The mantel decision

Here's our mantel. I never put much thought into the mantel for our ventless, propane fireplace. It's not something I walk around thinking about. Imagine my surprise when I learned how important it was to Ellen. She had researched mantels thoroughly and was ready to order one from a place near Bemidji, MN., revered in my memory for all of the years I spent fishing near there on family vacations. She explained what she was looking for, and why. I'd never heard of a corbel before, the short pieces of wood on which a log or timber mantel rests. I knew nothing of the pros and cons of mantel finishes or wood types or mantel styles. She asked me to pick one from this outfit's web-site. It's tough to choose something like that from a picture, but one problem I saw right away was the size of the shelf could not possibly match the dimensions she wanted for the price offered. She wants a wide shelf to set stuff on, but the log mantles at our price point looked to be no more than 6-8" wide. I was going to tour the web on my own, but she had bookmarked another site that hand sculpted timbers in Hamilton, WA. I really liked what I saw, and with reminders from Ellen (I get so many, I've forgotten how many it took for this specific task), I called them. I liked the guy immensely. It's a small two man shop, and I spoke to the guy who actually put tools on wood. He educated me on the work they did, the finish they used and why, the renewable sources for their timber and helped me choose an appropriate wood. We settled on what he called old growth cedar. The more esoteric woods like Yew, were outside my price range. Surprisingly, this 10" mantel was less than $200 more than the smaller one from the company near Bemidji. The edge is also hand sculpted, ensuring a truly unique addition to our home. Most importantly, Ellen can set stuff on it.