A “Faux” Mantel to Hide Those Ugly Cords!

The ugly cords beneath my tv have been driving me crazy! I decided the least conspicuous thing would be a shelf that also looked a little like a mantel that would even kind of look like the television was sitting on top of it a little bit. It needed to be just far enough out from the wall that the cords could be run behind it. I got to the drawing board!

Step 1: Assembly and Brackets

The back of my mantel is a brand new 1×6 cut to length that I painted white. Then I cut a rough-sawn oak 2×4 (from the stash my wood working grandparents’ left me out in the barn) at the same length which I then cleaned up and stained to match the buffet. (The stain is called Dark Walnut by Minwax.) With the stain dry I attached it down the center of my 1×6 using several 3″ screws. I was not shy with the screws here, they are what allows this piece of wood to look like its “floating” and they are all that is keeping in there!

I cut four pieces of scrap 2×4 and screwed them to the studs along my straight line that I made with a level and a pencil. Using 2x4s meant the mantel would be 1 1/2″ out from the wall – plenty of room for the cords. With that done I tucked my cords along the brackets and I hung my mantel. I screwed it to the 2×4 braces by putting a screw in each brace below the “shelf” and then filled the screw holes with white caulk.