We bought our home 3 years ago, and it needed some modernizing. It was built in 1984, and much of it was renovated in the early ‘90’s, but has not really been touched since. All of the big ticket items (kitchen, bathrooms) “need” cosmetic overhauls, but are perfectly functional as is. Having said all of that, there are other things we have wanted, and still want, to do that are much more cost effective!

We wanted the total project to stay under $500, and we knew that a new mantle would take up most of the budget. Removing or replacing the dated peach tile would have been much more expensive, so we decided we would find the best way to paint it.

We did some research and found a few methods to painting tile, but the consensus seemed to be that we needed to clean it with Krud Kutter Gloss Off and then use Kilz Adhesion Primer. It was as simple as cleaning the tile using the gloss off and a soft rag then waiting ten minutes before painting with the Kilz. We chose a neutral black and white palate—the colors were actually a super light gray, and a super dark gray-ish/black, but I wanted a classic look.

I knew the look of the mantle I was wanting and surprisingly, it came from Amazon. We found it, ordered it, it arrived quickly, and was just what we were looking for! It is The Pearl Mantel Company Shenandoah 72-Inch Shelf/Mantel Shelf Dune Rustic Distressed Finish . (I had looked at other options, and found that others were really expensive and/or the shipping would have been almost as much as the mantle. I would have loved to have been able to find an old, reclaimed piece of wood to use, but again, they were pricey.) The install of the new mantel took less than 30 minutes, and it came with the cleat that you can see Richard installing in the pictures below. It did not come with mounting hardware, but luckily Richard knew what was needed. He ordered a box of masonry sleeve anchors and a new 3/8" masonry hammer drill bit.

This installation video from the manufacturer actually came in pretty handy as a reference on how to start and make sure it was centered and level.