Fresh Reveal – Living Room
April 29, 2010 at 8:47 am 26 comments
Hallelujah! The fireplace surround is complete! You may remember some of the work we’ve been up to in recent weeks. I’m so pleased to add that we couldn’t be happier with the results. It’s surprising what you can accomplish with a little imagination, and a lot of good old fashioned DIY handy-work.
Here is a reminder of the “before”:
The last bit of building involved those beautiful tiles… ahhh… who doesn’t want a little sparkle in their living room? We also built our own moulding up top. Framed it out with plywood, added it the moulding on top for some added texture and interest.
Here she is ALMOST complete:
How about some stain for that mantle? We chose a Varathane Natural Oil finish in Clear 66. It was a surprisingly important decision… so glad we saved an extra chunk of the mantle to do some test swatches on! Saved the day!
And the official “after” shot:
Did I mention how inconspicuous that speaker system is? Hello there little guy hiding on the mantle!
Here’s a close-up of those tiles. The mosaic tiles are a glass tile from Bellavita with a Bamboo background finish.
A great place to relax at the end of the day. What do you think? Have a project you’d like to share? Don’t forget to email those low-res photos in!!
Entry filed under: Uncategorized. Tags: bamboo, before and after, bellavita, blog, ceramic tile, fabric, living room, makeover, mantle, mosaic tile, moulding, paint, paintbrush, painter's tape, re-do, rustic mantle, shelves, stain, tile, varathane.
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Fresh Crush 
1. Tile Flooring | May 18, 2010 at 9:05 am
Good work that was really an upgrade especially with the fireplace. It looks like a high class and warm space now.
2. Brian | May 20, 2010 at 9:02 am
WOW, very nice job! Great choice on Tile too! I always love the way glass looks grouted, I bet when you where laying the tile you were starting to wonder if you chose a good tile or not.
3. Brian | May 20, 2010 at 9:08 am
Opps, I guess that comment missing some content, lol. Glass can look a bit off before it is grouted (not sure if that was the case here or not), but once grouted I always love the look of it. I have installed a good bit myself over the years.
4. Malcolm Dean | June 7, 2010 at 3:03 pm
Looks great. Where did you get your Varathane Natural Oil Finish, # 66 Clear? I understand the manufacturer closed that product out a year or two ago. I’d love to get hold of a gallon or two.
5. freshcrush | June 7, 2010 at 4:29 pm
Hey Malcolm. I actually got mine at Rona Hardware Store (in Canada). They carry most everything the same as Home Depot. Possibly could be different availability across provinces/states? Good luck.
6. croquetteshouse | July 3, 2010 at 7:30 am
Wooow!! I absolutly love the new look!! Congrats! You did a really good job!
7. Melissa W | July 4, 2010 at 12:40 pm
Found your blog from YHL- love what you did with the fireplace. I just redid my kitchen using those same tiles but in the “pencil” shape. Love the subtle texture of the “bamboo” look. Keep up the great blogging!
8. freshcrush | July 4, 2010 at 2:46 pm
Hey Melissa, yeah the long tiles are great aren’t they?? I have thoughts of a new backsplash in my kitchen, are those ones are definitely contenders! I’d LOVE to see your kitchen! If you want to share, email some pics!! ;)
9. Lou | July 5, 2010 at 7:35 am
Bravo! Really nice job guys.
I’m a bit overly practical but, er, um… where’s the HD recorder? DVD player? Amplifier (for the speakers)? Where/how did you manage to hide all these? (And the electrical plug for the telly?)
10. freshcrush | July 5, 2010 at 7:44 am
Ahhh yes, the necessary but ugly stuff. It is fantastically hiding in the laundry room! The LR and Laundry share a wall, so we did some drywall removal and some careful fishing of wires (this took some time and finesse)… and mounted the components on shelving. Check out pic #6 on this entry. You’ll see our DVD and PVR & receiver hiding up there. Our sub is hiding behind a chair in our living room. Thanks so much!!
11. freshcrush | July 5, 2010 at 7:47 am
Oh yeah… the power outlet for the TV is right behind the TV. We rewired off an existing outlet to move a power box right behind it, so it’s all nice and hidden! ;)
12. Lou | July 6, 2010 at 8:32 pm
Ahhh…a radio frequency remote… never knew this existed. How very clever of you!
Not sure it would get through my walls- they’re concrete – but I live in an apartment so it’s a lot quieter to have them.
Still totally AMAZED by your tv/mantle surround. Again, being the pragmatist that I am, I would have liked to have seen pics of how you secured that heavy mantle to the wall. I know you said it was via some welding and then reinforcing the mantle… but any pics?
13. freshcrush | July 13, 2010 at 9:07 am
Hi Lou. Sorry it took so long to get back to you. Here is a link to an ikea shelf, which closely resembles the process we used for attaching our mantle to the wall. We had ours welded by a friend, so they are of course, more heavy-duty than the ikea ones pictured in the pdf. But its the same principle. The brackets are mounted to studs in the wall, and the mantle has holes drilled at the back to match the position of the brackets. And, we slid the mantle onto the bracket. It took 3 of us, 2 to lift, and 1 to guide the mantle up on to the brackets. Hope that helps!
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16. hallie | September 9, 2010 at 5:08 pm
Saw your room on design sponge- looks beautiful!
I have been doing some DIY projects myself but have been stumped on how to install floating shelves that are substantial… and yours definitely looks substantial. How did you do it and do you think it is strong enough to be a bookshelf?
Thanks!
17. hallie | September 9, 2010 at 5:11 pm
Just read above and saw that you answered someone else’s question about this already- Thanks!
18. erica | September 10, 2010 at 11:50 am
Love the result. Looks awesome. I really like your flower picture, where is it from?
19. freshcrush | September 10, 2010 at 11:58 am
Thanks Erica! The artwork actually came from a friend (she worked for a company that supplies artwork on a large scale to places like hotels etc.)… they were moving a bunch of product out — and I scored that little number at no cost. Good deal right??!
20. Elise | September 29, 2010 at 12:24 am
The room is gorgeous! I especially love the paint color and was wondering what it is? Thanks!
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23. Tanja @ Postmodern Hostess | April 10, 2012 at 1:48 pm
I meant to leave this comment for you ages ago, but seeing your fireplace on Pinterest just reminded me. :-) Your fireplace re-do completely inspired our fireplace re-do. I wish we’d have a big wall to accommodate that gorgeous, chunky mantel, but we could at least incorporate your use of tile into our design. You can see it here, as well as our recent room re-arrange here that shows off the fireplace better. Thank you for the inspiration!
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25. Rhys | May 2, 2012 at 3:02 pm
Love the herringbone like textured white tiles used around the fireplace! Where did you purchase those from?
26. Dawn | November 7, 2012 at 5:15 pm
I just came across your site and love, love, LOVE your fireplace! I too would like to know where you purchased the textured white tiles from, pretty please :-)