To be honest, I really have no idea what type of wood was used for the mantel. Sorry! That was a standard builder choice for us, so we were not consulted as to type of wood used. It was stained, so that tint of the wood is a product of the stain that was applied. Not sure that helps. I can say that the mantel is one solid piece, and the corbels are also each of one piece. I am sorry that I cannot provide more information than this.

If you wish to contact my builder, you may go to his website:

http://groveparkconstruction.com

I believe you can find contact information there for them. Tell them that you saw a picture of the Benda's living room on Houzz and were curious what wood was used for their fireplace mantels.

Could you tell me the height of the TV from the floor to the bottom of the TV? Are there any "guidelines" on how low the TV can be? I've read a lot of "complants" of people's necks hurting from TVs on the fireplace. Your thoughts?

There is no hard rule that states you have to hang a TV at a certain height or be doomed. However, installers will generally advise that the bottom of the TV should be hung at your viewing eye level. So, basically, you sit where you are going to sit and watch the TV (couch or whatever) and you measure from the floor to your eye level there. That is the generally accepted hanging guideline.

Personally, I am about to remove this TV from above the mantel and replace it with a painting. The reason is that we have so many other TVs around the house that this is the one we never watch, and it will also enable us to dress up the space more. That said, since these pictures were taken, I installed a TV above the mantel on our back porch. Look through my other photos. You will see the space without the TV above the mantel. The mantel heights are the same, the fireplaces are the same, and we are pleased with the setup.

The people complaining about their necks are probably sitting too close to a TV that is hung too high. Hanging a TV above its optimal hanging level is not a problem if the TV is at a great enough distance (think about the ceiling mounted TVs in sports bars and restaurants). In this picture, the couch is about 11 feet from the mantel. I would not want the couch any closer if I were to sit there and want to watch the TV.

The bottom of the TV picture in this photo is 75" off the floor. The top of the picture is 100" off the floor. It is a 50" plasma TV. The bracket is one that allows me to tilt the TV up and down. The TV is tilted down as far as the bracket will allow.

The TV we have since put outside on our back porch is slightly larger than the one in this picture, but not by much. It is an LED. The bottom of the TV picture is 71" off the ground, and the top of the picture is about 96" off the ground. The viewing distance there is exactly 12 feet away. And, again, it is not the primary TV that we watch, but we spend a great deal of time out there and are happy with the layout (no neck strain).

Thank you for such a detailed response! Much appreciated!!!!