#hardwood

If you follow us, about a year ago I started thinking about the fireplace (and how NOT enamored with it I was). I dug up some fireplace inspiration in the hopes that I would find something awesome and reasonably cost friendly.  The thing is, we have some really pretty millwork around the fireplace, but over the fireplace is an awful TV space, meant for one of those gigantic tube TVs. Aside from the part where it a terrible waste of space, it is a complete eyesore, as well.

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The more I looked, however, the more I realized that I have REALLY expensive taste. The fireplaces I love would require a complete gut, a big mess, and a LOT of money (like upwards of $3000 just for the fireplace surround). So, the alternative is to keep what I have and build upon it. I came up with a design that I think I’m really going to love, that’s very US, and added to it a bit. Rainman is going to kill me when he sees what I added to the project (but ultimately he’ll love how it looks).

This is what we’re starting with (the before):

Okay, so it’s not really that bad. I should stop my crying and just stay with what I have, right? (insert evil laughter).  We both know that’s not going to happen. And, is there a reason that I’m showing the whole wall and not just the fireplace? Oh yes, there is. But, we’ll get to that.

Right now, it is a very classic-ish, plain fireplace with some pretty mill-work and a crazy, giant opening up top. This is a shot of it with the cabinet doors that I ordered from Cabinet Door World. So, yeah, you can make cabinet doors (pretty easily), however, with no working wood shop currently, and very little time, I ended up ordering them instead. The quality is very good and the ordering process was easy. I got them exactly the size of the opening, so I’m sure we’ll need to do some sanding once we dry fit the hardware.

For the color we chose Benjamin Moore’s “wrought iron” and I think it will be fantastic. I’m planning on using it for the cabinets we’re moving out of the kitchen into the mudroom area, also, so this will be a good test run. Check out the tutorial on how we used a great, super cheap spray gun to paint the cabinet doors!

Project tip: We were painting over a semi-gloss, so we sanded with a sanding block first, then wiped down the whole thing and let it dry before painting (a good three coats because of the color!).

The cabinet hardware, from House Of Antique Hardware is still backordered, so I will update once that comes in and we get the doors up, but for now, I couldn’t WAIT to show you how amazing the fireplace looks with a fresh coat of paint! Drum roll, please.

It blows my mind sometimes how much a simple color change can transform a space! (And yes, I’m planning on painting the walls… but there are more dining room projects that have to happen first, like the new doors and the stone veneer on the wall to the left of the fireplace… Welcome to my project A.D.D.)

And one more, just because I’m so in love:

Project Update:

You’ll remember that we weren’t actually done, I just had to show you the paint because I was way too excited. The most difficult part of the project was still to come: actually installing the doors over the fireplace.

A quick word of advice: If you have to work with your spouse, find something that works for you. I find a combination of wine and a mute button work best when he’s doing something for me. I throw in some compliments and thank yous about the awesomeness of his work and shut my mouth. If I have the urge to OPEN my mouth and say something, I open it and insert wine. It has worked out pretty well thus far and has yielded tremendous results.

I ordered the doors so they exactly fit in the opening. That means that in order to account for the fact that the opening is not square and unlevel areas on the mantel, the doors had to be dry-fit, then trimmed down. Now, let me tell you, this is the most Rainman-iest project in Rainman land. It also means that we couldn’t paint them until they were fitted and trimmed.

Full disclosure: I love this man. 

First, was the problem of explaining why we needed to build trim above to act as a stop for the doors and fill in the dead space above when the doors are closed. It’s not that he doesn’t understand my “I don’t want a gap above the doors”, it’s just that explaining something conceptually doesn’t always translate to something concrete in his brain. So, a little while later, he devised a solution.

“YES, my love, that will fill in the gap. It’s perfect. What’s the next step?” (sips wine)

 Back to Rainman Land: 

This installation involves a plumb-bob, multiple levels, obsessive measuring, remeasuring, shimming, shimming again, dry fitting, shimming again.  Measuring again.  Splitting the difference. Rainman muttering about the lack of squareness in the opening. Let’s just say that I may or may not have started drinking before 5 PM that day (but once again, in my hurry to slap it up there and be done with it, I’m quite sure it wouldn’t have been so downright balanced and lovely in the end).

After it was shimmed (I don’t mean to undersell the length of that process), I held the doors while he aligned the hinges (more wine, more wine, more wine), and eventually, after much careful sanding and trimming, the doors were hung, and had all the clearance they needed to open and close.

Now, we are waiting on it to be not blustery weather so we can take the doors down and paint them.  And then we will actually be done.

Update: Finally painted!

Check out our post on how to use this awesome little paint gun and get that professional, WOW finish! You can find the paint gun we used, the critter spray products siphon gun, on Amazon.

I’m really fond of drum rolls, so let’s do that again.  Here’s a shot with the doors on and DONE!

And one with the doors painted, on, and CLOSED. WOOT! (Can’t see the TV, can ya, Russ?)

 It may seem like a small thing to other people, but this project has been on the list for a long time. It’s just a matter of making it a priority and having the time to do it. But, of course, that makes each little change that much more awesome!

Here is the breakdown:

Project Cost:

• Benjamin Moore Paint and supplies: $96.66
• Two Cabinet doors: $149.57 (delivered)
• House of Antique Hardware 2X Pair of 9″ Smooth Iron Flush Mount Spear Strap Hinges: $43.94

Total: $290.17

And just for fun, let’s see that before and after one more time:

It sure is amazing what some doors, paint, and a light fixture can do to a room, right??? And, here’s a shot with what it looks like with the dining table and chairs (which will soon be replaced, but that’s a story for another day!).

I would love to see before and afters on your own paint projects! Thanks for playing with us and, of course, cheers to all of your updates in the New Year and check out more project awesomeness on our blog.

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