My fireplace Redo Inspiration

I thought that I had posted this forever ago - but I must have either deleted it - or made the whole thing up in my mind. Here is what inspired the treatment I did on my fireplace.


Come to think of it, the post was definitely erased - because I also posted about finding my fireplace's twin in a church on Union and realizing that it wasn't a 60's addition as I'd assumed due to it's Brady Bunchness - but in fact early 1900's. That still wasn't enough to make me stop hating its looks. So I went for the recipe outlined in the Apartment Therapy post I linked to above.
Above the fireplace is a stretch of original brick where the chimney is exposed. There, I'd eventually like to do a whitewash that looks like this. But it will have to wait until we get a mantle.

Thoughts?

Just For The Sake Of Gratitude

This was my dining room a year ago...

Be sure to drink in the following:

creative bricklaying gone bad
carpet into the fireplace
faux wood paneling
exposed pipes jutting out from wall at wacky angles
crack-is-wack vinyl pull down shades that make the windows look super low
acoustic tile ceiling

Dining Room Progress

Hi all,
For those who give a toss, yes there has been some rather magnificent progress in the past month, but as has been the case for awhile lately, I've had little time to blog it.
So where to begin?
First of all, forget about that time, a few seconds ago, when I used the word magnificent. There's been some pretty good progress OK?
The progress has really lead to a less war-zoney feel, and it is way way way more civilized downstairs these days.
For starters, the dining room walls and ceiling are done. (Except for the tons of panel and crown molding that we'll be adding)
The color is lead by Ben Moore. It's a really cool dark grey with a bit of navy - though it looks navy in these shots. In real life it's exactly like pencil lead scribbles. Yum!
Here it is with the dining room table in it.
Note the TV and all other manner of crazy clutter - we have to totally over-utilize the livable rooms that we have. So, it's a TV room, living room, dining room at the moment.
No, we will not have a telly in there forever.

I only have a few chairs in from the garage. But hey, it's not like I'm throwing dinner parties right now anyway. So we are jazzed with what we have.
The floor still has some adhesive residue. It has no stickiness, just the grey film you see everywhere. The downstairs floors will have to wait awhile, they'll all get sanded down together.
Here's a super cluttery shot of what's going on with the fireplace. As you can see there isn't a mantle yet. The plaster treatment proj turned out pretty well in my opinion.
I piled some art around it in the meantime, cause who can wait really?
Those candles seem rather matchy don't they? Unintentional, so just calm down.
There will be no geese with bonnets forthcoming.
I am still allergic to all things "done" looking, perfectly symmetrical, and/or adorable.*
Not that I'm in any danger, considering the current state of things, but a girl has to defend her reputation.
You may also notice the drape situation. That's it's own entry, but suffice to say, I am aware that they are not a slam dunk and am tackling the issue (at the usual snail's pace).
In the huge box is an amazing chandelier I got for the room. You will not be able to handle it.
Ok maybe you will, but it's dreamy I assure you.

* except for those found in the animal kingdom.

Fireplace Project

here - as promised (a zillion weeks ago it seems) are some updates on my fireplace project.
first I did a few tests. On the upper left hand corner I used joint compound only.
In between the bricks elsewhere I used a hot mix which is (for those who don't know) just a combo of plaster and joint compound. The mix makes it dry much faster and gives the whole thing a bit more body so that it doesn't droop or sag or any other such bs.
The more plaster you mix in the faster it dries so you wanna mix just a bit at a time if you are a slowpoke like moi. I also stripped some of the mysterious crappola off the floor with a brilliant cleaning product that I like using way more than the strippers I've tested. It produces no odors or gasses thought I'm sure it's not at all green. But I digress. More on that later.
Example 1:
As the closeup reveals the joint compound alone section looked like total ass. lots of bubbling and cracking and all manner of ugliness. Fine, now I know.
Meanwhile the mix section dried really smoothly and was mailable by hand. So I was able to press it into the crevices after letting it dry for about 15 minutes.
Here it is fully covered. It still needs another coat and then paint to achieve the look I am going for. But I think it already looks way way better. More like stone and less like something built by stoners. Ok that was a very Dad/king of lame puns type joke but you'll have to forgive me. I have other qualities.
Here's another close up of the surface.

