DIY Ranch Reno: Fireplace Facelift

We knew that when we decided to do our living room over we would update the fireplace. Remember what it looked like before we started?

The old fireplace on D-Day (Demo Day), November 11, 2015

Once we decided to vault the ceiling, I knew that I wanted to extend the fireplace to the roof line. I removed the old mantel and the top few rows of brick that flared out at the top. I framed in the fireplace extension and then covered it with cement board.

Old mantel removed and 2x4s installed (August 2016).

Cement board installed and decorated with Christmas cards (January 2017).

We found a great arched mirror at Home Goods, and we thought that one on each side of the fireplace would look nice. It took us so long to find a match, though. None of the Home Good stores in the area had any. We found one on Amazon, but it took several attempts because each time it showed up at the house, it was broken, so we refused delivery. The third time it came, the glass was actually in tact, but this time, the frame was broken. Amazon shipped us another one, and once again, the glass was broken. I ended up removing the good mirror from the third shipment and installing it in the good frame from the last shipment. I'm glad we persisted because the pair of mirrors looks great!

Mirrors hung and new wine rack purchased (October, 2017).

Originally, I was thinking of using something like this to refinish the fireplace.

Ledger Stones

We saw these ledger stones at Best Tile, and they looked like they would be fairly easy to install. In fact, this is it what it says on the website:

"6x24 mesh mounted, stacked planks of slate or quartzite. Does not require grout because of the tight joint."

Perfect, right? Well, not really. After some thought, Maura decided that she would like a more natural looking, stone fireplace. *Sigh!*

Our search for stone veneer led us to The Stoneyard in Littleton, Massachusetts. We ended up choosing Colonial Tan and also ordered a piece of custom cut bluestone for the hearth.

First row of stone veneer and bluestone hearth installed (October, 2017)

We decided that we wanted a reclaimed beam for our mantel. We went to a couple of places and searched on-line, and then Maura found a place called Stonewood Products in Harwich on Cape Cod. We took a ride down one Sunday and found a piece of reclaimed beam that we really liked, so we bought it and had it cut to size. I believe it's from a 150-plus-year-old barn from Pennsylvania.

Our new mantel-to-be.

I was trying to figure out the best way to attach the mantel to the fireplace, and a coworker suggested a French cleat. I found this one on Amazon, and it ended up working out perfectly. It was rated for 200 pounds, which was more than enough.

French cleat attached to the back of the mantel.

French cleat attached to the wall.

Mantle hung (November, 2017).

Still a ways to go, and this is what my porch looked like.

I'm glad I ended up wiring the light fixtures for the new fireplace because we found some nice lights that worked really well with the stone veneer and the reclaimed beam mantel. (After a little reflection, we decided to move the nativity scene out of the fireplace because it just didn't seem right in there.) 😲

Lights installed (December, 2017)

Well, I didn't finish the fireplace makeover before Christmas. Oh, well. These things take time! Good things come to those who wait, right? Decent progress, anyway. Even though it wasn't complete, we figured we should do some entertaining since we really hadn't done much since the renovation started over two years ago. Check out some more holiday pictures here.