Living Room Redo – Fireplace Makeover

 

‘Why fix it if it’s not broken’ may have come to the minds of some when I announced I decided to redo most of my living room. While certainly not broken or in need of repair, I must confess that my living room just hasn’t sat right with me. Even after installing new flooring and rolling 8 gallons of paint on the walls, the ceiling, even the fireplace, my living room wasn’t giving me that ‘wow’ factor I’d been craving over the past year and a half since we bought this house.

  

I am a firm believer in allowing your decorating vision to unfold itself over time, which at times can add up to a painfully slow wait (especially when you want everything yesterday), but it is extremely rewarding when you find that just perfect piece, instead of settling for anything less. So the living room has been a progressive, time taking process, slowly coming to fruition.

  

The very first step in my living room redo was to focus on the fireplace, as it is the focal point of the room. I decided to use my all time favorite stain, Varathane {do you see the can and brush, on the hearth below?} This is the ‘before’…

  

  

And this is the ‘after’. The mantle was actually a gift from my dear friend Laurie. She had lent it to us for our holiday party, and I guess she could tell by the sparkle in my eye {and my pouty bottom lip} how much I loved it. Next thing I knew, we were the proud new owners of a gorgeous mantle. She is so generous!

  

  

Another ‘before’ shot, this is the right side of our fireplace, a built in bookshelf, in all it’s boredom...

  

  

And here is the ‘after’. I love how the Varathane frames the bookshelf and emphasizes my stacks of old leather books.

  

  

My mantle vignette. The mercury glass bird, silver trophy cup and stack of books are all flea market finds…

  

  

The roses are from my garden…

  

  

More trophy cups from my collection, a stack of very old books, and a 1950 horse prize ribbon, also flea market finds…

  

  

I love all the various forms of texture in front of the mantle. A metal clam digging basket from New England, a collection of fresh firewood, and a nubby antique blanket…

  

  

So let’s recap our living room progress up to this point, shall we? The photo below was taken the day we bought this house, 1 1/2 years ago…

  

  

And with lots of trial and a couple error in between, here is where we are at today….

  

        

Stay tuned for details about our industrial factory cart coffee table, and more living room updates…

We can all help

Just like many of you, we’ve been glued to our television and radio, watching and listening to the stories of sadness and loss, and total devastation. And after I would turn off the news, shaken by despair, I would say to myself “If only I could help”. But how? What could I possibly do that could make a difference?

After doing a bit of careful research, I found a well compiled list of reliable organizations you can donate to here. And I also found a great post here sharing six ways you can help in Haiti. We have donated, and I hope you will too.

To all those in Haiti, to those we have lost, to those that are clinging on for survival, and to those that are risking their lives to save others: Our hearts go out to all of you.

If you can help, please do. They need us.

Cottage of the Month goes Old Skool

Sorry I’ve been MIA lately. It seems as soon as all of the holiday decorations and the tree came down (and yes, we are still finding tiny bits of green garland and faux snow flakes all over the place) our little Cottage8 was feeling like it was missing something. And since it doesn’t take much to convince me to go on a re-decorating rampage, I’ve put all my attention on our Living Room and our Hallway. Lots of paint (think: Ralph Lauren’s “Black Truffles” and Behr’s “Seaside Sand”), beadboard wallpaper, more Varathane stain, crown and chair rail moulding, even some ironstone in place of wall art. Stay tuned…

Keeping in my typical mid-month fashion, if you haven’t already seen this month’s Cottage of the Month, I’d love it if you stopped by. I’ve featured a darling little cottage in Mariposa, CA. Doing this particular feature has been much unlike any other feature in the history of Cottage of the Month. Behind the scenes, I worked closely with the homeowner for nearly 2 years in preparation for her feature. The image below is of the stacks and stacks of hundreds of photos that she mailed to me over an extended period of time. Because she doesn’t use a digital camera, and utilizes the computer at her local public library, the film had to be developed at the store, the prints then had to be mailed to me, where I then had to hand scan each one…

While I did anticipate a good amount of work to be involved for us both, as completing each Cottage of the Month is always a time taking process to begin with, I didn’t anticipate the feeling of warm nostalgia as I shuffled through the stacks of prints, feeding each one into the scanner. It brought back to memory my “early days” on the internet where it all began, 10 years ago to be exact. Good times indeed.

Stay tuned for updates on the Living Room and Hallway…