Around the House

Our house is getting there. Just a lot of little details that need to be completed. I swear it is easier to get the BIG jobs done and then takes forever to finish all the little stuff. In fact, there are a bunch of guys here right now painting, sanding, drywall, etc. 

One of the projects that we did while the house was ripped apart was put in a new fireplace. The old one looked like this…

I know what you are thinking, it's not that bad. BUT, what you can't see in the photo is that the rock/brick is FAKE and painted to look sooty from a fire! Ugh, it was awful and I was not a fan of that mantel either. 

I wanted a more rustic looking mantel and had a really hard time finding what I wanted for a reasonable price. Everything I found was in the $1000-2000 price range. YIKES! I decided that it couldn't possibly be that hard to make my own. I asked around and found a place in Denver called The Lumber Guy (so sad they are closing!). I purchased a great piece of weathered lumber for only $68! Yipee! I then sanded the living daylights out of it and stained it very dark (Minwax Ebony).

My fireplace guy installed it and made the surround with plaster. I love it! The hearth is a whole different matter. I wanted a cool piece of granite but again, I could not find anything for less than $1000. Um, no. I finally went to Home Depot and poked around. I found these great weathered travertine pavers in the outdoor garden area. They were only $2/piece. Another score! I love how they look and the price was great.

This is one of the "in progress" pics. I'll show you a finished picture of the whole room when we have everything done. Cheers! Teresa