. Its great that you found a great style and that it fit with only minor adjustments. Now I don't know which of your finds this week is my favorite!

nancyr said...

Re. Elizabeth's comment about waxing wood floors. Well, I did it, and then I talked to an old pro floor refinisher. He said never wax wood floors. He said he could have refinished only the traffic areas that were worn IF I had not waxed them. He also said he wouldn't have charged much to refinish those areas, but could not do it since they had been waxed.

Gena said...

Beautiful! I still can't get over the wonderful things you find in your treasure-hunting. I am never so fortunate. You have a gift. (Or, you live in a GREAT area for thrifting!)

Anonymous said...

Elizabeth, I have used a liquid floor wax (NOT BRIWAX) with great success on wood floors. Don Aslett (cleaning expert and author) recommends it. As far as not being able to refinish the floor later, you can always apply a stripping compound and clean the old polish off the floor later.

Here is a photo and more information from the last time I did it:
http://likemerchantships.blogspot.com/2006/07/shining-happy-flooring.html

You may want to go ahead and sand the whole floor and apply a coat of polyurethane. You can do all that yourself by renting a sander from Home Depot. If not, or if you're renting, the floor polish is a quick and beautiful solution.

Anonymous said...

Looks just wonderful! Great Find.

jay n tricia said...

As we are missing a mantel ourselves (no hidden fireplace like yours, just no mantel for whatever reason!) I can truly appreciate this beautiful addition and am very happy for your find. The room looks lovely.

Amy said...

It is stunning, Meredith. What a perfect fit! You have such great taste and this is the perfect example of that!