Incredibly stunning custom walnut mantel with a textured walnut inlay. I actually hesitate to show this one because the wood is so unique with wonderful woodgrains. Not all pieces are quite this nice. We work with small local sawmills to get wood with more character rather than Grade A select material that can be a little too boring and clean for our taste. We like that good character around here. Walnut continues to be the go-to wood for classic natural elegance. It is rich and dark with beautiful wood grains.

Our walnut mantels with textured inlays are comprised of a pair of modern walnut 2-by pieces with a texture walnut inlay. By using 2-by material, we can be assured that the wood is properly dried so that there are no surprise cracks, twists, or other misbehavior in the wood in the future. We use Douglas Fir behind the textured face to create a fully solid (not hollow) beam. Interestingly enough, Douglas Fir and Walnut have very similar expansion and contraction properties, so they work well together.

This particular mantel was a custom mantel job for a customer. It has a typical 8in deep beam-like front section, with smaller, roughly 2×2 returns that wrap around the fireplace and go back to the wall. In the pictures, you can see a typical drawing and how we work with our customers. We can craft a mantel like this with or without returns.

From 1,300 miles away, the customer says, “I got the mantel yesterday and finished the install this morning.  It looks amazing.  I am so pleased with how it fits and looks, there is no more than an 1/8th of an inch gap!  You did such a professional job.   I will be letting everyone who asks that you built it for me.”

This exact mantel has been sold. A walnut mantel like this costs $175 per linear foot (LF).  The returns that wrap around the fireplace and return to the wall run another $150. These can be shipped anywhere in the lower 48 states via FedEx Gnd for $175. We package like crazy and insure the shipments so there are no worries.