“Drop Dead Gorgeous” is the best way to describe this solid oak mantel. A warm saddle brown color covers the entire piece along with some pleasant cracks across the face. There was a hole in the front face (for no apparent good reason) that we filled with an old vintage peg. The original beam was a full 8 x 8 with hand-hewn angles — probably so that the farmer didn’t hit his head on a sharp corner. It was 75in long on the long edge and 58in on the short edge. It had some sapwood on the lower right corner that was distracting with the angled ends. In the collection of pictures, you can see the backside of the original piece in the barn. We were just kind of lucky to have caught the picture of the exact piece.

We knew that this beam had beautiful potential, but we struggled as to how to make it really look wonderful mantel. We ended up cutting it thinner, a bit shorter, and a little less deep. It worked perfectly — the sapwood on the face was removed, allowing the viewer to focus on all of the other great features. After cutting, the mantel is 69in long, tapering down to 62in. It is 5.75in tall x 7.25in deep.

Do note, there is a little sapwood in the left, top, back corner. Given the location, this seems like a pretty minor distraction. It just shows that this is the real thing. It was a function piece of a 100-year-old building; never really intended to be home decor.

The original beam came from a 1920 barn near Glencoe, Minnesota which is about 50 miles west of downtown Minneapolis. These are pictures of the original barn and the cupola. You can see the “1920” right on there. That must have been a proud moment for the farmer when he erected this barn.

It can be shipped anywhere in the lower 48 states via FedEx Gnd for $125. This one is “good to go” and ready to ship.

About the tag – Toasted Corn Flakes. The tag shows off a 1908 advertisement from the Saturday Evening Post for Kelloggs’ Toasted Corn Flakes. Corn Flakes were invented in 1894 for patients at Battle Creek Sanitorium. If you’ve never read the story, it is a pretty fun tidbit of history. You can a nice article on Wikipedia