The fireplace is finally finished and we waited two days before trying it out. It was in the 70's here today, but that didn't stop us.
The mantle is about 7 feet long and I'm not sure how I'm going to decorate it. I don't want it to look cluttered and it needs to compliment the stag. And reality is I have bigger things to be concerned with at the moment than that. (STILL no vent hood!!)
You can't tell in the top picture because it's so dark but the top, middle rock is shaped like Arkansas. We love it! The brick layers did it without asking which we thought was funny because Brad and I had talked about trying to find an AR shaped rock to use either on the fireplace or somewhere around the front door.
I wasn't the one who wanted the fireplace but the pyro in me sat and watched the fire all night! This thing might get used way more than I first thought!