My next big project is going to be my basement fireplace. We live in a 1975 bi-level. We do 90% of our living upstairs because our basement is just yucky. However, I think it has lots of potential to be our family room. Unfortunately, there is a big, old fireplace right in the middle of the room which takes up waaaay to much space. I have hated it from day one and I always knew I wanted to do something to it. Well, last fall our basement flooded and I had to rip up the carpeting. Before I laid new flooring down, I wanted to knock out the hearth on the fireplace. It was about 1 foot high and 2 feet wide all the way around. It hampered furniture placement and took up valuable space. Soooo, I took a sledghammer and started hacking at it. Hmmmm....it turns out that bricklayers know what they are doing! It was impossible!!! I'm not afraid of hard work, but this was awful. My dad came to help and he agreed--impossible to do by ourselves. I didn't take a picture of my hack-job because it was too embarassing! Finally, I broke down and asked a friend who is a mason to come over and have a look. He had it out in 8 hours! He used a hand-held jack hammer thing and a whole lot of muscle and sweat. I paid him $150.00 and it was some of the best money I've ever spent. Now I'm just trying to decide what to do with what remains. Paint over the whole thing? Tile over it? Just paint the grout lines? I am in love with what Layla at The Lettered Cottage did with hers. Wow. I already drew up my plans for a new mantle and that is going to be my first project. I'm sooooo excited! Once it's done, I can lay the fabulous new floor that has been sitting in boxes since September! Everything is a sloooooow process around here.
Doesn't this mantle just scream 1975! It wouldn't be so bad if the corners weren't angled.
You can see the dark, dark, dark paneling that I painted over. It's barn wood. Yuck. Fine for a barn, but not a house.
***A new bloggy friend, Anja, gave me a link to a fabulous home makeover. (Thank you Anja!) Check it out HERE! Wow!!!!
4 comments:
This should be an interesting project, I can't wait to see the finished product.
Hi Sara,
I discovered your blog coincidently by blog hopping.
I think your basement fireplace got potential!
Look at this young couple's blog what they did with their fireplace:
www.thisyounghouse.com
When you click on the "house tour", you see their before and after pics.
Lots of fun
Greetings from Germany
Anja
Oh yes, I definitely see potential!!!! I think Angela over at the Painted House did a makeover on a fireplace in her basement too that looked incredible.
I say paint it, but then again, I love Layla's fireplace makeover as well!
I have a friend's living room that you would just love. Let me find her blog and show you pics. It rocks. You'd have to take a trip to Ikea in Chicago, but that would be fun :D
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