Tuesday I shared our before and after fireplace project, but I didn't touch on many of the details. Today I'll go a little more in depth.
I'm currently prepping for a cold winter on the couch, curled up with a baby/husband, a cup of coffee/coca, a glass of wine, a book, (hell, maybe a combination of the four) in front of a fire. Imagery here folks.. I'm setting the scene.
I've been waltzing through some online stores to find the perfect safety first fire screen because we removed the old brass fixture that came with the house. That's my ultimate goal in this home, to get rid of all things brass. Here's what I came up with:
WalMart online $59
Wow. We could buy a lot of things for those hundreds of dollars, and I was a little worried about the WalMart purchase. And aren't the two in the middle brass? What a little geometry can do. Keeping those thoughts in mind I did what any especially frugal bargain shopper would, I poked around for free first.
That's code for I took a trip to my parents attic. (Sorry you're just now hearing about this Daddy, I meant to tell you... and you said I could have whatever I wanted so you can clear out the house. Of course I'll give it back, improved (as you will see below) if you so wish- I mean all this work was really for you in the first place. You can take it back home with you this weekend when you come to help with the project. loveyousomuch, and continue reading to see how this old pile of metal isn't going to waste...)
Low and behold there was my family's old fireplace screen, a 1980s original. Leaning up against the attic wall, so lonely. Just sitting there for 20 years, not being used, waiting for me to once again pick needles off the Christmas tree (and anything else I could burn that no one would miss) and try to catapult them over in to the flame, without getting caught.
My parents bought a house about 20 years ago that had a built in fireplace screen, so I assume this one just got tucked away. and forgotten. That's such a my mother thing to do, since she stopped having yard sales in the 90s. Hold on to it, it might come in handy. And it did. You did it again Susan. Thank you.
I loaded that sucker, brass flair and all, in the wagon and brought her home with high hopes. This is what she looked like:
Of course no where in those high hopes did I include keeping the brass visable. In comes my husband to the rescue, knowledgeable about all things coatings, not to mention good looking and funny... with his suggestion to use high heat spray paint:
I got to work once nice sunny day last week in order to cozy up the house for a wine tasting on tap for the weekend:
Then I let her cure outside for a day or two, to keep the bad fumes from escaping inside our home.
In she comes...
This isn't the perfect choice, but it only cost about 5 bucks. I would prefer look without hinges. However, saving money to move on to bigger projects is key right now. There is so much to do. Like redesigning and actually decorating those bookshelves up there.
I've been brainstorming on how to hang this (amazing) custom fire poker that David had made for me last year by Tucker Iron Works. You can see that its adding to the grime on the brick, we need to drill a hole to house some sort of docking station for it. For kid friendly purposes I'm not leaning towards a pedestal.
The iron squirrels came with the house, I love them- my husband does not. Next time you see him make sure you mention how awesome they are. Cause you know they are.
I finished up the project just in time for a get together with some awesome ladies and a couple bottles of incredible wine from the Rhone Region in France. On the menu that night: Mini French Dips, mini quiches, a variety of cheese, dark chocolate, and pumpkin creme brulee.
Good to see you last night!
ReplyDelete