There are many generic brands of mantels for people that don't want to purchase a mantel from Pearl Mantels or other popular brands. These can be third-party mantels from local big-box retail stores like Walmart. Even hardware giants like Home Depot and Lowe's have plenty of third-party mantels from customers to choose from. Unfortunately, many of these generic brands have issues that make them unreliable. If the pricing looks too good to be true, there is a reason for that. They often use cheaper materials and cut corners in mass manufacturing so that the build quality is as cheap as the price tag.   While you don't necessarily need to choose Pearl Mantels, you should stick to trusted brands of mantels for your fireplace area. You will be happier if you did. By purchasing a generic brand of a mantel, it will usually look bad once you've installed it. Even if it looks aesthetically decent, it can have quality problems that will result in you needing to replace it after it is scratched, chipped, or otherwise broken. With brand-name mantels made out of quality materials, these issues will be less likely to happen.   This advice can be applied to most decor items for your home. While cheaper prices easily catch the eye, quality brand names are almost always the best choice. You will end up with products that can last for a lifetime rather than products you'll need to replace every year or two. When it involves an inglenook fireplace, you want to choose quality brands that will help your fireplace last a lifetime. You don't want to ruin the charm of an inglenook fireplace with cheap materials and products.