New Fireplace

A few years ago I invested in having my chimney and fireplace repaired. With the pandemic, I really wanted more spaces to hang out in at home, and the fireplace was never a spot to hang since it couldn’t be used. I’m so glad I invested in that change!

My home is laid out in a slightly funky manner. When you enter my front door, the fireplace is right in front of it. Likely put there to heat the house, there isn’t room in the space to place a sofa in front of the fireplace, so when I want to enjoy it, I drag a small cozy chair in front if it. That works fine for me.

I have never however, loved the look of my fireplace. The mantle is clunky and I’m not a fan of the brick. Early on, I thought about painting the brick, but hesitated both because Mom, who knows better than I do about interiors, advised against it. I was also hesitant to paint the brick because I felt that the fireplace was original to the house and I shouldn’t mess wit it. Also, what if I hated it?

So for ten years I’ve entered my lovely home and looked at a fireplace that I am grateful to have but don’t find very pretty.

I recently got a promotion and decided now is the time to change the fireplace. I researched carpenters and found a guy who does beautiful work and we set up a time for him to come do some measuring and provide an estimate.

My plan was to have him build something like this over the brick, with the tile on the right surrounding the fireplace.

But then I watched the show Fleishman is in Trouble, and in one of the final monologues of the show, one of the characters points out that “You’re never as young as you are in this moment” and I thought, I need to get traveling again.

I got in touch with Rachel and Libby and asked “Wanna go somewhere?”

“Yes!”

And after some back and forth and organizing, we’re headed to Portugal in the late spring. Hurrah!

But for me it not longer seemed wise to invest in having the fireplace redone, which in truth is purely for aesthetic reasons, while also planning a big trip. So I contacted the carpenter and cancelled the consultation.

Then last weekend, I got bored on Sunday. Really bored. I’d already painted and resined a stool the weekend before…

and so I needed another project. The fireplace. I thought on the fireplace and the fact that I have now come to really dislike the look of it. How I could ultimately still plan on hiring the carpenter at some point, but that if I painted it, I couldn’t dislike the look of it more than I do now.

So impulsively, I changed it…

I have to say I am surprised at how happy I am with the final result! It makes the great tile in the hearth pop out more, and the whole thing blends in a bit more with the wall.

Will I have to wash and repaint the bottom section because of soot? Yes! Will the paint on the mantle scratch and require touch up? Yes.

Do I care? Nope.