Tuesday, April 24, 2012

A Springtime Fireside Chat

Donna at An Anglo is Quebec is having a Fireplace Show & Tell Party.  Since I'm not quite ready to share my newest mantel decor, I'm going to show you a couple of photos from last Spring.

As I'm sure you've heard me complain say before, our fireplace mantel is huge.  It is 79 inches in length and 17 ¼ inches deep!  As I'm sure you've heard me complain say before, having a mantel so large makes for a decorating challenge every time I switch up the mantelscape.


Our home was built in 1933.  This fireplace is almost 80 years old.  When we first bought the house, the brick had been painted an antique white and there was dark paneling on the wall behind it.  Since then, we have painted the brick a brighter white and of course, we've also painted that dark paneling. 


This is a wood-burning fireplace.  We've often thought of having it converted to a gas fireplace, but it's not a high priority on our list.  Before using the fireplace for the first time, we had a professional come check it out and make sure everything was ok.  We also had it cleaned at that time.

The professional, or chimney sweep as I like to call him (I'm thinking Mary Poppins here), said the inside of our fireplace is made of cobblestone.  He said in the 25 years he's being cleaning chimneys, he has only ever seen one other fireplace made of cobblestone.  He said it is beautiful and well made and we'd be crazy to convert it to gas.  (It's possible his words have also held us back from making the conversion a reality.)  I do love having a fireplace on cold evenings.  There's just something so cozy about gathering around a fire and snuggling up close.   

I hope you enjoyed getting to know my fireplace a little better.  lol

If you have a chance, stop over to Donna's Fireplace Show & Tell Party.   Whether you choose to link up and inspire us or just visit and get some inspiration, Donna's blog is the place! 


  








Gina
Gina

Welcome! I'm Gina. Like the header says, this blog is all about home, food and life..

31 comments:

  1. The main reason that I have always wanted to move to an older home is that every little detail seems to bring so much character to the party. I love your fireplace!

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  2. I did not realize how big your mantel is too. That may be my problem hmmmm....going to measure LOL. This is one of my favs Gina!

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  3. Gina,
    Thank so much for your visit and nice comments. Your fireplace is gorgeous, and I love your mantel. I love a wood burning fireplace. Ours is gas which is really nice too, but you don't get that wonderful scent of a wood fire. I'd be inclined to leave it as is too. The brickwork is so pretty!

    Have a great week.

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  4. Gina, I LOVE your fireplace! I agree with your chimney sweep! Keep the the wood fires burning!
    ~Lynne
    w/L.

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  5. oh lovely! I'd love to have one like that!:)

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  6. Thanks for linking up Gina! I have always been a fan of your mantel decorations! Cobblestone interior? Wow, that is impressive. I understand your desire for gas as wood is really messy but there is something about those moments around a crackling fire that are untouchable! And...northern weather is a factor too! ;)

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  7. Gina, your fireplace mantel is beautiful! I don't have a fireplace mantel one but I do have a mantel shelf that I decorate as if I had one. Enjoy your day, Gail

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  8. Hi Gina,

    Your mantel is beautiful. I also had paneling on my fireplace wall. My mantel is not as wide as your but it is bigger. lol I just measured and it just shy of 7 feet. It's huge!

    Dee

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  9. Hi Gina! Oh, your mantle is so pretty! I just love this!
    Be a sweetie,
    Shelia ;)

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  10. LOVE your fireplace!

    And it is funny - another blogger just yesterday was complaining (saying) that her mantel is much too small to work decorating....funny how that works.

    YOURS is awesome and I love your pic of it, you designed it nicely. Can't wait to see how it is now.

    Fun to always change them up, isn't it?

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  11. I love fireplaces...That was one of the "had-to-have's" on our list when we first were looking for a house. I love the white brick and white paneling in the back...it gives it a beautiful cottage feel. I'd like to paint our chimmeny's bricks too, but neither my hubby or daughter approve...I guess majority rules :-) Anyway, loved, loved, loved last years Spring mantel...Hopefully you'll be sharing this year's soon. Sending you a great big hug my friend.

    Mucho love,
    ♥Ana

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  12. This is lovely! Can't wait to see how you style this spring's mantle! Love the art too!

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  13. I love your mantle! And the decor is so pretty.

