Opportunities outside our home, to pay our time and sponsorships forward to our readers and friends are becoming more frequent and we couldn't be more excited about that. In all actuality, it feels like we've been working on this blog thing for the past 7 years to get to a point where we could help other people with their spaces and it's a really great job. It's a dream job and we're soaking every chance up. Our biggest project yet is coming up in two months on the other side of the country, but I've digressed.
A couple months ago we were asked, along with a few other bloggers, by Angie's List to makeover a fireplace. We had just finished making over our basement fireplace, (remember the one in the basement family room that we revamped for $100?), but fortunately, they were open to us making any fireplace as long as it stayed within the $1500 budget--which felt like a fortune. The one we recently tackled in Long Island we accomplished with just $300!
But, for this challenge, we wanted to do something completely different and we quickly learned that our new friends were wanting to tackle their fireplace as a final step to a living room renovation they had been working on.
Above, the before was oak riddled and outdated. When we got ahold of it, the flooring had been replaced and new furnishings were about the room, but that fireplace wall was still majorly bringing down the vibe. We removed all the oak surroundings and old tile and decided to make this fireplace a dramatic focal point.
Let's bring stone to the ceiling! Let's make it dark! Let's update that insert! How about a chunky mantle?! I broke down what we did step-by-step, along with the materials and cost breakdown right here. It took just $800 and now that fireplace looks like this!:
Pretty incredible before and after, right? Taking the stone all the way to the ceiling made a previously squatty looking room so much more lofty and grand. And I love that dark stacked stone so much I'm already scheming an outdoor fireplace in the same material.
Angie's List didn't tell us this was a competition until after the fact. And then they put some prize money down for the blogger with the most votes for their before-and-after fireplace. So if you like this before and after, I'd love your vote! We'd love to keep doing more projects like this for other people and every vote is a little boost of confidence for us and our sponsors in that direction.
You can vote once a day right here until May 20th. Would appreciate it so much!
Leave a Reply
WE'RE CHRIS + JULIA
Portfolio
Projects
Hi! I was curious if you purchased the mantel online?
Thanks!
Meghan
You can read all the details here: https://www.angieslist.com/articles/stacked-stone-fireplace-makeover.htm
Love the dark stone against that beautiful chandelier!
Our crew really enjoy your blog guys. The other day our staff was discussing how we don't particularly care for at all your new/different ….click to read more of the post :( Is there anything we can do to avoid this?? We really prefer to scroll and read more than one post (takes way too much time & really is a pain the new way. We're begging you to PLEASE go back to how it was dear.
We appreciate the feedback! We JUST changed to this yesterday because of other feedback we're getting about the site loading. Taking everything into consideration.
Yours was the best. All the white paint I see in other makeovers just seems too blah to me, but I'm paralyzed when it comes to going bold in my own house. I'm always afraid I won't like it then.
Julia,
I have enjoyed your blog so much and enjoy reading all of you new project posts, whether they are in your home or for someone else. I have a bit of an off the wall question, what kind of camera do you use for your photos? They are all so crisp and clear!
P.S. loved your Blue Apron blog post!
How nice of you, thank you! I use a Canon EOS 70D and I'm currently hooked on this lens.
I voted for you! I thought yours really was the best.
Thank you so much, Rachel!! Really appreciate it.
Hey Julie, <3 the fire place! Such a huge improvement.
Just wanted to let you know, in case anyone else is experiencing this, but your website in the past week has gotten extremely slow to let me navigate. It's not that it's taking forever to load, it's just not scrolling well and it's not letting me type easily. It's like it freezes what I'm doing and unfreezes constantly. I'm using Chrome, and doesn't appear to be doing it it on any other site I use.
That's really helpful, Britt! Thank you for letting me know. Last night we moved to truncated posts to try to help with that, but we're doing other things, too. Hopefully we'll have it running smoothly to keep up with the traffic in no time.
This morning seems to be running much more smoothly! Y'all are the best ;) Gotta get my CLJ fix.
Hi Julia - this looks amazing!!! You might not know, but I need to ask in case you do - where is that gorgeous chandelier from! I have been looking for something just like it!
Thank you!
It's completely stunning! It's the Celeste Glass Drop Crystal Chandelier from right here.
What a great transformation! The fireplace looks a million times better!
What a transformation - it looks great! What a difference a good looking fireplace can make in a space. :)