The Fireplace Mantle: Part 2....done!

Wow ...what a ton of work

And this was a lot more complicated than it looks 

because in order to do this project
I used/coordinated the following trades:

Laborer

Carpenter 

Stone Mason

Stucco Contractor

Plumber

Drywall and Painter

Stone Supplier

Stone Fabricator
&

Cabinet Maker

whew

 There are many nice components to this fireplace...

the first being this huge piece of old train trestle

I purchased it from a company in Salt Lake City

A very interesting piece of history now resides in my living room...
just no cho cho!

Read about it here

The hearth is toped with soapstone 

which is really one of the prettier and user friendly stones available

 This slab was quarried in Brazil
but soapstone can be found all over the world

 I has a wonderful chalky grey look
and is really warm and natural

 The actual brick fireplace was given three coats of stucco
with the final coat being
a hard troweled and burnished finish

It is left natural and we did a nice soft bullnose to all of the corners

 for a really clean look

You may have noticed that I pulled down all of the old fake ceiling beams too...
that was fun...!

*think really big sledge hammer*

Peeking out on the right is a new cupboard I designed to house the TV and stereo stuff

It is made from reclaimed barn wood 

and yes it was from a red barn!

 The wood is left in its natural state and it has some wonderful knots
and variation of color

I have to add a word of caution about doing this....
get a good cabinet maker!

 All of this type of wood is very irregular and needs to be planed and modified 

to be useable for cabinet work...but it's doable 

 The doors hinge to the right to keep out of the way of the mantle.  

Here you can see the back of the old wood after it is run through a planer...
it looks like it's new! 

 There are old nails and other things found in the wood too 

so that also makes this a bit more labor intensive

 I did the top two doors on a diagonal for some interest, 

used plain grey barn wood for the fronts 

and the red barn wood as the trim detail

The top is stepped back from the base
for more of a vintage cabinet design

I have some really interesting knobs on order and
will show you those when they get here

 It's a really nice transition now 

and not all chopped up

Although there are a variety of woods used
they all work well when used together in this space

Here is the before below:

Below is my inspiration:

Thank you Ina

 And now finished....
at least this project is!

Have a wonderful
&

creative week

and as always
thanks for stopping by!

~kelley~

Whisk Broom Window Covering

 Sometimes the simplest of everyday objects can find a new life,

as something other than originally intended

 We have a really funny odd room between the kitchen and the garage,

 which has become one of the most used spaces in the little Ojai house

 I call it my "pop-up pantry"...but it functions as both a mud room and laundry room too

 This room will eventually get a total makeover, but in the mean time I needed storage...so I ripped out all of the useless goofy cabinets that were here and  gave it a fresh coat of white paint.

I thought it might be fun to try something new over the top of the window...not really a shade but more of a detail!

 How about using a collection of vintage whisk brooms hung on an old rack with hooks?

Well...alright-ee then lets do it!

 Now this might not do much in the way of covering the window...it looks really fun and costs just a few dollars

 Here is a peek of the "pop up" pantry/laundry/mud room

I will share a few more details on the next post!

Thanks for checking in...

cheers to a great week ahead!

now where did I leave the dust pan?

kelley

; 0 )

The 4 Doors

 Another fun project is in the works...

We are using these old doors!

 These were probably from some sort of a hotel or camp.

Tall skinny campers!

The size is odd, at only 24" wide but they are tall at about 7 feet.

 The patina is really wonderful  and the little funny old numbers and rusty hardware, add to the charm

 They have been re-numbered quite a few times over their lifetime,

 which makes me wonder why?  

 The unpainted sides are great too...

so no matter how we use these, I think they will be really fun.

More on the doors this week! 

Hope you are having a great day

`kelley~