It’s here! We’re done! And the results are amazing. This was not a simple project…and it was another one where there wasn’t a whole lot I could do to help Josh. We both love the results of the staircase and both agree that it changes the look of our home dramatically. What do you think?
Here are a few more comparisons and ‘during’ pictures. Be sure to check out the wall color, because we also painted!
Well, apparently three months of no projects is long enough in the Taber household! We are ramping up for several more projects. Once again, we’ve rushed ahead and skipped the time appropriate stage of a ‘before picture’. But, I’m hopeful we can find some picture somewhere that will act as a before when we’re ready to show you the after. Josh and I have been going back and forth on whether we need to hire some help for this next project, and nothing has been determined thus far, so we’ll see. I will mention that Josh and I’s paint selection skills have not improved…at all. In fact, we purchased about 5 more paint samples (adding to our previous collection of about 35) only to decide on two colors that WE ALREADY HAVE ON OUR OTHER WALLS. That’s right, after three days, 5 paint samples, and 3 trips to Home Depot, we have decided we like colors that we have already antagonized over the best.
We also have a self-imposed deadline on this project. We have about 4 different projects in mind, with 1 that has already started. My family will all be out to visit us the first weekend of May, so we have a set completion date. How many of the 4 projects will be completed by that date is still to be determined. My logical guess is just 1, but my hopeful wish would be all 4.
In other news, Josh and I celebrated my birthday last weekend by a mini-vacation spent up in Fort Collins. It was so nice to get away even for just one night. We dropped little Denver off at his own little hotel and we had a few great meals, some fun shopping, and even visited a gun show. I picked up my matron of honor’s dress for my sister’s wedding, and Josh got 7, yes…seven, new shirts. Our anniversary is next month, and I think another quick get-away and shopping trip might be in order. 
Hopefully, next update will include some afters!
Colorado , Denver , Dog , Family , Golden Retriever , Home , Photography
What Have We Been Doing?
What have we been doing, you ask? A whole lot of nothing. Enjoying our fireplace, crying everyday it’s under 50 degrees, and taking life a little slower these days. We have revamped Josh’s business website (check it out here or below). Be sure to ‘like’ his facebook page, Josh Taber Pictures. Jessica took a trip to Southern California for a long weekend to go wedding dress shopping with her sister and mom. Denver’s waistline is starting to show he is about ready to go off puppy food and onto adult food. We’re starting to get the itch to start a makeover on our bedroom and bathroom, but we’ll keep you posted on that.
Hopefully, your neck of the woods isn’t keeping you stuck in winter like Colorado is to us. Bring on spring!
Guess whose birthday it is this month? I’ll give you a hint…he’s really hairy, he loves cuddling, and he goes crazy over leaves.
That’s right…Denver! He turned the big ’1′ on February 2nd, and we just couldn’t resist getting him this awesome birthday present.
We had already conquered painting our kitchen/living room, giving our guest bedroom and guest bathroom a makeover (and our friends the Vance’s making us a perfect finishing touch), and remodeling our office. During the process, we always blame pinterest. After we’re done, we thank pinterest. And now, we have our most exciting reveal yet!
A few days after Thanksgiving, we decided to just go for it. What started as a California girl wanting a fireplace, turned into a search overload on pinterest where we decided to combine the look of three or four different fireplaces into one. This would never have happened without my super handy husband as my only contributions to this particular project were design, color decisions and mantel opinions. Josh literally did ALL the work, and thus saved us thousands of dollars on labor and material costs. He’s put together a summary of the steps in case you find yourself in a similar situation of building a custom fireplace yourself. It’s a LOT of work, but we are SO happy with the finished product. What do you think?
Josh’s ‘DIY Fireplace’ plans:
- Plan, plan and plan
- Sketch out your design with the correct dimensions
- Carefully plan how you want to mount your mantel
- Frame out your fireplace (the fireplace company you choose should provide you with the correct dimensions of the fireplace you selected)
- If needed, reinforce your floor joists
- Add any electrical outlets or wire you might want or need
- Install Fireplace
- Cover your framing with plywood
- Cover your plywood with one or two layers of roofing felt
- Cover your felt with metal lath (running your hand up the wall should be rough, down the wall should be smooth)
- Add your mortar scratch coat ½ in think over metal lath. Use a notched trowel to create horizontal grooves
- Allow the scratch coat to dry for 24-48 hours
- Apply your stones. (I hired a stone mason to finish this job.)
- Fireplace technicians come back out and setup the fireplace (laid in the logs, electrical, setup remote, etc.)
- Paint any drywall surfaces
- SIT BACK AND ENJOY!
*There are actually 1,243 steps, but those were the main points. :)
Notice the difference between the stone color with daylight and the stone color with incandecent (3000K) lighting.
Lights
Lithonia 4 in. Recessed White Gimbal LED (Home Depot) – $54.97
Lithonia 4 in. Recessed White Baffle Kit LED (Home Depot) – $49.97
Fireplace
Heat ‘n Glo – Slim Line 750tr
- 36” viewing area
- 16,900 – 24,300 BTU/hr
- Aero Front – RCT-MLT Remote
Stone
Eldorado Stone – Mountain Blend Stacked Stone Eldorado
Heart Stones – 18”x18”, 24”x24” Earth Color
Felt Paper – American Saturated Roofing Felt #15 ASTM226 (Lowes)
2.5 Steel Metal Lath
Paint Color
Behr Ultra – Coconut Shell
Wood & Screws
1×4, 2×4, 1×8, ½” & ¾” Plywood
2½ & 3½ Torque screws
Wood glue
Mantel
4 x 7-½” Beam sanded and distressed (screws, nails, belt sander)
Shellac Sanding Sealer – Clear (one coat)
Briwax – Rustic Pine (Melt wax in crockpot and apply several coats, allowing each coat to dry for at least 15 minutes.)
Carpet
Mohawk – Sevilla Island – Gold Coast (aka walking on a cloud)
For explanations and captions on each photo visit here.
Leave A Comment