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  14. Gina- I just love your fireplace. Painting that paneling white made a huge difference, didn't it? You know having the cobblestone inside does not really matter when it comes to adding a gas log. You don't have to put a whole insert in...you can just have a gas line run up from underneath and then add a gas log. No insert or enclosure needed. We have done that twice in houses we have owned and it is not terribly expensive if you already have gas in the house. With the new logs that are out there today you can hardly tell you aren't burning real wood. Poof...you have heat and the ambiance of a fire-xo Diana

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  15. Love this mantel and fireplace! I've never heard of cobblestones being used...that's so unique. I would not want to change it either.

    Just had to check on you ~ now I'm back to my chores & trying to put my closet back together. :-)

    xo
    Pat

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  16. Your fireplace is so pretty and I bet you love that the paneling is painted...it looks fantastic! I love how you have decorated the mantel, too. I am stuck between spring and summer and have to do something soon!!

    XO,
    Jane

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  17. It is beautiful. I so would love a fire place. But in our extremely hot climate there would be absolutely no way I could ever be able to convince the 'enemy'. LOL! Thanks for sharing. Cheers SpecialK XoXo

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  18. Gina, thanks for sharing your lovely mantel. I absolutely love our fireplace. I need to update the look for spring.

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  19. Your mantel and fireplace are so pretty! I love it that your mantel is so pretty because it means that you have some great surface area for pretty vignettes like the one in the photo! :D

    xo,
    RJ

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  20. Your mantel looks really nice. I love the blue birds.
    Cobblestone....never heard of that. I would keep it as a wood burner instead of gas.

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  21. What a remarkable thing to have the inside made of cobblestone. No wonder you're hesitant to convert, but dang it that nobody can see those stones!

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  22. Gina:

    I love your fireplace, it has character. The white painted brick along with the panelling painted white makes is so warm and cozy. Yes I have to say I love sitting by a fireplace when it is cold.

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  23. I love it Gina! I would be in heaven with a mantle that large. For me, the more space I have to junk up the better. lol! For instance, I have a vintage green bird cage I wanted to put on my mantle but it wouldn't fit with everything else. That and the fact I can't find where I put it. Senior moment I guess. We have a gas fireplace. I do miss the look and feel of a real fire. I would not mess with cobblestone. Even though you don't see it. I love cobblestone!
    Hugs,
    Jann

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  24. I love it Gina! I would be in heaven with a mantle that large. For me, the more space I have to junk up the better. lol! For instance, I have a vintage green bird cage I wanted to put on my mantle but it wouldn't fit with everything else. That and the fact I can't find where I put it. Senior moment I guess. We have a gas fireplace. I do miss the look and feel of a real fire. I would not mess with cobblestone. Even though you don't see it. I love cobblestone!
    Hugs,
    Jann

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  25. I think the display on your fireplace mantle looks really nice, Gina! I only wish I could make such a pretty display on mine... but now we have a flat screen above it and I can no longer do that!:(
    Blessings,
    Janet

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  26. Oh I so love your fireplace, it is so charming and your vignette is stunning. Love the sign. Hugs, marty

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  27. I'll trade ya my skinny for your fatty any day. Mine is so skinny your can hardly get a thing on it!
    Love yours =) Always looks so cute too. I like the cobblestone info too. Totally cool! Hugs~Shan

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  28. Glad to hear your fireplace is good to go. We have an old house and when we had our fireplace cleaned they said do not use it for real fire due to some issues. We converted to gas logs. Not as romantic but it keeps us warm on the cool spring nights we have been having in Syracuse.

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  29. Hi Gina, I just found your blog recently, and really enjoy reading your posts. Would you mind telling me the exact kind and color of paint you used on your fireplace? We want to paint ours, as well, and want to get it right the first time!
    Keep writing, and I'll keep reading. Sincerely, Lynne

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  30. Hi Lynne,

    I didn't have an email address to answer your question, so I'll answer here and hope you see it.

    We were lucky because the brick was already painted an off white when we bought the house. We just painted over it with a brighter white.

    I'm not sure what the original owners used, but our paint was just a regular latex paint, either Behr in Ultra Pure White or Muralo Ultra in White. We've used both, so I'm not sure exactly which it was. It was the same paint we used for the trim in the room so it was a semi-gloss finish, believe it or not.

    I hope this helps. Good luck with painting your fireplace!

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  31. Thanks for a nice read, really made my day! More power to your blog.

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