And one of the hearth. These tiles are pre 1900's and I'm diggin on them. So they shall stay.
Ok I also tested an adhesive remover on the floor and this is the result. It worked pretty well - but was super fumey and scary toxic. I'm thinking I'll just use the hardcore cleaner again. But will also test out one of the soy strippers and see if we can get there without destroying the earth.
It's gonna look rad huh? In my dreams this floor is stained a silvery gray like driftwood.
Here is the cleaning product I used. I don't have the energy to reload it in the proper way - so be a dear and tilt your head to the left won't you?
all for now.

Dad Labor - The Final Installment

I probably didn't mention that my Dad went home with a nasty case of full body poison ivy. But yeah, my Dad went home with a nasty case of poison ivy. One of the other things he did for me while here was clear the crap out of my yard. Here's a fascinating picture of the side of a dirty garage. You don't give a rat's ass? Well what if I told you that there used to be weeds (probably 85% poison ivy now that I reflect upon it) the size of a box hedge that came about two feet up the side of said garage? Oh you still don't give a toss? Oh Ok.

So anyway - Dad cleared all of it. 

The underneath of this tree was piled with three years of sticks. Gone! Thanks Dad. 

The lawn is cut and the weeds are wacked. This part was a Joe/Dad collaboration. It's really starting to look nice back there. 

So Dad really wanted to try stripping the fireplace mantle, just in case there was something cool under there. I tried to get him to buy a green stripper - but his actual words to the Lowes salesman were "I'd like the toxic chemicals please." Argggggggg. Anyway - after he stripped it for awhile this beauty emerged. All we could say was REALLY? 

Yep - they really did paint the whole thing pepto pink. It's even gnarlier when you realize that the kitchen ceiling was also this color as were the living room walls... as was all the... wait for it...

window trim - which we stripped a tad just to see what was under there. 

So yeah - we're going to ditch the mantle and just give all that trim a fresh coat of white. And that concludes the Dad trip. Thanks Dad xoxo.I needed to get this last installment posted because I have pics of the fireplace project which I started last weekend. So stay tuned!

Fireplace Project

So finally - a fun decorate-y project! This week, one of the things I get to do is work on the fireplace. My Dad is coming up (over?) from Montana to help me and together we are gonna work our asses off. Here's my plan for what I'd like to do to the fireplace. (yes that is a snow shovel that I was using for a dustpan - thank you for noting my ingenuity).

First a few facts about the fireplace that I call "creative bricklaying gone bad." It may surprise you to learn that this fireplace is not some wacky addition thrown up in the sixties. Because I am a crafty little detective I discovered that this baby is either very early 1900's or actually 1800's! First of all every Hudsonite who has seen the hearth has said that the square hand made tiles (not pictured in my photo but they look exactly like the ones pictured below) are pre 1900's. But that's not enough to get me excited or anything.

Here's what did it for me....

I was in a church in Hudson (do not ask me why darling) when I saw this... My fireplace's very own ugly twin! Ok I'll admit that mine is much uglier. But still! Of course I made a total spectacle of myself snapping these photos without explanation, but whatevs. I was on a mission.

Here's the aformentioned hearth. not nearly as ugly as the fireplace surround but nothing too darling either. But regardless, mine will probably stay (thought possibly painted - inspiration pictures to come soo).

So here's where I gleaned some info. this fireplace was gifted to the church in honor of Mary Leeds Punderson 1818-1916 for her 98 (for real y'all) years of service to the Senior Sewing Society. So this was after her death. Sometime not to far after 1916 I'm thinkin.

So I'm also thinking that these were probably made by some local designer. I'll keep my eyes peeled for more like them in the area. NONE of this info however, is enough to make me want to keep mine intact. I'm just not that deep. Much as I'm into historic restoration I'm just not feelin it.

