First, the real sad new - the official IKEA Hackers site will not take images of my work. That is apparently, because the work is too professional.
That's right - the work is deemed too professional.
And that is exactly what you get.
Chapter 2
Oh it is getting chilly here in the city of Toronto, Canada. Still sunny, but I did get the chills when I walked the kids to school this morning. The cool weather, I noticed, brought in more questions about fireplaces - mantles and whether I build them [I do! really nice ones too!] - gas? electric? And I agree, there is nothing nicer than a warm glow of a fireplace and mug of hot coco [or maybe a glass wine if you are that way; I am not a wine drinker myself, an unfortunate, youthful mistake of single night over-indulgance].
So, yes, I do build nice fireplace mantles. They are usually flanked by some storage, but not always. The mantles are custom pieces. For storage I hack some IKEA piece - usually Billys, or a PAX box if I need more depth.
Style? Well, you get exactly what you want. I am a modernist, so, I am all about slabs - both vertical and horizontal - with some some subtle 1/8" reveals. And I build them large and strong - it's all about engineering. But I can do a nice, what-you-might call, a contemporary look that is topped with nice custom made beading [I want to say I give it a nice 'Fancy French' look]. I make my own beading because as it is easy to find a nice, small, subtle crown moulding profiles that I can incorporate into a stacked design*, I haven't found nice, commercially available beading. And so I make my own.
