I’m excited to share my first “before / after” transformation! While its not my first transformation, it is the one I’m most excited about, the first I choose to share with all (three of) my readers.

Please welcome, for the very first time in public, my new fireplace!

(Whoops, that’s a bit of a lie as I have shared pics on Facebook. So, with inadvertent lies corrected… please welcome, for the very first time in the blogosphere, my new fireplace!)

Pictured without, and with, cat.

Keep reading for details and more pictures of the transformation.

The fact that this house had a fireplace was an added bonus, not the driving factor behind my initial interest, but hearing it was a “working wood-burning fireplace” was the icing on the cake. I’ve wanted a fireplace since I moved out on my own; childhood memories of life around the fireplace still warm my heart.

Seeing the fireplace for the first time, my sense of beauty was offended by its aesthetics. I silently resolved to transform its look as soon as possible after moving in.

The home inspector recommended several actions before burning my first fire: cleaning, fixing the damper, replacing the spark screen, fixing the mortar issues related to the brick. I began calling chimney sweeps and got a steady message of “we’re booked through the new year right now.” I called the vendor (Casey’s Chimney Service) who had serviced this fireplace before, as evidenced by the fireplace-how-to booklet left behind by the seller for my use. They, too, were booked into the new year. (Who knew that you needed to buy a house with a fireplace earlier than late fall to be able to get an appointment with a chimney sweep? One of many lessons learned in this house buying experience, lol.) But in building a connection with the woman answering my call, I was able to secure an early morning appointment in early December. It didn’t hurt that I was always at home, thanks to the COVID-based work-from-home mandate in effect for me since March 2020.

When Casey (the owner of the business and the father of the woman I spoke to) arrived, he had a vague recollection of visiting before and identifying the in-need-of-repair furnace flue. He proceeded to show me the issues with the flue, which were rather convincing. Another item for the “fix soon!” list.

(Funny, for all the items called out in the home inspection, there was nothing about the flue.)

Casey indignantly pointed out that the damper was not broken, but had been previously repaired by him; he showed me how it worked. He also did some cleaning and had a serviceman checking the chimney from the roof. He advised me to start slowly, to develop a “psychological profile” of the fireplace, and explained what he meant by applying that phrase to the burning of wood in a fireplace. He was a craftsman fully dedicated to his area of expertise, and an interesting and charismatic gentlemen too.

Besides the so-called fixes, my bigger desire, as noted above was to improve the aesthetic; the bright gold, heavily-chipped door, the torn spark screen. I found a fireplace store (Hearthside Fireplace and Patio) within 4 miles of my house. Visiting one evening just before they closed, I quickly “designed” a new fireplace door from their showroom options. To my excitement, they promised to install the new door prior to Christmas and delivered as promised. I had a fire burning in the fireplace on Christmas day, a bright spot in an otherwise less-than-bright year.

Here’s a quick history, with photographs, of the transformation of my fireplace. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did “designing” and implementing it.

Original Fireplace

Original Door Removed

Touching Up the Paint

New Door Installed

Present Day

While I’m still playing with the final decorative elements, I have managed to find accessories that match the “oil rubbed bronze” color of my new door. The tool set and the wood holder are a tad big for my fireplace (see the tool set to the right of the fireplace). I admit I didn’t check the size, but my focus was on the color match and in that I claim success.

I wanted to add a second “lantern” but that may not be possible. The one you see to the left of the fireplace came from a trip to TJ Maxx / Home Goods just after Christmas. When I went back to pick up a second one, it was too crowded to go in. (I’ve never been a fan of crowds, or even more than a few people in one place, COVID or no-COVID.) Whether there will be any left when I do get back is highly doubtful, I expect. Of course I still need to decide what to do with the one I have, or at least to fill it with something, or leave as-is.