Fireplace Renovation

One of the first things that you see when you walk into our house is the fireplace.  It's large, Victorian and just a little bit shabby.  I've been meaning to do something with it since we moved in 14 years ago.  It's been stained, painted and stripped so the wood isn't in that good a condition.  The tile is in an even sorrier state.  It's original mottled green, but almost every tile on the hearth is cracked and it's impossible to clean.  So, and I know this may upset some people, and the decision wasn't taken lightly on my part, I decided to pull it up and start a fresh.  Don't worry all you conservators out there, I did keep the original tile, although be it in many pieces, and carefully placed it in a box in case someone wants to replace it one day.

Fireplace circa 1997

fireplace circa 2005

cracked tiles

more cracked tiles

The hardest part was removing the mantel.  Not because it was difficult, but because I was a little bit worried about what I might find behind it.

original tiles saved and stored safely

I also decided to strip the black paint off of the surround and summer cover.  I was inspired by the gorgeous fireplace in Emma's home from The Marion House Book.  I realized later that her fireplace was actually spray painted gold, and that would have been a much easier choice to make, but oh well.  Four cans of paint stripper and four full days later, it looks kinda OK.  I thought that it was solid brass, duh, until I found out that if you put a magnet to it, if it was solid brass then the magnet wouldn't stick.  Oh course the magnet stuck and it is in fact brass coated cast iron.  But where the brass shows is really pretty, the only thing is, it's kind of patchy.  Still it was a labour of love and you can now see more of the detail of the summer cover.  I never knew it was of a lady standing on a stag with a bow and arrow.  I think I avoided looking at it before because it was so dirty.

I love the clean look of carrera marble on fireplaces.  I think it looks classy and elegant and somewhat timeless.  It also goes with most everything else, unlike the green and brown tile which was hard to decorate around without clashing or looking too busy.  I ummed and ahhed about what size of tile to use, and when Home Depot started carrying marble subway tile, my decision was made for me.  It's not the best tile, but it is easily available and affordable.  I could also buy it and try it relatively risk free because of the low cost.  The second question was whether to carry the subway up the face.  But I do have a thing for herringbone at the moment, so I bought some herringbone tile off the Internet and am probably going to go with that.  If it looks too busy then I'll just go with the subway, but sometimes you have to take risks.

Anyway, without much further ado, here's some pictures of the work in progress.  It probably won't be completed for at least another week or two, because I'm going to paint the room first and then tile.  Plus I'm really slow when it comes to finishing things.  I always have to ruminate over my decisions for days before I actually commit, so who knows the design may change between now and then.

I did toy with doing a herringbone pattern on the hearth, but I think it may be too busy.  I'm currently leaning towards the plain subway tile on the bottom and the smaller herringbone subway tile on the face.  Wish me luck!

More Patterns

Wow, winter arrived rather unexpectedly this week in Utah when it went from 90 degrees to 45 degrees in a matter of days.  This cold weather is making me think of cozy things like blankets and quilts.  And although it was not my intention to buy any new bedding for my bedroom, I couldn't resist this quilt from my local Urban Outfitters store, when I saw that it was only, wait for it, $30! I knew that the colours would work with the colours I already had on the bed, namely blue and orange, but was a bit worried that with all the patterns going on it may clash.  But I think it actually works and enhances the boho vibe that was already there.  And if the patterned quilt wasn't enough, I also managed to score this rug for only $35.  And it's the same rug that I blogged about here but in blue instead of grey.  Oh, and that rug did arrive, amazingly, and looks great, but the office is such a mess at the moment that I hesistate to show you it.  Oh well maybe just a small piccy.

Here's a couple of piccys of the bedroom before the quilt.

And here it is after.



You may notice that I also have a new headboard.  It's the upholstered nailhead headboard from West Elm, that I came upon for half the price at DownEast (our local outlet store for all things Pottery Barn, West Elm & WS Home).  I'm still waiting on the bedframe which is currently on sale at West Elm, but unfortunately on back-order.  Again, we'll see if it actually materializes.  The current bed will be making it's way to The Cottage which we are getting ready to rent out for the winter.  Come back for a blog post on that transformation.

And here's a small picture of the office with the rug.  It does a good job of hiding the plastic floor protector under the chair.  I'll post better pictures once all of the mess is out of there.

Hubby is still working on the garagemahal and my lastest project is the music room.  Some major changes are going on there, so hope you come back soon.

Callum's 7th birthday

Hello people.  Sorry I haven't posted in a while, but I decided to be very European and have the summer off.  But I'm back now and what better way to come back than with a post celebrating the birthday of my youngest son, Callum.

I can't believe he's seven already.  He started 2nd grade a week ago, and I couldn't be more proud of him (it's a mother's prerogative!).

We did our traditional annual birthday party at the swimming pool club house at Redpine Condos in Park City.  Thankfully the weather cooperated (it's been a bit thundery around here lately).

Each year the children choose their own party theme.  Last year Callum chose Mickey Mouse because we had recently been to Disney Land.  This year he wanted a Domo themed birthday party.  Despite 7-11 pushing Domo a few years ago, there's surprisingly little Domo related party supplies.  If you don't know who he is, you're not in the minority.  All I know is that he is, I believe, a Japanese cartoon character who's a bit cheeky.  He also lets off gas when he's anxious!!  (Oh those Japanese, they are funny).  Anyhoo, I was feeling a bit Martha Stewarty (if anyone knows me, they'll know that I tend to go overboard when it comes to the kids' parties), and so I decided to do some crafting.  Et voila!

Looks like an army of Domos with the General at the top.

And here's what was inside the homemade Domo bags.

I bought the buttons/badges from ebay and the little plastic figures from amazon.  I decided to make the figures into necklaces.  It was fun seeing the kids wearing them.

Callum received some great gifts, including lots of lego.  Thank you everyone for being so generous and thoughtful.  But I have to say I was most impressed by the homemade fort kit that one of the parents had made.  

It took us a while to figure out what it was.  But we couldn't be more pleased.  It even goes perfectly with the decor in the playroom!

The kit came with 2 sheets, some pegs, some bull clips, a washing line, some suction cup hangers, and even a flashlight.  All wrapped up in a lovely homemade cloth bag, which I may have to steal and use as a gym bag.

 It even inspired Callum to do his guitar practice, all cozy in his little den.

Hopefully this will encourage the kids to keep their playroom tidy, so they can keep their fort in there, and not in our living room, or bedroom, or anywhere else that they've commandeered in the past.

Hope you enjoyed my little post.  I've got loads to tell you about my summer hols so stay tuned.