Covering A Fireplace Alongside Stone Veneer

When Erin and her husband Ben sent their before and after pictures our way we could not wait to share the eye candy. Here is their letter:

I read your journal every day and enjoy your style, your thriftiness, and your wit! My husband and I have lived in a 1925 Arts & Crafts bungalow for nearly two years, and have been making it our own one room at a time. After three and a half long months of our whole first floor in total disarray, we have at last wrapped up our family room project, and I hoped to share some before and after photos. We are truly proud of our handiwork, and are thrilled to at last relax in our new space – we are taking a bit of a break before our next big project! It was long and hard but we managed to remove the old built-ins and build new ones, strip all of the original oak woodwork, and tile the whole fireplace with ledgestone veneer over the course of about 70-80 hours (we lost count after a while). Thanks so much for letting us show it off! Sincerely, Erin & Ben

Here is the room before their makeover magic:

And here it is now in all its vivid after glory:

And for all you Curious Georges (or Georginas) out there, here is a source list– fireplace ledgestone veneer: Dutch Quality Natural Blend Ledgestone from a local dealer, paint: Valspar Martha Stewart Signature Barn Door Red & Valspar Churchill Hotel Wheat, new blinds: Levolar Real Wood Blinds from Lowe’s, floral curtains: Pier 1, leaning media center: Crate & Barrel, overhead lighting: Two-Tier Round Chandelier from Restoration Hardware, bookshelf lighting: IKEA, sofa: Crate & Barrel, chairs: IKEA, coffee table: Crate & Barrel, red side table: Target, rug: carpet remnant from local warehouse sale, pillows: all from Crate & Barrel.

Is that not a seriously remarkable transoformation? And the fact that they did most of it with their own two hands (especially that breathtaking stone fireplace) is seriously inspiring. Thanks so much for sending the unbelievable before and after pictures our way Erin and Ben! We hope you find some time to relax in that lovely new room… before you move on to making over the next one.