The Big Reveal: Living Room Fireplace

If you count the time in which I’ve been dreaming about the finished fireplace, it’s been a long 18 months. The fireplace felt like a daunting task and I’m a little shocked that I actually did it (with some help, of course). 18 months of dreaming has turned into a finished fireplace that is better than I could have imagined.  I’m so excited that I’ve been doing a little happy dance over here for the past 3 days. Here’s a quick look back at the journey.

A basic black and brass gas fireplace insert surrounded by beige 8 x 8 inch tiles. The tile color was actually more of an almond color and looked awful. It was in bad shape and the grout was cracking all over.We tried patching it at one point but clean grout just made the rest of it look dirtier. At some point the previous owners had tried to burn wood in the gas fireplace so there was soot all over the top which isn’t very visible in the picture.

The first step was to paint the fireplace screen. I did this first because I knew if I got paint on the tiles it wouldn’t matter since I would be tearing them down. It was a good start and made a big difference to get rid of the brass. Plus it cost less than $5.

Next I started tearing the tile down. This took a few weeks since I was only able to work on it for a few hours every couple of days. I quickly found that the builders had adhered the tile with construction adhesive which made for some difficult removal, especially on the bottom row.

A little drywall repair was in order, then we began installing the prefabricated mantle and pilaster set. That solid white strip of wood under the mantle was later covered with a more decorative moulding. This was all followed with another few weeks of nail setting, filler, sanding, and priming.

At this point we celebrated Christmas and I was able to hang stockings on my ‘in progress’ mantle.

This is where I asked for your help on tile choices. After choosing the tile, this past weekend we installed it, grouted, and painted both the surrounding wall and put a few coats of white gloss on the wood.

So which tile did I choose?

Option 1 was the winner!

Isn’t it lovely?!

Why did I pick Tile Option #1?

A lot of it had to do with the price. Option 1 tiles were clearance at Home Depot. Each  sheet was only $3.76 as opposed to the $11-14 per sheet for all the other styles. So instead of paying about $100 for the tile, I only paid $30. So while Option 3 was actually my favorite, it would have been very expensive and difficult to cut down.

I did have to cut some of these tiles, but with a pair of Tile Nippers purchased at Lowes, it was fairly easy. This was another positive to option 1, most of the other styles would have required more extensive cutting.

Now I have the opportunity to create pretty mantle designs. Right now I’m loving a natural winter theme. I changed out the candy corn from this project and replaced it coffee beans. The flowers are from Hobby Lobby, snowflake candle holders were from the Crate and Barrel Outlet while everything else came from Homegoods.

Price Breakdown:

Drywall Repair Supplies (Join Compound, etc) (Lowes/Already Owned) = $13

Sander/Sand Paper (Already Owned) = $0

Prefabricated Mantle (Lowes) = $84

Prefabricated Pilaster Kit (Lowes) = $64

Decorative Wood Moulding (Lowes) = $13

Nails/Wood Filler (Lowes) = $5

Kilz Primer (Already Owned) = $0

Valspar White High Gloss Paint (Already Owned) = $0

Wall Paint Touchups (Already Owned) = $0

Tile (Home Depot) = $30

Tile Adhesive (Already Owned) = $0

Grout/Supplies (Home Depot) = $15

High Heat Spray Paint for Fireplace Screen (Home Depot) = $4

Total Fireplace Remodel Cost = $228

Originally I had thought it would cost closer to $400 to finish the fireplace, but I was able to catch some great sales and the clearance tiles meant that I was able to cut the cost down under $250. Well worth it and I think it really adds to the house.

**Edited to change the cost of the Pilaster set. I origianlly thought it was $104, but after finding the receipt it was really $64. The $104 was the origianl cost of the Mantle kit, but it was on sale for $84.

…and because I still can’t believe it…

one last before…

…and after!

Linking To: Addicted 2 Decorating, Thrift Decor Chick

Spare Bathroom Reveal – 3rd Floor

It’s the start of a new week and I have an exciting bathroom reveal for you. I actually finished this room a while back, before I had started this blog, so I thought I’d share it now. The deep colors just scream fall to me, so it seems like the perfect time.

Just like the Powder Room, and the Laundry Room…this room was all white when I purchased the house. I’m torn on whether this was a good or bad thing. It was so sterile I rushed to paint every room as quickly as possible; but on the other hand, they were an excellent blank canvas. Bad picture is courtesy of the home listing, apparently they were completely averse to vertical pictures. However, it’s the only one that still shows you the ugly brass door knobs and ‘padded room’ white design.

Unfortunately it was so much harder to figure out how to design this room. I started out with a light pink, and it was going to be very girly…too girly. Then I thought grey would be better since this was a spare bathroom, and I thought going gender neutral would be a smarter design choice. However, the grey I bought was really baby blue. I painted one wall in this bathroom three different colors before I landed on a deep olive green.

It’s actually very similar to a Semi Gloss Army Green.

In fact I was so giddy to finally find a color that worked that I bought a whole gallon of it. So now I have an almost full gallon of semi gloss olive green paint left to use somewhere else (not sure where yet).

So why did I pick green? It was all because of the towels I found at Target. It’s a little difficult to get a great picture of the deep tones, but they are a really rich palette; with dark brown, deep teal, rust, burgundy, and cream. Shortly after finding the towels,I came across the metal art at Homegoods, it was perfect.

