Quick & Easy 3 Step Mantel Makeover

I had a case of an ugly mantel.

I mean, it didn't matter how I decorated it - it was still ugly!

It all came down to the mantel itself needed to be changed.

Our house was built in the mid-nineties, so the mantel was finished with a typical 80's-90's oak-inspired stain (not to mention I still have my Christmas/winter wreath hanging above it):

NOT my favorite.

So, I decided to do something about it, but I didn't want to spend a lot of time or money.

Enter 3 items I already had stashed in my garage ~

1)  Liquid sander/deglosser (and it's friend, the white cloth)

2) Tinted glaze (used in a previous bathroom cabinet project - I know you can't see it that well, sorry, but it's Valspar's glaze for faux finishes, tinted to a mossy green color)

3) Valspar Clear Finish Faux Protector

Oh, & I threw a paintbrush in there somewhere... which I happened to have stashed in my garage also.

Now for the quick & easy-peasy mantel redo:

1) Cover entire surface of mantel with liquid sander/deglosser using white cloth.  It is recommended to wear safety goggles, which of course I did not.  Also, if you have sensitive skin, it is recommended to wear gloves.  Which also, I did not (as that would require a purchase, since I didn't have either of these things...) Oh well, no harm done!  Make sure you also get the underside of the mantel.  This deglossing step is important to allow the glaze to adhere.  Be amazed by how much gunk you will see on the white cloth.  Allow to dry well before proceeding on to the next step.

2) Take a favorite paintbrush, dip it in the glaze, & start covering the whole surface of the mantel.  I try to use long brush strokes in the same direction, because it looks better to me.  I ended up having a bit of an issue when glazing the top of the mantel:

I'm really not sure what caused this, but I'm thinking it has to do with the original finish.  

I was able to smooth these strange "circles" after allowing the glaze to dry slightly, then brushing over them.  

This whole process works well if you continue to apply long brush strokes wherever needed as the glaze is drying.  It gives it more of an antiqued look, and my goal was to see the wood peaking through, just to change to overall appearance of the mantel (you can see the brush strokes above in the picture above, just ignore the weird circles). 

Allow the glaze to dry well overnight, or more if needed.  The bad thing about using glaze, is it takes an extremely long time to dry.  I had my ceiling fan on HIGH overnight to help speed things along.  If you want to put another coat of glaze, go ahead.  I didn't end up doing that, because I was satisfied with the results after the first coat, and also ready to be done.  Remember I was trying to make this as quick & easy as possible!

3)  After the glaze is good and dry, take your trusty paintbrush again and apply a layer of the clear protectant over the entire surface.  Again, allow this to dry well before placing anything on your mantel.  The good thing is that the clear protectant dries much faster than the glaze.  

All done!

Stay tuned for my Spring/Easter mantel-scape...