It may not be fall quite yet, but it is certainly fast approaching. There is something about the change of season from summer to fall where we start to think about getting back into our homes to make it comfortable and cozy for the winter ahead. Many people start to think about getting their places decorated or ‘finished’ in the fall, before the busy holiday season and the winter weather gets locked in.
It made me think of this fireplace makeover I did with the help of my guy, Ken, to create an amazing focal point in my former living room. There was an old, non-functioning fireplace here before, but I didn’t like the mantel. It was really just a mantel pasted on the wall over the brick surround, so it didn’t fit or look quite right. We removed the old fireplace mantel and then Ken removed the bricks so we had a flat and flush wall surface to work with. I used an architectural salvage shop to source the perfect size antique wooden mantel. To finish the look, I painted the mantel white and used some pieces of old drywall around the perimeter, which I painted in flat black paint. This is a non-functioning fireplace and it will never be used, so all of this is to create a decorative feature of a character architectural detail. By adding a screen in front it makes the fireplace look even more authentic.
I love how this turned out! It added a beautiful feature that looked original to this newly renovated older, historic home.
Here are a few before, during and after pictures to show how it turned out!
Before
During
Shopping for the new mantel
After
I should also mention that we were renovating to create a larger open concept living area, and I’ll post more on that before and after transformation soon!