My Little Corner of the Net

Saturday, March 10, 2012

Fireplace Fun

I purchased a vintage fireplace on eBay this week.  It looked like it was made out of wood in the picture, but when it arrived, it was plaster - and broken in a few places.  I was able to glue some of the chips off and fill in the gaps with some paperclay.


I have some pieces of white marble tile left over from my real-life fireplace project in my living room, and it looks like it will make the perfect hearth.

I was considering putting the new classic fireplace in the Crescent Moon Cottage in place of this one in the living room.  This is the house where I keep my Tynietoys.  What do you think?  It may be a little too formal - not sure...  Crescent Moon Cottage link


Here are some pictures of my real life fireplace project in the living room.

Before

During

I painted the old fireplace white, and covered the brick areas with blue/aqua glass tile.  I replaced the beige 1980's tile with some marble subway tiles on the floor.


After 




Meanwhile, I have had a disaster at the cozy cabin fireplace that I have been avoiding. The air-dry clay that I used shrank to nearly half its size.  The arch collapsed and the there are now gaping holes on the sides.  My plan "B" is to salvage what I can and try a different brand of clay.  I will keep you posted.

6 comments:

  1. Troy,
    I think that the fireplace will look good in the Crescent Moon Cottage (I love the cottage).

    I love your real fireplace makeover-- boy, you are handy--wow!

    That air-dry clay disaster is spooky. I have only used one brand (Paperclay) for a small project and it worked OK. Keep us posted on this fireplace project.

    Cheers,
    Iris

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  2. I like your little fireplace, but the REAL one is amazing! Love your chairs and mosaic table too! :D

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    1. Thanks Kathi, there is a story behind the tile mosiac table. When my wife and I first got married we had virtually no money for furniture. We had shopped around for a coffee table and they all seemed so expensive and boring. I decided that I could probably design and build one for less money! Needless to say, I did design one, and built it, and spent nearly 3 times as much money and countless hours working on it. We have been dragging it around for nearly 18 years now.

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  3. Oh, Troy! Sorry about your cabin fireplace! It was so cool, too. Your new ebay fireplace is a beaut --I seem to have the same problem with mail-order miniatures arriving in shall we say less than pristine condition...I'm getting really good at making repairs! I think it would be splendid in your cottage.

    Your RL fireplace (Andy thought 'RL' meant 'Ralph Lauren' lol!) Anyway, it's gorgeous and makes me want to update my own.

    Happy Sunday!
    John

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    Replies
    1. A Ralph Lauren fireplace sounds pretty nice! Good luck with your fireplace and thanks for the compliment John!

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  4. Hello Troy,
    I think the fireplace would look very nice in the cottage.
    Have you considered using Sculpy or other oven bake clays for the firaplce. I've had good results with no shrinking.
    I LOVE your rl firepalce. The title is just the perfect touch!
    WEll done Troy.
    Allt he best,
    Giac

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