I just realized I never posted the DIY fireplace project we completed a few weeks ago. I've been so busy with work lately that my creative projects have been put on the back burner.
This project was pretty challenging and I have to admit, the hubs did most of the work. It involved assembling the fireplace (it arrived in 2 different boxes), painting the fireplace, using wood glue to fill in any imperfections, repainting, finding a 100 lb tv mount, mounting the tv (rerouting power, cables, etc.), managing the various audio cables and power cords, mounting 2 front surround sound speakers, and 2 rear surround sound speakers. Lots of little speed bumps happened along the way but after many trips to Home Depot, and Lowe's, the project is about 95% done. Here's the after shot:
Inspired by the never ending supply of white fireplace pics in my bookmarks folder:
I ended up ordering this "gel flame" fireplace from Amazon last month (knowing that I wanted to paint it). This type of fireplace uses small inserts that burn for about an hour or so. It doesn't require power or gas (or any plug ins) and gives off a small amount of heat for winter use. For some reason the oak finish was about $200 less than the white ones. I found a vendor on Amazon that didn't charge tax or shipping (score!) and it arrived within a week.
We took the faux log out and filled it with candles for a more modern/villa look. I'm really pleased that I got one with the marble detail... it adds a nice texture in between the black and white.
Here's a shot from the kitchen... the mount allows the tv to turn almost parallel the kitchen sink... so nice for cooking and doing dishes.
Ta da!
(Shout out to the husband for all the technical work)
