Mimi Sue's Cottage

A home is much more than a house built of lumber, brick, or stone. A home is made of love, sacrifice, and respect. We are responsible for the homes we build. We must build wisely, for eternity is not a short voyage. There will be calm and wind, sunlight and shadows, joy and sorrow. But if we really try, our home can be a bit of heaven here on earth. Thomas S Monson







Thursday, February 27, 2014

Home is Where Your Hearth Is

 
 
We've lived with unfinished projects in this house since 2007.  After awhile you don't even see the things that need to be done.
 
  Most are small, hidden jobs like a few baseboards here and there, or trim in the kitchen that doesn't show.  We're good at ignoring these things.
 
Until you have an event, like for instance, a baby shower, at your house and then all of a sudden all of the unfinished projects need to be finished yesterday!
 
 
The fireplace in our family room was one of these projects.
 


When we built this house I wanted the fireplace high enough on the wall so that we could see it from the kitchen and the eating area.  It's so nice to be working in the kitchen and be able to enjoy the cozy fire.
 
It's also nice to have a hearth double as extra seating when there's a lot of people here for a family get together or a party.
 
For years we tried to come up with some kind of surround.  We couldn't agree on tile, brick, or stone.  We looked at antique mantels. We looked at custom mantels. Nothing was quite right.
 
So we've lived with wonky drywall and OSB for almost seven years.
 


Until a couple of weeks ago.
 
The mister repaired the drywall around the edge of the fireplace.
 
He painted and installed baseboard.
 
Then he made a removable, padded, upholstered hearth.
 
 



 
 
I like it a lot.  It was an inexpensive fix. 
 
We may do something else with it someday.
 
But for now we checked another thing off our to do list.
 
 
And the ladies at the baby shower thought it was a pretty comfy place to sit.

7 comments:

Primitive Stars said...

Love the title, sweet......Did a great job, looks wonderful, Blessings Francine.

The Gathering Place said...

Your hearth looks great. We have hard edged rock on ours and we always have to put blankets on it when the babies start walking to keep them safe. Great idea to have cushions (and they look nice, too)!

Kathleen Grace said...

I think it looks great, and a finished job is always better than unfinished! We have been living with unfinished projects for, oh 30+ years? Seems we are constantly in the middle of a remodeling job and sometimes the last little detail gets left in favor of starting the new project. Ahhh, old houses and do - it yourself projects....gotta love em.

Penny from Enjoying The Simple Things said...

I love the way this turned out! It looks like a comfortable place to sit and enjoy the fire.

Gayle said...

A perfect finish Sue! I like it a lot and I'm sure it'll get a lot of use too. Very clever!

Karen Mortensen said...

Love it. Looks great.

Manuela@A Cultivated Nest said...

That looks so great! I bet they were fighting to sit on that comfy bench.

You are so right about not seeing things that need completing. I have baseboard quarter round that we just laid down but never nailed it!