The Fireplace

While we prefer to spend our weekends enjoying the California sunshine, we have been keeping up on house projects to pull our fixer-upper together.

Matt has replaced all the electrical sockets, many of the light switches and half the sinks. Melinda has cleaned and scrubbed every nook and cranny.

From the beginning, Melinda tried and tried to prioritize the practical projects first. So, the yard is all dirt right now... planting flowers in a drought is not as important as fixing leaking faucets.

But, there was one thing about the those that she just couldn't get over... the oversized marble fireplace that dominated the family room wall. It was HUGE and PINK. Melinda finally couldn't take it anymore and made destroying the fire place her number one request on Matt's honey-do list.

 This picture does not do justice to how pink the tile was in real life.

Matt found the original brick under there.

Eleanor really wanted to help with the demolition.

She put on her (princess) gloves and brought her

hammer, but mean ol' Dad still wouldn't let

her into the construction zone.

It took many hours with a crowbar and mini-sledge, but we discovered the original brick surround and wood mantle under many inches of mortar and marble. 

The original brick was not salvageable, but it did serve as a great base for a new surround. It was Melinda's turn to put in some sweat equity, and she tiled the surround in air stone bricks and painted the wood mantle. 

Ta-dah! We love it.

Big thanks to Jed, who helped Matt sand down and save the wood mantle. 

It took a few weeks, but it was SO worth it, even if it means the new ceiling fans aren't up and we still have beach towels instead of blinds in the windows. Slowly the house is coming together, getting better and better every day!