Fireplace Makeover Part Deux & "In Other Matters"

I've been pretty much taking it easy the last couple of days since last week proved to be rather exhausting. We're really enjoying the cleaned up and reorganized playroom/office/sunroom (pictures below). It will probably be quite a while before we get around to remodeling this space, so for now I'm content with just "fixing it up" as best I can. For now, we're having to store some of the "treasures" that I've lugged home in here as well, but they seem to fit in ok and it doesn't look so much like a used furniture store like it did when we stored them in our kitchen/dining area.

For some reason that I'm sure we'll discover in the future when we work on this room, it doesn't heat and cool well at all. It's probably a combination of all the windows, the high ceiling, the probable lack of adequate insulation, and the way the heating and air system is laid out in this house. I brought in a rug that I had been storing in the garage to put down over the cold tile floor. All the girls' toy baskets are in here and they love sprawling out on the rug and playing. When I took this photo, the room was kind of a mess, but my little Z had her friend over and they had spent forever setting up their Barbie things. I wanted to leave everything "just so" for when they resumed playing after their naps:) The old fixer-upper dresser is another item we're storing in here for now. It actually provides a nice 'drywall dust free' surface for me to display some photos:)




We have an oversized chair in the corner and this week we brought in a tall, farmhouse style bookshelf to house the girls' books. We placed it right next to the chair, and behind the chair, we added a reading light. It's a nice, cozy corner now. I have to keep plenty of snuggly blankets handy on extra cold days.



Our computer area is small...just a tiny oak desk and a couple of ladderback chairs. We figured that if they had computers in the olden days, they probably sat in a good old fashioned chairs:) I have two in here because often the girls use the computer in pairs. One to play the games, one to watch while eagerly waiting for her turn. A couple of months ago, I found an antique, padded headboard at a junkstore. It has beautiful carved wooden legs and all. The upholstery needs to be redone, but that is yet another future project. I decided to just stick it behind our desk until we can move it into our garage. For now, it kind of makes a neat place to thumbtack the children's artwork:)



On to the fireplace, you may remember that several weeks ago, I replaced the old tiles with new. They looked much better, but they almost looked *too* new and too contemporary. Also, the new tiles are a very light shade of beige and I was beginning to worry that once we put the nice, cheerful yellow on the walls, the fireplace in it's new light beigeness would still look too beige, out of place and flat. I really wanted the firplace to pop since it's such a big visial part of our small living room.

I noticed that there was still quite a bit of white grout film left on the hearth. But I really liked the way it looked! It lightened the tiles and gave them a limewashed effect. So I decided to apply another thin layer of grout over the entire tiled surfaced. Once dried, this gave the somewhat smooth, beige, pitted tiles a whiter, rougher surface. The next day, I mixed white limestone wash (it has a slightly sandy texture) with some white glaze. In a random motion, I applied it to the tiles. When it dried, I had the look that I was after! It reminds me of old whitewashed bricks...perfect for a cottage environment:) Btw, I still need to seal the tile with some matte sealer. That will be the final step.





Now, time will tell if our fireplace will have a Makeover Part Trois. I still haven't been able to find out if it is safe to use high heat paint oil based paint on the brass insert. If it is ok to use, I would love to cover over the brass with a black or dark bronze paint. (Edited on 3/6/06 to say that the brass insert has been painted...go here to see photos!)