Friday, November 20, 2009

Our Fireplace Make-over

We have lived in our current house for 4 1/2 years. It was built in 1968 and was definitely a “fixer-upper” when we bought it.

I hope to show you more pictures of the changes we’ve made on future posts, but my before pictures were not digital, so I will have to take pictures of pictures. Like this post…

One change we made to the house this year was the fireplace in our bedroom. It was hand made from Kentucky fieldstone. I love that it looks rustic, but it didn’t seem to fit in with the way I wanted to decorate our bedroom.

It was very “dated”. It had a huge solid wood mantel, but it was stained an “orange-y” color. And then there was the gold tone fireplace cover that seemed to SCREAM 70’s.

I told my husband I wanted to cover it up with paneling like the rest of our room, because I couldn’t figure out how to make it look the way I wanted. (I am SOOOOO glad we didn’t!)

This is a “picture” I took of a “picture” several years ago. Yikes! It’s painful for me to look at. Sorry the picture quality is so poor.

fireplace 006

Can you see why I just wanted to cover the whole thing up? So dull and bland.

Finally, this fall, we decided to do something to change it. It was a very SIMPLE and CHEAP re-do.

We started by painting the mantle white and adding some molding details on the top and bottom.

Then we took out the old gold-tone fireplace cover, cleaned up the inside and painted it black, and bought a black fireplace screen from Target to place in front.

My husband also installed can lights in the ceiling to spotlight the mantel.

That’s it! And the difference was amazing!

dec 2008 132

I added this Christmas picture to compare to the old Christmas picture. And it seems I only take pictures of my fireplace around Christmas time anyway.

The picture below shows the molding he added to the top and bottom of the wood mantel.

nov 2008 039

We were very pleased with the results.

Blessings!


27 comments:

  1. Love the new look. The white against the rock is so pretty. It really does look nice. Hugs, Marty

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  2. Wow! Great transformation! Love it!...Christine

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  3. traci, your fireplace transformation may have been small but it sure has added a hugh impact. Absolutely gorgeous, i love the stone and the mantle painted white, looks fantastic.
    hugs
    janet

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  4. Hi Traci! Oh, what a difference the white paint makes. It even seems to change the look of the stone! What a beautiful spot!
    bE a sweetie,
    Shelia ;)

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  5. What a transformation looks great;) French

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  6. Wow! Your fireplace looks amazing! That was a great idea to paint your mantel white and the other parts black. It looks so fresh and new! ~ Robyn

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  7. * LOVELY TRANSFORMATION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!***
    Warmest, Linda

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  8. Very nice transformation! The white really lightened up the whole wall. So nice to meet you~ ~Ahrisha~ ~

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  9. Yes... a little paint and imagination... great change... I love the stone!
    Have a Happy Week!
    ~Really Rainey~

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  10. Wow...can't even believe it's the same fireplace...what a fantastic transformation! Your mantel is amazing with all the added trim...and look how gorgeous the stone is against the black of the firplace and the fireplace screen! Love this! Susan

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  11. Traci,
    That looks beautiful!! You and Cy did a great job!
    Cyndi

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  12. Love the transformation, Traci! Thanks for visiting my blog today. :) Would you believe it was actually my OWN mom who didn't believe I could do anything with that table? ;)

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  13. Beautiful transformation! That makes a big difference.

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  14. Hi Traci...

    Ohh my...what a fabulous transformation!!! You and your hubby did a marvelous job...it doesn't even look like the same fireplace...but then I guess that was the plan, huh? Hehe!!! I love the looks of the old stone and painting the mantel white and adding a little moulding really makes for a great look!!! Ohhhh yes...I love the black fireplace screen...beautiful transformation!!! I certainly can see why you are happy that you didn't cover over this beauty!!!

    Warmest wishes,
    Chari

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  15. It's amazing how just a couple of small changes can make such a huge impact.

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  16. Beautiful , love that mantel !
    I want a fireplace !
    Hugs ~ Kammy

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  17. I can't believe I missed this! Looks fabulous! I love the cottage white and the new screen! My hubby just redid ours and I am posting it soon, very similar to yours! Cindy

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  18. Traci your fireplace looks GORGEOUS! I love the pop of white and the lights. GREAT job! :)

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  19. It's beautiful! I know you're so happy with it.

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  20. Wow! Looks great! My fireplace is in need of a little re-do! Nice to see the great results from yours!

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  21. I'm going to add some molding to mine as well, thanks for the idea!

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  22. WHat a difference! Seeing your Christmas decorations makes me want to go start decorating!!!

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  23. I am new to your blog but love your stories and remodeling. Beautiful mantle!!!

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  24. I love it! And the white mantel is gorgeous!!

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  25. Very pretty-love your bathroom too,

    Cheri

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  26. What a wonderful make-over! It looks beautiful. Well done. It's inspired me to tackle some of those projects that have been on the list for way too long!! So glad that I bumped into your blog. It's on my side-bar now to keep checking in on ;o)
    Janine

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