A Shady Corner

 A dark, gloomy corner....  Transformed into a cozy lounging area. 

Painted wood shutters hide the stairwell to the basement. The sofa, a Goodwill find, is updated with new cushions and pillows. 

A Cozy Window Seat

 I turned an unused tiny nook into a cozy window seat!  This project used pretty much all my skills, including woodworking, drilling, sawing, and sewing.  Whew!  It's nice to have a spot to rest.

I used an old kitchen cabinet as the base, supported by a frame.

Painted Tile Hearth

Painted Tile Hearth

Once I built the mantel and tiled the surround, the red tile hearth no longer blended with the look I wanted.  Clearly, something had to change!  I thought about replacing the tile with natural stone, but decided that wasn't necessary.  The old tiles were in good shape, and are REALLY thick, so they'd be difficult to remove.  I decided to try to paint the tile instead.  It turned out great!

Protect the Grout!

Although I didn't like the old red tile, I did like the existing grout.  I wanted to maintain the look of the grout, so I protected it from paint.  Use masking tape to cover the existing grout.  I had to cut masking to fit the grout lines. It’s a tedious process, but worth it to maintain the natural look of the original grout.

Tape around the edges of the hearth to protect surrounding hardwood and cement.

Now for the fun part - you’re ready to paint!  It’s a two step painting process, consisting of a base paint and contrasting paints. 

BASE PAINT 

Paint the base paint onto the tiles. I used Rustoleum Protective Enamel in almond.  I chose this paint because it’s oil-based.  Oil-based paints are harder and more durable than latex or acrylic.  I wanted a base paint that could hold up to foot traffic and other activity without chipping.

While applying the base paint, you already want to begin ‘individualizing’ each tile.  Use a variety of paint application techniques to achieve a unique base for each tile.  Dab, streak, and smear the paint to achieve a mottled look.  You don’t need to be too careful – in fact, the look will be more natural when the paint is not applied uniformly and some of the original tile color shows through the base paint. 

If there are any irregularities or imperfections in the tile, enhance them!  In my case, I had some black stains on some of the tiles.  I made sure to let some of this discoloration show through the base color – less painting to do later, and it resulted in a natural appearance I could not duplicate!  Here's an example:

IMPORTANT: Do not remove the tape on the grout yet!

CONTRASTING PAINT 

Use craft paints to embellish the tiles to look like natural stone. Select colors that coordinate with the fireplace surround.  I used Folk Art acrylic paints in the following colors: 

•   Metallic Sequin Black (661) 
•   Metallic Champagne (675) 
•   VanDyke Brown (504) 
•   Parchment (450) 

You want to make each “stone” tile unique.  It helps to think of each tile as an individual little painting.  

There are several methods you can use to achieve an organic, natural look.

Streaking:  Using a thin artists brush, paint a thin line of contrasting paint onto a tile.  Working quickly, drag a dry brush through the paint, always moving in one direction, to streak the wet paint across the lighter base paint.

Stippling: Crumpled up a paper towel.  Gently dip a small section of the crumpled towel into contrasting paint.  Gently dab the paint onto the base paint.

Dabbing: Using an inexpensive craft brush, gently dip a few of the tips into the contrasting paint.  Gently dab the tips of the bristles into the tile to make create specks. 

When you've completed a few tiles, step back and look at your work from a distance.  This will help you see areas where you may have ‘repeated’ patterns, or where patterns in two adjoining tiles don’t mesh well. 

The great part of this project is – if you mess up, you can always paint over it!  Don’t be afraid to ‘tone down’ areas that have gotten too dark by dabbing on more of the base paint.

When all the paint has dried, remove the tape.  Step back and admire your work!

Fireplace Mantel Remodel

My fireplace is the focal point of my living room.  Since it's a small room, it's also pretty much the only point of interest in the room.  But, I wasn't happy with the way the fireplace surround looked.  And, I've always wanted a mantel!  Something needed to be done...

The finished remodel is below.  I used about $100 of materials from Home Depot, and needed to borrow some power tools (a router and air trim gun).  I'm really proud of how it turned out!  Since I've not had any experience with woodworking, I got to play with some new tools and learn some new skills.

I'll walk you through the process of how I made the changes.

AFTER

Materials (all from Home Depot):
2   Mission Style Corbels (4-3/4 in. x 9-1/2 in. x 5-3/4 in)
1   1" x 8" x 6' pine board
1   1.2" x 6" x 6' pine board
1   2" x 2" x 4' pine
3/4" cove molding
1/2" molding
1 tube white caulking
White spray paint (Rustoleum High Heat)
White gloss paint

The project started when I spray painted the red brick on the fireplace surround.  That step alone mad a big difference in improving the appearance!  TIP: do the spray painting when the weather is nice, so you can open doors and windows to ventilate paint fumes.  

The initial mantel concept is below: the corbels were supposed to hold the mantel shelf in place.  But, the whole thing looked pretty skimpy and needed to be beefed up a bit.  I was also worried about the structural integrity of the shelf.  I didn't want it to sag over time.  TIP: prime all wood parts prior to installation.

I cut out a piece of the original moulding around the fireplace so that the corbels would look like they were part of the original installation.  If I had just installed them without cutting into the moulding, the corbels would have looked like they were balanced on top.

Beefing up the shelf:
I routered the bottom edges of both shelf boards.  I layered the boards with the thicker, narrower one on the bottom, and the thinner, wider one on top.

Making the supports:

The support under the shelf is both functional and decorative.  It's made of three different pieces of wood.  The top piece is 2" x 2" pine, where I routnered the bottom edge to match the edges routered into the shelf.  I found a piece of cove moulding that matched the profile of the curve on the corbel.  I installed a pieced of the cove moulding below the 2x2,  A piece of 3/4" trim below the cove moulding finished off the piece.  I mitered the outside edges of all pieces to angle towards a central point on the fireplace.

I finished the trim work by adding 3/4" moulding around the original moulding.  This step helped integrate teh whole piece into a single, cohesive unit.  I painted the wall between the shelf and the original moulding, and between the 3/4" moulding and the original moulding.

I finished the project by caulking all gaps and putting on a couple coats of paint.  Beautiful!