Home is where the hearth is

At last, our long-term fireplace remodel project is wrapped up! This was the one feature of the house that Meh really wanted to replace when we bought it; the previous owners (or perhaps two or three owners ago?) had turned their fireplace into some kind of altar/shrine thing (see below), complete with pipe organ-looking tile and a giant but only mildly effective wood-burning stove.

Various other projects (many invisible - crawl space, insulation, etc.) had distracted us, but finally Meh put her foot down and we got things rolling back in, um, Feburary. Unfortunately, when they went to install the new gas fireplace insert, the company that makes the inserts had gone bankrupt, and the model we'd planned on using was nowhere to be found. A futile search ensued (since other models were more expensive), but we finally switched models to one that was nice-looking but not bank-breaking, which thankfully didn't require the fireplace to be re-reframed first. Then the fabrication of the hearth and sides, then the mantel, and finally repainting.



The construction crew wrapped up the final paint touchups on Tuesday morning, and we enjoyed a cozy fire that night that warmed up the entire downstairs. Zachary isn't quite sure what to make of it; Meh says he'll hover just beyond the hearth and smile at the insert before running off in the other direction.