the burrow: a fireplace update

It’s been a little over a year since I bought my first home.

We’ve had to call pest control last week and there’s a funky water pressure issue happening right now. I have a laundry list of projects I want to see completed and apparently strangers who walk on the road in front of my home don’t care for my happy golden doodle because they called animal control on him last week.

However.

I am still just as in love with my house, and home ownership in general, as I’ve been all last year. Maybe more so. It’s downright fun to rearrange furniture, to shift wall decorations, to dream about a mini bathroom remodel. I even got excited about switching out light switch panels from that standard tan to crisp white. 

Like everyone I know, I wish I had an unlimited budget to do ALL the things. (Plant more trees and shrubbery. Create a lovely fire pit space with swings and pavers. Add a water feature outside. My boys are pushing for that one. Switch out my simple bedroom light for something dramatic. Add a deeper tub for Mosely’s bath addiction. You know – all the ideas.  And, of course, I’ve got a written list with all of these ideas – and more.)

The fun part is, I get to work on these ideas bit by bit, here and there, as time and budget allow.  

Here’s a simple one that happened a few weeks ago.

Our white fireplace.

(It doesn’t work. Which is nearly tragic, as I adore a wood fire inside on cold winter evenings. And the cost to get it up to code is outrageous.  So – it’ll keep being non functional, with a potential of some sort of electric fire idea this winter.)

I liked it white.  But then I saw a photo a friend shared of a remodel at their house and they were painting their fireplace a dark gray, or maybe even black. I really can’t remember.  It made me think that a darker color would look great there. And I already had the gauntlet grey shade of paint from all of our doors being painted that color.

I have a rather handy son-in-law.  He graciously spent a LONG Saturday painting the brick. (It was pretty slow going, actually. All that texture!) I could have painted it myself I guess, expect the truth is – I am a terrible painter. Sloppy and impatient.  

A couple of the kids really doubted my choice of a dark color.

But in the end, the final result was met with full approval.

I. Love. It.

Hooray for simple projects in a home I’m still so grateful to call ours.

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