Hi Everyone!
Happy Friday loves. Crisp days and cold nights are upon us my friends, and I recently gave our fireplace a fresh new look just in time to put it use.
One of the things I loved most about our little bungalow when we first saw it was the original wood burning fireplace. We had a gas fireplace in our last house and I desperately missed the warmth, scent, and sound of a good old-fashioned wood burning unit during the colder months. To be able to find one in perfect working condition was icing on our house hunting cake for me.
I had plans on top of plans on top of plans for this fireplace. This makeover would prove to be a lesson in the importance of simplicity. If you’re part of my Instafam, you were already able to catch some sneak peaks of the process.
I started by removing the brass doors.
It was incredibly easy to do, and only required the removal of a screw on either side of the inside. Once the doors were removed I removed the hearth tiles, washed down the brick with warm soapy water, let them dry, then primed them.
Once dry I gave them 3 coats of the same black paint that I used on both the walls in our previous home , and the back of the bookcases before the makeover. Now here’s where things get interesting. I originally envisioned the fireplace with a tile surround. We had enough tile leftover from our old backsplash and I thought it would be perfect for it, but once I got it up, something felt very wrong..
I was replacing the old hearth tiles with marble subway tiles and once the other tiles got up I realized it was just too much tile. They were competing and it was looking more modern than I liked, so I decided to remove the tiles and start over.
Then I thought maybe it needed a bit of shape, so with the help of my sweet friend Lynn, I picked up a sheet of finish grade mdf and came up with a plan to cut out a new “body”, apply it to the surround, and trim it out.
I didn’t even need to get to the trim step to realize this was NOT it either. The fact that my sweet Naomi walked in and said it looked like a doghouse pretty much sealed the deal. START OVER.
At this point in the game I decided to walk away from it for a couple of days. I was stuck and frustrated, and I felt I needed to reset and reapproach with a fresh perspective. Im glad I did because it finally occurred to me that I should take a cue from the bungalow origins of the house. The only thing it needed was some simple finish trim and a fresh coat of paint, so I covered the original surround with thin plywood and attached 1/2 inch pine molding and quarter round with the crown stapler I won in a drawing at Haven. Wood filler, caulk, primer and two coats of paint later I was done.
To keep that side of the room from looking too heavy with the black brick and big black TV, I painted out the back of the bookcases white.
I went with dark grout on the hearth because white grout and black soot will not a happy Shavonda make.
This DIY was a lesson in patience and restraint. Im so grateful for my project warrior, Lynn, for being so amazing and never once complaining through my indecision. We may eventually decide to do something more with it, perhaps maybe even a complete overhaul, but for now I love that it has that bungalow style simplicity.
Its great to see how much progress we’ve made in 3 months. Slowly this little bungalow is becoming the home we envisioned it to be. We’ve still got a ton to do, but its fun to let it happen it its own time.
Although we had already planned on giving the fireplace a makeover, being invited to be part of the Home Depot Holiday Style Challenge AND being assigned mantle may have bumped this project waay up to the top of the ol’ get er done list. Im really happy with how it came together in the end. To see how I decked it out for the holidays, head on over to the Apron Blog and check it out.
Happy Weekend friends. Until next time…
Xo-Shavonda
Sources: fireplace screen/subway tiles
Kristin Bauer says
I don’t know what is going on with my bloglovin’ account but all of a sudden two months worth of your posts popped up in my reader this morning and I realized I have been missing so much progress in your home! So, of course, I just spent the past hour getting all caught up and drooling over your beautiful photos. I am head over heels in love with your living room. That wall color. Seriously. The whole room looks so inviting and comfy, but also classic and stylish. I want you to come decorate my entire home. Deal? Great work, can’t wait to see what you are doing next.
shavonda says
Hi Kristin!! See what had happened was….when I transferred my platform over form Blogger to WordPress my blogloving following was no longer able to get my posts in the reader. I contacted them a couple days ago and they fixed it for me so voila!! So glad to have you back babes. Thank you for your kind words, and Id love to come help you decorate;)
Sonya says
I just found your blog via Instagram. I loved this post! I live in a 1920’s cottage and have almost the exact same set up with my fireplace and a bookcase to the right – love the changes you made and the styling!
shavonda says
Hi Sonya! I just love my instafam! Thank you so much for stopping by, and thank you for the compliment. We are loving our little bungalow:)
Julie (Being Home) says
Wow! I really love what you have done to this room and that fireplace! High five! 🙂
shavonda says
Thank you Julie! We are getting there slowly but surely;)
Darnetha | ChippaSunshine says
Sometimes design and diy is just like that. I am glad that you kept on until you found the perfect look for you and your family. It looks amazing and I love the end result.
shavonda says
Thank you Darnetha. We are loving it:)
Ursula @ Home Made by Carmona says
Oh my gosh! I’ve been waiting to see what the final product might be, I LOVE it!
Hahaha! You guys had quite the adventure getting there… hey, I say if you don’t love it, keep on till you do! 😉
shavonda says
Thank you so much sweets. You know what they say….if at first you don’t succeed…walk away, throw a fit, have a few glasses of wine, and then come back and try again;)
Jenna says
Girlfriend. That mirror. I’ve been lusting after it for months. It looks perfect above your fireplace! I love the tile you went with too – the dark grout makes it! Headed over to see your style challenge now!
shavonda says
You’re the best Jenna. Thank you so much. As soon as I saw the mirror I just had to have it! The tile is my fav part. Love the Carrera.
Megan says
It looks great!!! I love all the white with the color.
shavonda says
Thank you Megan. I think the white provides a nice balance to all the deeper tones throughout the room with the wall color, floor color, rugs, etc.
holly says
Wow, love the end result, looks fabulous!!
shavonda says
Thank you so much Holly:)
cassie says
what a difference- i love the hearth tile! off to see it all decked out!
shavonda says
Thank you Cassie:)
Julia@Cuckoo4Design says
Love the black, green and white! And the hint of purple in your Christmas decor is unexpected and awesome!
shavonda says
Thank you Julia!
Kristin @ Bliss at Home says
It looks so great Shavonda 🙂 It just stands out even more now! Love it! Going to check out your HD challenge now 🙂 xoxo
shavonda says
Thank you so much Kristin. Youre so sweet:)
Andrea says
Beautiful. Where did you get your fireplace screen?
Katrina says
I love the painted black brick along with your new fireplace screen….so happy you kept working though your design ideas to come up with the an after that speaks to you and looks stunning, the marble is so pretty! Great job on the detail work on the fireplace, looks so good!
Lynn says
You are more than welcome. We always have a great time together, not to mention how much I learn from you. It looks gorgeous!
shavonda says
Thank you sweet sweet friend.