Martha Stewart I'm not!

Okay… I’m coming clean. My house does not always look like the neat and tidy photos that I post. As a matter of fact, it has quite a “lived in” look most of the time. And then there are the rare occasions when it has even looked like this! (Please, don’t anyone call Clean House to report me!!)


This is a perfect example of me jumping from one project to another without finishing the first. Late last summer I decided to rearrange the family room, but before I finished, I thought it would be a good time to reorganize the closets… and then to go through boxes from the closets… and then to do the laundry, and start setting aside things the girls needed for college, etc., etc. The room was in a state of chaos all weekend….


But by Sunday night… ahhhhhh... It was time to kick back and relax in the newly reorganized family room. Spotty definitely approved, and wanted to be the first to leave some fur for me…


And the next day, our sweet Mr. O’Malley, who had a serious love affair with newly decorated/cleaned rooms, also gave his seal of approval. (If you wanted Malley to hang out in your room, you just had to do a top to bottom cleaning/redecorating and it would instantly become his favorite room!) I miss you, boy...

Donna

To paint or not to paint... that was the question....

Welcome to anyone who hasn't seen this older post!

This is what our fireplace looks like now, several years after the 'makeover.'

This is what it looked like right after the 'makeover.'

And this is what it looked like right before the makeover!

I absolutely love the look of brick walls and fireplaces that have been painted white. My husband? Not so much! So we compromised on the idea of building a cover for our brick fireplace that I could paint white, and I think he did the most fantastic job! I love the way it turned out!




















He basically measured and cut a single sheet of birch plywood to cover the front of the fireplace, even cutting a hole for the flue knob.


















To make things really simple, we purchased decorative trim that was just the right width to cover both sides of the fireplace, and also used decorative trim under the mantel and around the hearth. We then applied some trim to cover the corners, wood puttied all the holes, and painted everything white. I have two king size ruffled pillow shams laying across the brick hearth until we eventually finish that part. Since we only burn candles in the fireplace, the material on the hearth isn't a problem and I've actually grown to like the way they look!



















And to cover the hole for the flue knob, I found the sweetest watercolor painting at a yard sale a few years ago - it's a tiny little masterpiece that's just the perfect size!

Yes, I couldn't be happier with our fireplace makeover, and hubby couldn't be happier that the brick fireplace is perfect intact underneath!

Donna