BEFORE AND AFTER Archives

Sometimes fireplace wishes do come true. After fifteen years of planning and saving and tuition we finally remodeled our 2000 era family room stone fireplace.

Remember those big box televisions that weighed 300 pounds and every seller in that decade listed their television as an “inclusion?”

FIREPLACE BEFORE CIRCA 2005

We loved the fireplace location because it was the anchor for the room when you walked in from the main level entry.

Side note: You can see where Chloe and Elliott watch television. If you are new to Everyday Edits they are our Bernese Mountain dogs.

Our previous mantel was a decor enthusiast’s dream because it was set back to match the depth of the “tube television.”

It was always fun to decorate for fall because I could just toss pumpkins and fall garland onto the mantel and call it a day.

FIREPLACE REMODEL DURING

We considered refacing our family room fireplace when we replaced the granite tiles around the lower level fireplace. In a weekend for under $500.

The original fireplace, granite tiled hearth and crown molding were demoed down to the studs. It took two guys with chain saws to cut out get to the bones of the original fireplace.

And then frame the new two-story fireplace, mantel, fireplace and hearth. Years ago, we hired an architect for a double-sided fireplace.

I’ll save that dream for another day, but thankfully we were able to use those plans and modify it for our existing fireplace.

WAIT UNTIL YOU SEE THIS STONE FIREPLACE

And now? We have a stone fireplace that is worthy of a Coors Light indoor fireside commercial.

We replaced the original gas fireplace, which was originally off to the side to balance the space for the television. With a larger fireplace insert, we centered it against the stone fireplace.

The stone fireplace was an easy decision. One of the most common upgrades I see when showing homes is the faux stacked faux stone. We did it in our lower-level dual-sided fireplace.

But we both wanted a Colorado, mountain feel for this room with its amazing views of the mountain range and sunlight until dusk.

The funny thing is the stone is from Texas!

We agreed we needed a mantel that was worthy of the stone. Following the original fireplace renderings, we chose a Douglas Fir wood slab.

We made our own mantels for our lower-level fireplace a few years ago.

Here’s how it was delivered.

We chose a dark walnut stain to match the refinished floors. The 10″ depth allows for a controlled amount of seasonal decor.

We absolutely love our fireplace. It was worth the time, money and effort. We decided with this crazy market (that I work in) to stay in our house of almost twenty years because there are not that many places where we could feel at home and make everyday edits along the way.

WEEKLY IDEAS STRAIGHT TO YOUR INBOX

Sharing my favorite kitchen remodel ideas that are not budget breakers.

Growing up my sister and I turned our Barbie Dream House into a ranch floor plan. We used Lincoln Logs to landscape the “yard” and driveway.

And we may have borrowed the Nativity Scene for legit barnyard animals.

It’s no surprise I tackled our kitchen remodel with the same concept of reimagining walls and a corner pantry.

KITCHEN REMODEL IDEAS

For a couple that can argue over how to load the dishwasher- we agreed on most remodel projects. You know, the big stuff.

We did this DIY a few years earlier when we removed 1/2 a wall between the kitchen and dining room. If you are not ready to knock out walls- try this idea to open up the kitchen.

Here are our favorite kitchen remodel ideas and decisions we made.

FAVORITE KITCHEN REMODEL IDEAS

1. Kitchen Island Design

My husband came up with this idea and I loved it. He wanted the kitchen island to look like a free-standing piece of furniture.

2. Move the cooktop out of the island

This was on my really, really want list. I wanted uninterrupted real estate on my kitchen island. To do this, we moved the stove to the kitchen’s perimeter, an exterior wall, to access the gas line.

We were surprised that this move from the island to the wall was not as expensive as anticipated.

Tip: Explore your options. My husband was adamant that an oven moved to the exterior wall was going to be thousands of additional dollars with the gas line.

It costs us around $350.00 to move/extend the gas line.

3. Trash and Recycle Bins

In hindsight, we could have added bins without a remodel, but I love the recycle and trash bins together.

4. Pull out cabinet bin for the dog food

(just like the trash/recycle bins)

Okay, this dog food bin is the most talked about feature in our kitchen. My friends love the idea too.

We placed this on one end of the kitchen island so it is two steps away from Chloe and Elliott’s dog bowls.

Of all the decisions we made to our kitchen remodeling ideas this is a top conversation with friends.

5. POT FILLER

This stepped up our kitchen without that much money. I think the Kohler pot filler faucet cost more than the plumber.

My boys and husband use this faucet to get his water.

6. Removed the corner pantry and created a beverage bar

This decision was fairly last minute. We had a corner pantry that had so much wasted space.

The question was could we fit the contents of the pantry (small appliances, serving trays, etc) into other cabinets?

Here is the corner pantry before (and the half wall and my old blog before I did this):

Where there is a will there is a way

7. Dedicated broom storage

Where to put the broom? When we lost our corner pantry we lost our broom storage.

At one point my husband suggested we store it under the couch.

Our cabinet install guy loved this idea too.

There was no room between the refrigerator and the wall because of the baseboards.

But there was room to the right of the pull-out shelves of the new vertical pantry.

8. Ordered additional pull-out shelves for the pantry.

If you like to arrange cabinets you will want to order additional shelves. I could account for height and adjust the shelves in the future. Those dang cereal boxes and Quaker Oats old-fashioned oats.

9. Created additional storage under the island.

Our island is larger than the original. It includes a quartz slab with a microwave on one side, two deep drawers on another side, the dog food cabinet and this hidden cabinet underneath the island.

It’s under these two barstools and are surprisingly comfortable).

I store out-of-season baking stuff like my favorite sugar cookie supplies.

The depth of the cabinet shelves is only 8″ but I can out of season mugs and plates under there too. Love it!

My husband wanted to create as much storage as possible and still maintain seating for 3-4 people. To keep the recommended leg room under the island we had enough space for narrow shelves behind two cabinet fronts.

It essentially is hiding in plain sight because the bar stools sit in front of the cabinets.

10. Appliance Garage

I rotate small appliances through this cabinet based on demand. My kitchen designer (Teresa from here) saw me post my Kitchenaid in the appliance cabinet and she was like, “get it on the counter!”

#firstworldprobs

Finally, if you are not ready for a kitchen remodel start with this idea to update the kitchen. It’s how I knew I wanted a grey island!

Thank you for stopping by today. I would love it if you signed up for the Weekend Edit. Thank you!

WEEKLY IDEAS STRAIGHT TO YOUR INBOX