You would think that being first time homeowners we would want to ease our way into DIY-ing with a small project like window treatments or crown moulding. Well, we decided to dive right in and remodel our fireplace. Being such a focal point of the room, it was hard not to notice everyday. Most people would look at the before picture and think that nothing is wrong with it and really, there isn’t anything wrong. Only, it’s not our style and we felt like it could be so much more.

Fireplace Makeover

We had big dreams for this space and I literally couldn’t wait to get started. After weeks of my husband putting off the renovation, I just grabbed a hammer and whacked away into the wall tiles to see how easy they would be to remove. To my delight, they crumbled off pretty nicely. And to my hubby’s horror, the start of the fireplace demo had officially started! There was no turning back at this point because in just a few short weeks we had family coming to visit from out of town.

Here is the fireplace before. Please excuse the terribly grainy iPhone picture, and don’t mind the fat cat photobomb. Oh, and apparently we don’t know how to paint without getting it all over the ceiling.

Fireplace Before

The floor tiles on the wall weren’t really our thing, so we knew that we wanted to replace those with stone or marble tiles. In the end the stone won out and we couldn’t be happier.

Fireplace Makeover

We ended up adding columns in the front and planking on the wall. The mantel was lowered three inches to lose some of the awkward space between it and the firebox.

Fireplace Makeover
Fireplace Makeover

In the future, we’d like to replace the gas logs with glass crystals and glass doors. But for now we’re really happy with the progress we’ve made. The room definitely feels lighter and brighter and is more “us”.

I’ve got an updated/summer mantel post in the works so you can see how I styled it for everyday. I just didn’t want to hide all of the beautiful planking for the reveal. Also, I will put together a tutorial for how we did the stonework, pillars and planking. So stay tuned for those! This post contains affiliate links for your convenience. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.

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55 Comments

  1. Hi – can you tell me what type of stone/style was used on this fireplace? Would love to use it in my own home. Thank you!

  2. This is such an inspiration. My husband and I bought a house in October and hired a friend of his to do some work in the house. He has left the project leaving me with the tile removed and the stone (exact same as yours) just sitting in front of the fireplace. We have started to take the unfinished projects into our own hands and coming across this truly inspires me that we can do the fireplace ourselves!

    1. I am so sorry to hear this, Mairead. I’m glad that I could be of some encouragement, though. Just take it day by day and slowly chip away at the to-do list. Before you know it, everything will be finished and you will feel so proud to know that YOU created a beautiful home with your own hands. Good luck and don’t hesitate to ask any questions should one arise! 🙂

  3. Love the fireplace and the new stone. I have been wanting to do the stone work so looking forward to seeing how you did it. Would you mind sharing the wall color you used?
    Thanks
    Vicki

    1. Hi Vicki! Thank you so much! I’ll have the stone work tutorial up soon. The wall color is Sherwin Williams Anew Gray in a flat finish.

  4. It’s absolutely perfect! I love all the texture with the stone and paneled wall!

  5. You did an amazing job – it looks fantastic, and it totally transformed the look of that space. Thanks for sharing.

  6. This is an amazing makeover! I love how you lightened and brightened it and just changed the whole look. It certainly has more presence now!!

  7. Your fireplace look amazing Sarah! I love all of the textures this room has. Found you through the Pinterest link up and pinned. Would love for you to come join in at The Makers link party on Tuesday mornings 8 eastern on my blog TinySidekick.com. Hope to see you there!

    1. Hi Corey! Thank you so much for your kind words! And thank you for pinning. I really do appreciate it. I will totally stop by your link party. Thanks, again!

  8. This is awesome Sarah!! What a great transformation, it looks so light and airy now. I love the planked wall and the stone. Beautiful!

    1. Well gosh, Allison. You’re gonna make me blush! Thank you so much for your kind words. You made my day!

    1. Thank you, Jayleen! I’m quite smitten with it myself. 🙂 I’ll have the tutorial up soon!

  9. I am so jealous of this! It looks amazing and so cute. Definitely more personality than the before… Great great great job!

  10. that looks amazing, and your cat is super cute. my 2 surprise me with where they jump and climb, too.
    b

  11. Sarah, this is absolutely gorgeous! I adore the planking, the stone, the pillars – well everything! I even love the “fat cat photobomb!” Great great job! – Bre @ Average But Inspired

    1. Thank you, Bre! I have a feeling that fat cat will be making more appearances in the future, LOL!

  12. Wonderful transformation! Love your stone choice, the planking and the paint color. It doesn’t even look like the same fireplace.
    Thanks for the inspiration,
    Suzanne
    Pieced Pastimes

  13. Sarah, your fireplace is absolutely so perfect for your space and really pretty to look at. The original look disjointed and an afterthought. How fabulous is this makeover?!!!

    1. Thank you, Terry! I completely agree with you. It definitely has more personality now. Thanks for stopping by!

  14. This is stunning! I’m so impressed! Thanks for sharing.

    BTW, found you via the twitter social media challenge from @SITSblogging! 🙂

    1. Thank you very much! You will just have to stick around see! Lol! I really want to get the rest of the living room finished off so I can finally get a home tour started.

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