I love a good fireplace. I feel like it anchors a home in a way many things can not. Let’s be real though – this is the south, and it doesn’t get used all that often. My husband and I use any opportunity we have to use our fireplace and who doesn’t love all the beautiful decorations this time of year.
I love decorating my fireplace and bringing the season into my home even if the temperature outside doesn’t agree that it is December. Last year I had several projects going on including redoing our sunroom to make it a useful office for my husband who was working from home. Most of these projects were left unfinished until this year. Once the Christmas tree goes up I stop all house projects, finished or not, because I will not have all that dust all over my tree limbs and decorations. I gave myself grace last year and even though the OCD in me wants it all finished, grace was what I and my house needed. We spent this past year finishing up projects we’d started. We didn’t get through them all, but that’s okay because when you live in the house your are remodeling there is always something that can be done. We also started a few more, and one of these was giving a new look to the fireplace.
Been there and done this before. At my last house it was truly one of my favorite places to decorate once I got it covered in stone. I was constantly changing the decorations to fit the season. My husband and I agreed that this house needed the fireplace stone to be done this year. Knowing I wanted it done before my seasonal decorations went up, summer was the right time to start. We spent the beginning of this project looking at all the “looks” we wanted this fireplace to have. Knowing we had a great experience with Memphis Stone and Stucco last time, we knew that whatever “look” we chose we would still need to find that look there. My husband and I have very similar taste so agreeing on a look was fairly simple, and after deciding off to the store we went. After speaking with our sales rep, they came and did the measuring and ordering. The worst part was the wait for it to come in and be installed. In the meantime, I also reached out to Wade Burris, owner of Architectural Timber Works, who also did our last fireplace mantle. We truly love his work and knew we would use him again this time around as well. We got him out to measure and fit our two fireplaces with two giant new mantles. If you got a chance to head to the mid south home show you saw some of his work with the beams he put in. Since our last house, everyone that I know who has put in a new mantle has used Wade and loved his work. Last step was for my favorite local business man to put the stove in. Shout out to Desoto chimney owner Bill Beasely, who came and got me all set for what we in the south call cold weather
It changes the entire feel of these two rooms and this house is starting to feel more like me and less like the people before me. I am over here dreaming of all my decorations going up and a man in a red suit going down the chimney
None of the businesses mentioned in this post paid me, gave me any discount, or even knew I was giving them a social media shoutout. I truly love all three of these establishments and if you’re in need of any of the things done here I highly suggest giving them a call.
Coffee and Construction Dust 