Basement Update: Fireplace

Remember in my last post the awkward fireplace? Finished in oak, it now clashed with our beautiful white trim. So, one beautiful Sunday afternoon, J and I spent a couple hours DIY (minds out of the gutter!).

Here's the back of the fireplace once we took the electric box out.

Whoops, didn't see J back there - free looks, ladies!

Here's the front - I'm not ashamed to admit that it was totally J's idea to tape up the rubbed bronze border.

J isn't a camera guy, so there's no evidence of all the hard work I put into it. I sanded this baby down three times - and very well, I might add. Once we wiped it down and used the compressor to blow all the dust away, J began priming it with spray paint primer. We chose this route only because of all the nooks and crannies at the top, but I fully expect that we will have to do touch ups with a brush and/or roller down the road. J just wanted it to be easy :)

Between the two coats of primer, I very lightly sanded the surface down again. J was in charge of the white paint and put two coats on of that. We let it dry and finished it off with a clear protective coat and let it sit overnight.

Will you "ooh" and "ahh" with me?! It's so beautiful! I think I literally jumped up and down clapping and squealing once it was in! Up close, you can see the wood grain from the oak which at first I couldn't decide how to feel about it, but all the new doors we put in are white with wood grain texture so it actually looks like it was meant to be down there!

I just LOVE how polished it looks! Now that J and I have our hands dirty, we've come up with a few more projects that we'd like to tackle together. The couple that DIY together, stays together, right? No more innuendos - Happy Sunday!