Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Fireplace Redo

Well, I've been kind of busy lately and haven't really tackled any noteworthy changes to the house. Just keeping it clean enough to not be condemned is kind of a victory right now.

Soooooo....I decided to do a blast from the past. Part of what Mr. 31 does is remodel rundown homes. Our first house that we bought together was a flat (one apartment upstairs, one down). It was a mess. It looked and smelled BAD. We bought it at an auction and, when we went back inside to sign the papers after the bidding, we were like "What did we do?!?"

But, after four months of hard work (we were doing it after working 8 hour days at our other jobs), it looked pretty good if I must say so myself.

The project from the flat that I'm going to highlight today is the fireplace from the upstairs apartment. It was U-G-L-Y. The bottom part had been plastered with a texture and the upper part was turquoise painted plaster (and not a good turquoise) and the plaster was crumbling terribly.


You can also note the lovely gas fireplace insert, the nasty carpet, and the 80s-riffic ceiling fan.

So, after scraping and pulling out the worst of the plaster (and some serious disinfecting), I got my behind up on a step ladder with some joint compound and a large putty knife. I used the putty knife to layer a texture onto the top of the fireplace, trying to copy the texture on the bottom as closely as possible.

Then I painted the mantel with the white we were using for the trim, except for a small inset that ran the length of the front of the mantel, which I painted the same color as the walls (the color is called Sabrina, but I don't remember what brand of paint, so that information probably isn't helpful).

It was really simple and it made a big difference! Here's the fireplace afterwards:


Also gone is the retro (in a bad way) ceiling fan, nasty carpet, and ugly insert. You also might notice the woodwork between rooms was stripped and stained. My mother-in-law did that. It became a personal battle between her and that woodwork and the rest of us stayed out of the way. It turned out gorgeous though!

So, that's my blast from the past. I'll probably share more of these from time to time. We've had to tackle some pretty crazy projects along the way!

Check out the link parties that I'm joining up with!

20 comments:

  1. Oh my, that is gorgeous. I love the woodwork too. That is quite a transformation.
    Brooke

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  2. Wow, that's beautiful and quite impressive. So, do you guys flips houses regularly? Or do you rent them out?

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  3. It looks amazing! The house looks so beautifull, you guys did a great job! Thanks for linking up to We Can Do It Cheaper!

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  4. Thanks everyone!

    Audra - we do a little of both. This particular building we have kept and rented out. We've been doing less flips right now because of the housing market in our area being so slow, but we plan on getting back into it.

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  5. Wow, it looks like a completely different fireplace! I'm considering going at ours with some plaster and white paint, too - we have a ginormous 70's faux lava rock one. :)

    Great job! I love the new fresh and airy look.
    ~Chelsea

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  6. What a nice transformation! I have some plaster work to do this weekend so wish me luck.

    Thanks for linking up to the “Cheap Thrills Thursday” party at Black Kats Design. I hope you had fun and will join in again next Thursday!
    Kat
    www.BlackKatsDesign.blogspot.com

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  7. Wow, Vanessa! Great job! You've been busy! It looks great! :) What a fantastic, character-filled house!!

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  8. Wowzers - it looks amazing. What a lot of work, totally worth it.

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  9. It looks amazing! I love how you transformed it! The stained woodwork also looks great. Love the color!

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  10. What a fab change! It looks like it was a ton of work...but well worth it!

    Thanks for linking up!

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  11. Wow it looks great! Well worth the effort. Please stop by my blog and take a look at the fireplace redo we did.

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  12. Wow Vanessa, that's amazing! I'm so glad you dropped by my blog. Hope to see you more often! :)

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  13. Beautiful transformation! Do you live in an older home now? Do you and your hubby still refurbish homes? Beautiful job, would like to see what your up to now! Thanks for sharing.
    Debbie @ Cottage Hann~Me~Downs

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  14. Debbie - We currently live in a house built in 1922, which is a newer house for us. We have slowed down on refurbishing until the real estate market picks back up, but we're looking forward to getting back into it!

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  15. WOW! come on over and link up to MMM :)

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  16. Now that is quite the undertaking there...but with a wonderful end result. I have a before and after party going on now myself, I would love for you to join...great way to meet blogging friends too. I also have a weekly thrift garage salen party. Hope to see you over soon. Debbie

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  17. Very beautiful! I'm jealous ;)

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  18. Oh my goodness! It is absolutely gorgeous!! I'm super impressed. Feel free to share blasts from the past anyday if they are like this!! :)

    Thanks for linking to Transform Tuesday!

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