Another Small Home Improvement - Our Fireplace Hearth

I built and put in this fireplace hearth well over ten years ago, I really can't remember how long exactly, maybe fifteen.  It was primarily built out of scraps I scrounged up, because back in the day I was poor.  In fact, the tiles were scrounged up from a scrap pile where my mom used to work and the wood I used came from the garbage pile on a couple job sites where my dad was doing some work.  The grout and adhesive were leftover from our floors.  The only thing I bought was a couple pieces of trim and a 2" X 3" to finish it off.  I'm pretty sure the initial paint job was leftover wall paint.  Not a bad looking hearth for being pretty much made out of garbage.

I'm sure my kitty is wondering what on earth is she doing now?

I've touched up the paint once or twice, but it was a long time ago.  It was showing some signs of wear and tear and was ready for a facelift.  Lots of nicks and chips, plus down at the bottom the front trim was worn to the wood from years and years of a little girl standing on it.  She promises she is done doing that now. Ha, ha, ha.

 

I had just enough paint leftover from the living room to get the job done

To begin this project I took the electric fireplace unit out of it and even though I'd recently spring cleaned it I went ahead and cleaned it again.  Amazing what accumulates in such a short time.  Then I moved it into the dining room and set it on a couple of wood scraps to get it up off the ground.  Once it was all cleaned up I taped off the tiles and it was ready for a fresh coat of paint.

Little bit worn down from years of a little girl standing on it 😃

Not a big deal at all and it didn't take very long to give this piece a fresh coat.  In fact, I gave it two using the Pure White by Behr that was leftover from painting the ceiling and trim in our dining room and living room.  I had about a cup of paint left and it was just enough too to get the job done.

All freshened up and ready to go I let it sit for twenty four hours and then reinstalled it back into its place in our living room.  A couple more days and I was able to put my great grandmother's kerosene lamps along with my grandma's candy dish back on the mantle.  Roger the rooster too!

Having our hearth and it's little woodstove back in place really finished off our living room perfectly.  I have fond memories of collecting all of the pieces and building this project many, many years ago.  Now with it all spruced up once again I find I am still very happy with it

I think it looks pretty darn good

This particular project ended up being extemely low cost as all I needed was an 89¢ sponge brush to get the job done.  I liked that!

Now, onto the next project!