Fireplace Re-Do

Back in 2009 we had a pipe burst in the front powder room and ended up with an inch or more of water in the first floor of our house.  While it was a huge mess to deal with, our insurance company came through and we were able to replace everything and make it look much better!

About 12 inches of drywall was removed on most of the walls so I decided that if we were ever going to re-do the fireplace NOW was the time!  It only had 12x12 ceramic tiles on it and was very plain. Tim and I both have always loved the look of natural stone and decided we could resurface it ourselves.

The entire project probably cost around $400 for the materials but we did it all ourselves and I still love it.

Here's a before picture - all decked out for Christmas - very plain and boring!

Before

And here is the after picture - 

After

Much better - don't you think?

Here's an in progress picture -

The stacked slate came in 6" x 18" pieces and fit together like a puzzle. The hearth tiles are 12 x 12 slate floor tiles and our wood floor installer put the wood floor and trim in after I laid them down and grouted them.

 It is one of my all time favorite projects that Tim and I have ever completed - and we are still married - so you know it was a success!

This picture shows the white flat trim that we added to the sides to cover up the raw edges of the stone.  Tim did a great job with this and it looks like it was part of the mantel.