Back when I lived in the apartment, I had purchased the dark wood hutch for extra storage. I almost didn’t bring it with me when I moved, but it actually worked out great in this room. It added the storage that is very lacking and matched the hardware that I added.

This is the bathroom overnight guests would use so it’s fully stocked with all the essentials in case anyone should forget something at home, or decide to stay last minute.

The knobs are from Anthropologie and make me swoon.

The towel hardware was on clearance at Bed Bath & Beyond. I picked up a second one for another bathroom as well. I actually wish I had bought a few more, but they were out by the time I went back. These replaced the cheapo builder grade silver hardware.

The curtain hardware was also a standard oil rubbed bronze rod purchased from BB & Beyond. However, the curtain itself is just fabric from JoAnn’s. I had used this as my bedroom curtains at the apartment, but the cream color matched the towels and the subtle design seemed to play well in the room.

I only needed to add a shower curtain liner which I picked up for super cheap at Wal-Mart.

…however the fabric is a little long and I still need to hem the curtains.

The accessories were random odds and ends that I had stashed around the house.

I love this statue. I wish I could recall where I bought it from. When in doubt, Homegoods is probably a good guess. (It may have also come from Cost Plus World Market)

Yet, my favorite part of the entire room is this section. I love the star and that candle, they make me happy.

I still have some things I’d like to do in here; such as replace the vanity and the flooring, but otherwise I love the way it turned out.

I don’t have a specific cost breakdown for this one since I didn’t itemize as much before I started the blog. Although, with the help of my trusty calculator (I suck at math), I estimate it was around $100. I bought a lot of things on clearance/sale and I used coupons as well, so this room was a bargain.

SHOWING THE LOVE!!

Linking To: Thrifty Decor Chick, Between Naps on the Porch, Keeping It Simple, Craft-O-Maniac, The Girl Creative, Making the World Cuter,  Today’s Creative Blog, Not JUST A Housewife, Savvy Southern Style, We Are That Family, Very Merry Vintage Style, Blue Cricket Design, Ginger Snap Crafts, The Shabby Creek Cottage, Beyond The Picket Fence, The ArtsyGirl Connection, Between U & Me, The Crafty Nest, Remodelaholic, Addicted 2 Decorating, The Shabby Nest, The French Country Cottage, Dear Creatives, 5 Minutes Just For Me, The Not So Functional Housewife, Funky Junk Interiors

The Big Reveal – Laundry Room ReDesign

Of all the chores in the house, I actually like doing the laundry. Maybe it’s because everything smells so good coming out of the dryer. In winter, when it’s cold outside, there’s nothing like holding warm, fresh towels and blankets. Next time you want to do yoga on a cold day, toss your yoga clothes in the dryer for a few minutes. Toasty.

I probably like doing laundry because it’s easy. Let’s face it, you sort (which is no big deal if you do it day by day instead of all at once), you dump (into the machine), pour (in the soap), then turn it on.

Walk away…easy peasy. The machine does all the work.

Now, I will admit the folding after everything dries is a bit of a pain, but if you do it right away, it doesn’t take long. Once I have kids, I want to do something like this…

Source: google.com.au via Kylie on Pinterest

Everyone gets a basket. They drop off their dirty clothes, then the folded clothes go back in the basket and everyone can pick up their loot. So cool, and much easier for mom who shouldn’t have to put everyone’s clothes away, she’s got enough to do.

But I don’t have kids…yet. So I have the perfect size laundry room for a few people and I’m really excited to share that it’s no longer builder grade white. It also cost less than $150 for everything. It’s the first room you see when walk up the stairs to the 3rd floor, so I’m pleased that it turned out so well.

BEFORE

Again, another one that feels like a padded room. White walls, white floor, white cabinets, and white appliances. Oh yeah, and that crappy red sticker (and some dog hair).

….and AFTER!

I took these pictures before I removed the red sticker, so please try to see past that.

I think it turned out pretty darn good!

 

This is one of those rooms that simply fell into place (others were not so easy). First I picked the color, it’s a steel blue which set off the white appliances/trim nicely. I absolutely love this color so much I wish I could find somewhere else in the house to put it.

From the beginning I knew I wanted a ‘natural’ feel with the baskets and the art. It was pure luck that I found both at Homegoods within weeks of each other. The art was even on clearance, marked down 50% (nothing is wrong with it as far as I can tell).

Project Cost Breakdown

Paint: 2 Quarts of Valspar Beguile= $28 (I almost made it with just one quart, but we needed a bit more)

Canvas Wall Art (Homegoods) =  $90$45

Small Laundry Hamper (Homegoods) = $30

Large Laundry Hamper (Homegoods) = $40

My super sweet mom willing to climb behind the washer/dryer to paint the back corners = Priceless!

Total Project Cost: $146

SHOWING THE LOVE!!

Linking To: Between Naps on the Porch, Keeping it Simple, The Girl Creative, Making the World Cuter, Thrifty Decor Chick, Not JUST a Housewife, Today’s Creative Blog, Savvy Southern Style, We Are THAT Family, Very Merry Vintage Style, Blue Cricket Design, Ginger Snap Crafts, The Shabby Creek Cottage, Vanessa’s Crafty Nest, Addicted 2 Decorating, Shabby Nest, French Country Cottage, Dear Creatives, Ohh Baby Designs, Funky Junk Interiors