So here's the plan. Frst of all - keep in mind this fireplace was coal and does not work. I'd love to get an insert someday so that I can turn it into something functional but that's not gonna happen anytime soon I don't think - due to finance alone. I'd like to cover the brick surround portion with the plaster treatment shown below (from Apartment Therapy). Follow the link to see how to do it. It leaves a sort of softened cloudy surface to the brick. I think I might be able to obscure the weirder brick shapes and sort of re-draw more normal-ish shapes in the plaster with my fingers. We shall see.

How to create BDDW walls

Then, I'd like to whitewash the exposed brick from the chimney portion (which we just exposed - yay!) so that the bricks still show through but aren't so dark. ie the gorgeous photo below (Apartment Therapy). Follow the link for directions on how to do it.

How to whitewash brick walls

Then, I'd like to use an old barn beam or something similar for the mantle. That's the sort of thing I love love love shopping for. So that'll be a welcome break - whenever I get to go hunt for that.

All for now. I'll let you know how it all shakes out. Getting the dining room dialed in is going to feel awesome!

Mary's Got A Gun

Another perk of staying at Mary's pad in Hudson is the ability to take self portraits of oneself posing with her BB gun. Mary has a series of amazing pictures of herself with it so I felt inspired to emulate. Feel free to enlarge the glamour.

Mary's Pretty House

Here's my plug for my friend Mary's gorgeous victorian row house in Hudson that she's begun renting out on occasion for vacationers. I stayed there last weekend (my house is still too scary to sleep in alone) and I can tell you that it's beyond dreamy. I highly recommend it for a writing retreat or just a decompression weekend away from the city. You can learn more about it by clicking on her house-link on my homepage (the Hudson Honeybee). Thanks Mary! You have awesome taste honey!

looking down her staircase...

Her bath...

The room I stayed in...

Ok this photo serves two purposes - it shows the cool room and also makes me look way way skinnier than I really am. So that doesn't suck.

Her fireplace (similar design to mine) but don't you love the mirror?

The Carnage

This is the dining room with the creative bricklaying fireplace in it. We've demo'd the ceiling and some interior walls in order to deal with plumbing and electrical issues. The bad news is that it looks like beyond the friggin thunderdome. The good news is that half of the house has completely new electrical. So we are now 50% less of a fire hazard.

This is a door to the hallway we've discovered. It appears to have been framed out around the door so I think it will be safe to take back out - but we have to double check with someone who isn't me :), the resident know it all.


Don't even ask about the rasta ladder. I have no idea. Chester, "Angry Santa," the contractor must have left it behind.

More Progress

We went up to Hudson yesterday for just the day. Joe's friend Mat came up to advise and help us strategize. He's been a contractor forever - so it was unbelievably helpful to hear what he had to say. He told us how to attack certain projects and also which ones were.... how shall I say... overly ambitious? Joe and he walked around sketching floor plans and discussing things in dept while I went nuts on the living room and dining room areas.

No - your eyes are not deceiving you. I did in fact rip up all the carpet and carpet padding in the living room by myself - while Joe and his friend had their little tea party Imeanplanningsession. We appear to have won the lottery on this room because the floors are pretty darn gorgeous as is (as long as you ignore the hulking cube of a recent bathroom addition which is pretty jarring). As you can see I have already moved some art up there (I ran out of wall space long long ago in the Brooklyn pad)

Day One

Two days after closing we were already at it. Neither of us could wait to to rip out the lovely carpeting. It was one big asthma attack waiting to happen. It's amazing how much cleaner it already feels! Next up... the revolting dropped ceilings... Or maybe the fake wood panelling. Ugh!

Here's a before and after of the "creative bricklaying" room...

After - this room has some sort of adhesive on top of the hardwood that we will have to sand off. Look like maybe there was linoleum at one time?
Anyway, it was hard to get a good shot.
(click on any photo to enlarge)

Here's a closer shot that shows the cool, concentric square layout of the hardwood (not in most of the other rooms btw)

The drywall room before...
(This will probably be Joe's office/music room initially)

and after.. I'm loving the wide plank floors.

Here are the front stairs before...

and after (+Bernie)