One thing that totally attracted me to our new house was the 18 ft ceilings in the great room. I immediately ran out and purchased a globe chandelier to accentuate the space (and then when we moved in I realized how costly and complicated it would be to hang it - see post here). Once we got the chandelier hung I realized I need to do a fireplace cabinet makeover. It wasn't awful but it needed to be taken out of the 90's.

First, I removed the tile from the fireplace surround. While I love mosiac design tiles with fun motifs in the bathroom (per the Style at Home trends round-up) this one just wasn't cutting it. Removing it took way less time than I expected (just be sure to wear safety goggles and put something down to protect your floor).




I decided to go with slate tile because it has a bit more of a modern feel. I hired a professional to install it and watched him carefully so I can give it a go next time (PS - that little guy isn't the professional).


Next, I tackled the enormously deep shelves (these were built in the 90's to hold those televisions with huge backs). I brainstormed the best renovation solution that would save me the most square footage, everything from hinged shelves to slicing the entire unit. Most options proved too costly and complicated so I decided to create a new wall and attached shelves to it.


I got some 2x4's, some MDF and some floating shelves (which the hardware store cut down to size for me). I screwed the 2x4's into the wall perpendicular to where I wanted the new wall to start, then I attached the floating shelves to the MDF and screwed the everything into the 2x4's (sounds like a lot more work that it was). I did this for both the upper and lower cabinet. Also, I finished it by adding trim around the inside of the new wall.






Finally, the last step I took in my fireplace cabinet renovation was to get rid of the 80's mirror wall. I planned to replace it with a log wall.  Rather than breaking the mirror I decided to paint it black (let's be honest, I was too superstitious to break it). I used this great PARA Ultra paint in black (it's so cool, it goes on grey and dries black and only required one coat).




Next I picked up some birch logs from a local farmer and cut them down to fit the depth of the shelf. I filled the entire unit with these logs and glued them to eachother and the wall as I went. I love how this turned out and I can't wait to share it with you.



One last thing, I added some wooden ornaments to the fireplace to add some interest.


Tune in tomorrow for the fireplace cabinet makeover reveal.