Antique Mantle in the Garden

I think it’s the after affect of having a Dad with 7 siblings who grew up in working class Philadelphia just after the Depression…but I have trouble throwing things away. I see value in everything. So when Mr. Blu said it’s time for this old mantle to go…I just could not do it!

I do love old wood and I’ve restored enough of it to know that you can revive wood. I think rustic items in your outdoor space are fabulous. You may remember this mantle from years ago…my first deck decorating post.

The Blue Building Antiques, Alabaster AL Back Deck Makeover mantle

The Blue Building Antiques, Alabaster AL Deck makeover on a budget mantle

She weathered the Alabama heat and storms well. But she shore doesn’t look like that anymore. Several years ago, we removed her to rebuild our deck and she has been sitting under the deck since…neglected and discarded.

I’ve decided to give her a last hurrah! If we are reviving something fabulous, you know it must Thrift Store Decor Team Wednesday.

shopatblu upcycle tray table repurpose plant stand tsdt wednesday

And I have the perfect spot for her!

I have wanted to start a lovely perennial garden right here. Why not build it around this ol’ gal? So I removed the planter and sign from the fence. Oh boy, this fence will need a good pressure washing to make a better backdrop for the antique mantle.

I dragged the mantle over for a visual.

She fit perfectly but I should have reinforced her wobbly joints before I moved her. She needs to be realigned. The rotted wood was worse than I had suspected. When I moved her out of the way to clean the fence she kinda sorta fell apart. So I laid her flat on the grass and put her in line for a bath.

The fence needed cleaning so I grabbed my Ryobi pressure washer to give the fence a refresh.

Wow! Already looking much better.

Since the fence cleaned up so well, I decided to pressure wash the mantle as well. I knew the chippy paint would probably all be removed but I knew the antique wood was under there and I thought that was a great trade off to restore/expose some of that antique woodgrain. Hopefully we will see an improvement.

I pressure washed the antique mantle and was pleasantly surprised to see some of the beauty of the wood appear from beneath the grime.

I moved her piece by piece into place against the fence.

One piece at a time until she stood tall.

The mantle shelf will need to be replaced as this one is beyond repair. But that is a project for another day. I also noticed, after seeing the old post picture above, that the supports for the mantle shelf are missing. So I will need to replace those. I leveled her and nailed her to the cross posts of the fence.

I am also considering to paint her as she is quite difficult to see next to the fence, even though the fence was cleaned. Wood on wood makes it a bit difficult to appreciate the antique mantle’s lines and the curves of the pillars. Normally, I would not paint an old mantle but this gal is definitely beyond her prime and I think I will need some help making her really shine again. That said, I might have some tricks up my sleeve to restore that wood a bit more. We will call that part two of this project! Stay tuned for that.

With the mantle in place and secured to the cross bars of the fence, I felt confident that the Alabama wind won’t send her back into pieces!

Planting a Garden around the Antique Mantle

This time of year, I usually have newly acquired plants sitting in the driveway waiting to be planted. Like these hydrangeas. $14.99 each? Yes, please and thank you Aldi!

And that is a butterfly bush behind the purple hydrangea. My old one did not survive this past winter. It was unusually cold. I had also grabbed a few perennials in vibrant yellow that caught my eye. Those will go into the garden here as well. I gathered some other plants from around the yard like this flapjack succulent. She weathered very well this winter in the garage and is ready to be thinned out so I will try her in the ground this season.

I added a few plant in pots to fill up the space like a strawberry pot filled with seedum and some succulents. I will fill in the spaces with more succulents. And there are some irises in in front of the mantle to be thinned and moved against the fence. I started by placing a basket of petunia like flowers (I’ll have to look up the name) on the shelf. I will eventually add some smaller pots but will need to replace that shelf first.

I placed my selection of plants in front of the mantle and started to put them into the ground.

The space filled up quickly. Mr. Blu took one look at the small section of fence and decided to pressure wash the entire fence. He was out there long after these plants went into the ground. And the entire fence is now clean!

Now to fill in the large fence back drop. I may install the mirror behind the shelf. Still deciding on that. And I’m thinking a unique trellis where the firebox would sit. There is already vinca planted to that should fill in nicely. But in the meantime, I popped my dragonflies here (fresh from their second makeover) and they are perfect!

I returned the garden sign to the area and sat Lady in place.

And I think I will call it a day. I will let this little garden settle for a few weeks. Next, I will add some filler, like succulents. And some character to the visible fence. I’m open for ideas here, friends! Because Mr. Blu will want those dragonflies back on his deck!