It is late afternoon and I have no energy left. Lots of birthday partying, tackling home projects, entertaining, and late nighting have done me in over spring break this week. So I'm sitting here in my "sitting" room, gazing at my new fireplace surround and mantle, sipping a delicious latte, and trying to convince myself it's okay if I do absolutely nothing for the rest of the day.
But of course, there is that mantle to think about.
Although I've hardly had a minute to style it yet, I wanted to show you our finished product. The light is not great due to that aforementioned late afternoon sun, but you can still appreciate what a vast improvement we have made in this room.
This is what the surround looked like when I first picked it up at a local thrift store.
Mr. Wonderful designed a couple boxes to support the surround as it needed to sit six inches off the floor.
See how cheap we are, using old base trim that's seen better days? Nothing a good sanding block can't handle :)
When the surround was well-supported, we set it in place, tipped it forward and spread Super-Duty Liquid Nail all over the top and sides, then pressed it against the wall. We then caulked all the cracks, let it dry overnight, and painted it the next day.
We opted to paint it Sherwin Williams Alabaster White in semi-gloss, which looked way white at first, but I loved how clean and crisp...and spring-like....it made the room feel.
After getting the mantle painted, I did something else new as well. I changed the blue color on the whole wall from Farrow and Ball's Blue Green to Farrow and Ball's Light Blue, a much more subtle color than before (I have these paints color-matched at Sherwin Williams). I've seen this color over and over in decorating magazines, and Suzanne Kasler (have I mentioned she's one of my favorite designers?) calls it her "go-to blue." Light Blue has gray undertones and is subtle, calming, enveloping....it's a great color.
This fireplace wall also extends into our hallway, so this blue covers a lot of ground. I will show better pictures soon when the light is optimal.
My next task is to style this mantle, and after browsing on Pinterest, I spotted a few that immediately drew my eye:
I'm seeing a theme of greenery, white, and texture in these mantles. I'm eager to give it a shot on my own:) Stay tuned for when this lady gets her groove back ~
Jaimee
Labels: Projects, Sitting Room
