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Feel free to pin photo's from this blog...I'm not one of those blogger's that will flip out and go on a rant about you "stealing" my photo's because you liked it enough to share it, lol. I am not a "professional decorator, cook, gardener" or "professional" anything else....I BLOG FOR FUN. Nope....not one of the perfect blogger's here. My house is not perfect, and you will never be led to believe it is. I simply cannot offer you "how-to's", nor will I leave comment's on your blog offering decorating advice...sorry. If you are one of the "professional blogger's" as I refer to so many of them these days, I simply am not interested in your invite to your linky parties...with YOUR strict instructions to follow YOUR rules, lol, in order to increase YOUR traffic. If your not here for enjoyment, then this simply isn't the blog for you.

5/7/14

Finally, A Stone Fireplace

 Ok....on to our latest DIY project. I have wanted a stone fireplace forever. Hubby even went so far as to contact the brick layers that did our brick, and they said no way. The stone would be too heavy because our slab wasn't built for it in the beginning. So...what's a girl suppose to do..just give up?? No way! There are several kinds of "faux" stone out there. Some still require "professional" installation, but some don't. Well, take a look at my "faux" stone fireplace, that I did myself.

It is airstone, from Lowe's. It is really easy to install, and doesn't require a wet saw to cut.
 
There may be a few "imperfections", but what real stone is perfect?

 We started by tearing out the cabinets where the tv was,  over the gas fireplace, and closing in the top of the bookcases. I knew that it would look more "massive" going all the way up to the ceiling, and I was sick of trying to find things to decorate above the bookshelves with.

 After hubby closed in the area above the fireplace so that I could lay the stone work, I painted it black so that if there were any cracks in between the stone, the black wouldn't be as obvious as the unpainted plywood....only to end up using grout for a more "real" look, so painting the plywood black was a waste of time.

 Then off I went! I wanted the stone all the way to the ceiling for that "massive" look. That was all that I had on my mind when I started!

 Oh, did I mention that the bottom part never really crossed my mind until I finished the top?? Oh no, It never crossed my mind to start from the bottom. Nope! So then I start ripping the bottom apart only to find a huge hole, with nothing but the gas insert sitting there. The two pieces of wood on the sides are the only thing holding this whole outfit up.

But hubby came thru as usual. He had to rebuild the whole bottom part, and I was so thankful that the top part didn't come crumbling down!! I will start from the bottom and go up on the next one....yes, I already have plans for a next one.

This is a pic of one of the before looks of the fireplace and surround. The picture is covering a huge hole where the tv once was. The mantle is not deep at all, and very difficult to decorate due to being so small. That has all changed now, and I cannot wait for fall....to decorate my new mantle!



 I am not being paid to do this post for airstone, and I am going to speak the truth. The stone comes in a box, and the particular stone that I used came with 12 wrapped packs. Well guess what, only 4 of the packs were colored, the other eight were the colorless concrete color. Very plain with no personality whatsoever. The stones were broke in most every box, which didn't bother me, but the lack of color did! I got out several different paint colors and stains and went to work. Every box was like this, so it was a very time consuming project having to paint/stain every stone before you could apply it to the wall.

These are the ones I started with, then narrowed it down to the colors that I liked best. 
This stone fireplace has really "cozied" up this room, although it has no furniture in it at this point. I just haven't found that perfect, oversized sofa yet, that is affordable, but I will!

I couldn't leave without showing you our sweet Annie, that is all grown up now. If you don't remember Annie, you can view that post Here
Sophie was probably picking on her in this pitiful looking picture, she does that a lot.

These are Annie's new friends. I rescued a mama dog and her eight puppies, and Annie has been in Doggie Heaven since they came to live on the farm with us, but more on that in another post. I just wanted to show everyone what a wonderful and sweet personality Annie has, and I don't regret for a second taking her in!!

17 comments:

  1. Teresa, this is fabulous! You are a girl with many talents! I love the stone fireplace! Your idea of having your hubby frame in some of the bookcases was great! Your room looks so warm and inviting now! I loved it before and didn't think it could get any better, but it did! Annie is just the cutest girl and what a sweet disposition! I love the pups too! What a happy home they all have! IN my next life, I'm coming back as one of your dogs! :)

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  2. Wow! Y'all did a great job on the fireplace - Pretty. I would have never attempted taking on a project like that. If I saw some were broken and wrong colors, I would have stopped right then.
    Thanks for giving those sweet dogs a home. Wish people would be more responsible pet owners.
    Nice to see you posting again.

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  3. Well, I thought you were probably up to your eyebrows in some big project, and I do remember you talking about wanting a stone fireplace. You are my hero (and would probably be The Man's, too) for jumping in with both feet and tackling this project. It looks amazing! The stone looks very similar to what we used on our garden casita, but they were not the air stone type.

    Those pups look so sweet! So glad to have you back, Teresa!

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  4. Teresa, your fireplace is gorgeous! Girl, you just never cease to amaze me with your talents! Just having to paint all of those stones would have driven me crazy! But, of course, you did an awesome job! Love it!

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  5. GIRL, it is about time you posted:) I miss you when you are gone SO long! LOVE your fireplace and I think you did an AWESOME job! Sweet Annie and her little friends, they are precious! Sending hugs to you dear friend!

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  6. Y'all are so talented!! It looks fantastic!!! Those puppies are all just too cute!

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  7. Teresa, your fireplace is beautiful! Girl, you just never cease to amaze me with your talents!! I would have lost all patience with just painting those stones! You really did an awesome job!

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  8. Teresa,
    just tell me one thing, what don't you do? I don't think there isn't anything you and that handy hubby of yours can't do! Love stone, your fireplace looks amazing! It's been a while, been wondering how you are!
    Rebecca

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  9. Teresa,
    I have come to believe that there isn't anything you and that handy hubby or yours can't do! Love stone, your fireplace is amazing! Good to see a post, been wondering how you are!
    Rebecca

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  10. It looks amazing. Y'all are amazing with the DIY.

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  11. Absolutely beautiful and amazing what you can do! I love the look and painting the stones was brilliant. You need to come visit me and do some creative things around here. :)

    xo
    Pat

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  12. Love the fireplace and bookcases. Looks like such a warm and inviting space.

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  13. Love the fireplace! Can you tell me a little more about how you painted/stain the stones? Thank you.

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  14. Love your fireplace ! Could you tell me a little more about what colors of stain/paint you used and the applications? Thank you.

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  15. You have a done a lovely painting job! What a pretty and cheerful color you've chosen. Well done dear! Have a wonderful weekend!
    unique-fireplaces

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  16. I am about to attempt this to cover up my existing brick fireplace. I have a couple of questions for you since I love your example the most. #1-what product did you use to stain with/how did you stain them? #2-what grout did you use and what process did you go about grouting it? I have re-grouted a shower before and am curious how you did this one because the stones are not flat/flush like a shower wall. I also noticed that you turned show of the stones vertical to really give it that extra touch. Looks so real, great job :)

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  17. This may be a silly question, but how did you mount the picture over the airstone? We are about to stone over our fireplace and have a mirror we want to rehang but I'm not sure the best way to go about it. I'd hate for the stone to crumble when drilling through it. Thanks!

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