I thought I’d kick off blogging again with a project that I’m so very happy and proud of. It’s the first real renovation that we did to our home. It’s the first real renovation we’ve ever done. Period.
I have been swooning over beautiful fireplaces with pretty tile and woodwork since way before being a homeowner was even a possibility. I knew I wanted to have a stone surround with wood pillars flanking each side, as well as the mantle up top. I also wanted to put wood planking on the wall behind.
I loved the pillars and planking look from this fireplace makeover at Camille’s blog.
As well as the one from this makeover.
And I drew a lot of inspiration for the stonework from the fireplace at this model home tour.
And from Leslie’s fireplace over at Feathers In My Nest.
So, being full of all sorts of ideas and inspiration, I decided to sketch a mock-up of what I like to call my “vision”. Of course, some things changed along the way as new ideas formed and other variables came into play.
We originally thought we would go with Airstone because it was so cheap and seemed easy to install. But after a trip to Lowe’s one day we discovered this real quartzite stone veneer.
I was worried about the Airstone not being as durable as real stone. The quartzite was affordable and gave us the look and feel that we wanted. It was also relatively easy to install because it came in tiles of smaller stones that had been glued together. So, no cutting every little piece necessary. Installing was a bit like playing a game of Tetris or putting a puzzle together.
I have more detailed posts in the works about the actual ins-and-outs of each step we took. So stay tuned to find out how we added the pillars and installed the stone and wood planking wall. And, of course, the final reveal!
