A decorative electric fireplace inside the home never ceases to capture attention. Other than its ability to provide heat, its design and structure are what makes it all the more interesting. While the simulated fire and music are often considered as the main accents of this furnishing, its mantel is another factor that makes it stand out from the rest of the fixtures around the home. However, as purchasing a mantel can be a bit pricey, especially nowadays that you have to save money for other important things, it would be more preferable to create your own mantel.

Before you make a mantel for your electric fireplace heater, it is essential to identify first what a mantel is and how it functions. Basically, mantel is the shelf-like structure sitting on the wall atop the fireplace hearth. This piece is often integrated as a part of the fireplace to enhance fireplace space and also functions as a decorative point where objects like photographs and figurines could be placed. Commonly, the mantel is available as a separate piece from the fireplace, but can also be bought already assembled with the fire feature.

While you have the option to purchase the mantel of your electric fireplace heater, customizing your mantel is a good way to add character to your fire feature. By constructing your own mantel, you would be able to create a unique fixture based from your chosen concept or theme. Though this project might require more than a DIY ability, your efforts would surely pay off as this is a cheap way to get quality mantel without purchasing. To cap off your mantel project you should have the following materials: saw, nail gun, crown molding, wood glue, router, level, wooden boards and paint.

Measure your fireplace and mark the location where you will place your fireplace mantel. Add at least 3/4 of an inch to your measurements so as to correspond to the thickness of the board you will use. Don't forget to use a level when marking the location of your mantel in order to avoid squiggly lines. After doing the measurements, do your mantel design in accordance to your desired theme and scale down the dimensions of your mantel based from the measurements you did for your fireplace.

Create the legs of your fireplace mantel with the use of three boards to form an incomplete box on the wall. Cut the side and front pieces of each leg and secure them together by gluing and nailing. Mount the legs on the wall by securing the sides of the box with nails. To decorate your mantel legs, install crown moldings around the sides of the legs.

Now that you have your fireplace mantel legs in place, create the top and shelf of the mantel by using a frieze board and then place it on top of the legs. To ensure that the mantel shelf and top are strong, nail them to the wall and place crown moldings around its sides for decoration. To achieve smoother edges, use a router to scrap of tiny particles on the edge of your mantel. Lastly, paint your homemade mantel according to your preferred color, but make sure that it would complement your home's color scheme to maintain design continuity.