Hello! This post has been a long time coming – it seems like whenever I undertake a daunting DIY project, I need to let my brain “forget” it for awhile before I can talk about it again.  I guess it’s kind of like childbirth in that regard.  Refacing our fireplace with stone veneer took several twists and turns, but I’m exceedingly happy with the finished product, now that my house isn’t a dust-filled mess. Some qualifiers before we get started: I am not a stone mason (nor do I plan on becoming one).  I’m an avid DIYer, who read, researched and studied everything I could get my hands on before undertaking this project. This project was probably my biggest DIY undertaking to date.  More anxiety-producing than painting my kitchen cabinets.  That said, I’m really proud to declare that I did it myself. We went through several iterations of this fireplace redo before arriving at the end result, which is probably why this project felt more difficult than it actually was.  If we had eliminated the trial and error, we would have finished a lot sooner.  But, sometimes that’s part of the process, and perhaps you will learn from my mistakes. […]

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Hello! I’m so very excited to finally share my fireplace reveal!  This has been my longest DIY project – ever (over a year, with lots of changes in the plan), which makes its completion even more rewarding! Suffice to say, I have no intention of doing masonry work any time in the near future, but there is something to be said about learning something new.  Not to mention the idea of doing something that scares you a bit – this kind of work is intimidating, which has a tendency to paralyze my progress. However, I’m done (aside from some touch up on the grout), and not a moment too soon – with the holidays fast approaching.  It was a hot mess last year, so dressing it up for Christmas this year has been fun. Ok, I’ll shut up.  Let the photo overload begin. My husband finished the mantel, and I. love. it.  He did a fantastic job and brought the vision to life, despite my armchair quarterback tendencies.  Although with the number of iterations we went through during its construction, I don’t know if I can explain our creative process… I can’t tell you how good it feels to have this project […]

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Hello! Are you gearing up for Thanksgiving this week?  I’m feeling significantly less stressed, since I’m not hosting this year, but I do secretly love the chaos that comes with being the Thanksgiving hostess.  I’m an adrenaline junkie like that. I’m beyond excited to share the serious progress that has been made with the fireplace.  I’m sure you’re probably sick of hearing about it, but I promise the end is in sight!  This was by far, the biggest DIY task I have ever tackled, and I told my husband the other night that I would rather paint our cabinets two or three times before I take on a masonry project again.  However – I am really proud at how it’s turning out, and I love being able to tell people, “Yes, I did that stone work myself!” 🙂  The satisfaction that comes with DIYing, is what keeps me coming back for more! Again, it’s not done – I still have to grout and we need to finish the mantel – but this is the first time that I can really see my vision coming to life!  I have found myself sitting down and just staring at it, even in its unfinished state. The dog […]

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Hello! I’m pleased to share that we are making some tangible progress on the fireplace, and with any luck, we’ll have it done within a year of starting this never ending project!  But, sometimes that’s the way the DIY cookie crumbles. For starters, we have stone. It’s pretty and it’s heavy.  We opted for Brighton Ledgestone from Heritage Stone.  The end goal is for it to look like this when it’s done. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a wee bit nervous about doing this ourselves.  Redoing the kitchen cabinets was a project to say the least, but this one seems more daunting.  But, I take solace in talking to the folks who sold me the stone, since two of them in the office did their own stone work and neither of them are stone masons.  So, there is hope. We got the top portion of the fireplace framed, and are in the process of finishing off the cement board.  From here, we will attach a lath (rhymes with “bath” – not bathe, as I learned).  Then we will do a scratch coat over the lath before attaching the stone.  Although I’m still reading/researching other methods.  I think […]

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While I love fireplaces, mantels and everything that goes with it, I’m not in love with our current fireplace.  It feels more imposing than it does welcoming, cold vs. warm.  Not to mention that it has a funky niche as well that is just … funky.  See how unlike me tall and skinny it is?  We have quite a few of these niches in our house, and the tall and skinny ones are definitely the most problematic.  We currently have a tall picture in the niche, but I really just don’t love the fireplace space. So, since we’re doing a lot of waiting here in St. Louis, we stopped by a local landscaping business and scoped out their stone options.  We’re thinking about adding stone veneer to the existing fireplace in the hopes of coming up with something like this: Or this: Stoneyard.com This also gives us an opportunity to reevaluate our fireplace mantel options as well. Right now, it’s not so a mantel, but more of a shelf, and it just all blends together.  It does not make for the kind of mantel linky parties I want to join! There are some great products out there that are budget friendly and […]

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