How to Antique a New Fireplace Mantle

Remove furniture, rugs, window treatments and art from the room to protect them from paint, stain and sawdust. Cover the carpet or floor with dropcloths.

Distress the wood. Dent it with a hammer. Gouge it with a chisel. Beat it with a chain. Singe the edges with a blow torch. Round the corners with a belt sander.

Sand the mantel. Sand against the grain with 220 grit sandpaper in a belt sander. Sand the mantel unevenly to create an antique appearance. Wipe the mantel clean with tack cloth.

Paint the mantel. Use antique colors to make the mantel look old. The Real Milk Paint Company manufactures milk paint in authentic antique colors. You can also buy paint in colors that are authentically Colonial from manufacturers like Behr and Sherwin Williams. Brush on the paint and, while it is still wet, wipe it with a cloth, giving the appearance that the paint has worn off over years of use.

Apply two colors, one as a base coat and the other on the cloth or brush you used to wipe through the base coat. This process gives the impression that the mantel has been painted with different colors over the years and some of the layers have worn off, exposing those underneath. There are also paint kits specifically designed to produce this same antique appearance. You can find them in hardware and paint stores, as well as home improvement stores like Lowes and Home Depot.