For Christmas, my husband bought me a lovely electric fireplace. It has an open space to hold our dvd player and game system, and a cabinet on each side of the fireplace, to hold dvds.
As soon as I opened the box, my husband said, “You can paint it if you want.” There’s nothing wrong with how it looks, and it’s lovely, but the new wood finish looks a bit out of place in our living room, and knows me well enough to know how I’d feel about that. Obviously, the wood doesn’t look rustic, and it’s a bit too glossy and dark for my taste. I wanted to be very certain before I painted it though, because I didn’t want to ruin a nice piece, so I decided to just live with it for awhile before deciding whether to paint it or not.
It’s been aver 2 months, and while I’ve gotten used to how it looks in the room, it still looks out of place in our space to me.
So I’m curious, what would you do?
Would you paint a perfectly nice piece, just because it isn’t really your style of finish, or would you leave it as is, rather than risk ruining it?
On another note, progress is slowly coming along in our bedroom, but now that our son’s basketball season is coming to a close, I’m hoping progress will speed up.
My husband removed wood underlayment and linoleum that was covering the original wood plank floor. It’s the same kind of plank floor we found in our kitchen when we remodeled. The bedroom plank floor wasn’t in as good of condition as the kitchen was though, so he filled in the gaps and chunks of missing wood, and has almost finished painting it.
He’s also started on the ceiling. He tore out all of the ceiling tiles, which appeared to have been something like styrofoam. He also removed all of the old insulation.
We’ll be putting new insulation in, and installing some kind of plank ceiling, leaving the support beams visible. About half of the plank walls are done, although some of it still needs to be painted. Once the ceiling and floor are finished, things should really pick up pace, because those are the most labor intensive part of the remodel.
We also plan to install a door in one wall, which will go out to a porch, and I’m hoping we can install a larger window on one wall as well. This will be the last major room to be remodeled in our house, which I am SO happy about. We’ve been working on one room or another for over 3 years, and it gets a little tiresome, but it’s been worth it.
We’ll still have other projects to finish up, like replacing the paneling and doing something with the cracked concrete floor in our entryway (not sure what yet), but the end is at least in sight.
It was a bit windy here today, but the temperature was in the high 70’s, and it was a beautiful day. This evening, I noticed the cows in the field outside my front door were out grazing on leftover corn stalks.
The sun was already low in the sky, but I love taking photos of them. I’m determined to one day get the perfect photo of them!
I always wish that red barn was just a bit closer to my house, so I could get a great photo of it as well.
By the way, I’ve listed my Rustic Framed Chalkboard in my shop, since I can make another one for my kitchen. It’s available HERE.
Definately make it your own style…you probably have a good idea of what u want since u are so creative. You could even change out the drawer pulls if you wanted to go a step farther. The story of how it came to be will have more meaning and every time you walk by it you will smile
I say go for the paint….not really all that good looking as is …and the drawer knobs are generic…so do your magic….make it your own.
I think you should make the fireplace to suit you and your space. It’s very beautiful, but honestly, it doesn’t say “Angie” to me. I’m sure you’ll do a wonderful job turning it into a lovely antique piece with your talent. I can see this as two-tone with some of the wood (like your desk) and maybe different hardware. There is no way YOU would ruin it. It’s not what you do. 🙂
If you don’t love it, paint it. I know it would turn out great. Can’t wait to see your bedroom all finished!
Wow…that’s a tough one….to paint or not to paint….that IS a question…. It is a GORGEOUS piece but then, I love that style myself. If it really does not fit YOUR taste in decor, paint it….perhaps only paint portions of it…inside the drawer fronts or some of the trim….. Those columns are so pretty, to me….it would be a shame to paint them or the top surfaces but….perhaps just a little paint…..
Renee
Treasures by Renee
wow that is a tough dilemma. It’s a really nice piece as it is but if it truly doesn’t go with the look of the rest of the room/house then I think you should paint it. You have mad skills so it will come out looking great I’m quite sure.
David
I just recently found your blog and love it! The fireplace is beautiful. I believe that most of them are not made from real wood but particle board with bits of real wood in some places. Maybe that will help you make your decision. Your talent will make it look even better that it does now. What a wonderful hubby!!!
Hard spot! But if it is not your style, paint it. Life is short. I like it and would love to have something like that in my kitchen eating area. Little farm houses!
You asked what *I* would do with the fireplace? Well, if it were me, I’d leave it as is, but then, I am a huge chicken who is afraid of her own shadow! You, on the other hand, should make it your own because you are brave like that! 🙂 I think this piece is beckoning to you to tackle it and I know you will heed its call! It sure sounds like progress in your bedroom is coming along…I’ll bet the result will be breathtaking…I can’t wait to see it! I can’t leave without telling you how much I enjoyed looking at your photos…both would suit a pretty rustic frame…I’d be proud to hang them on my wall!
The fireplace is a pretty piece but, i think you can make it look awesome, Angie. What you have done so far is great,so just go for it.
It’s an awesome piece as is but I would paint it to make it your own personal design, you do such awesome work. Please let us know what you decide, I cant wait to see what you do with this piece if you do decide to paint it!
Whew, Angie. You’ve got a lot going on around there. The fireplace is nice … maybe live with it just a little longer till you’re sure what you want to do with it.
Your cows have cousins across the road from our place … who wanted to say hello … MOO ??
I did mine last year and love it! Go for it!
I think it is beautiful as it is, and I would leave it as is. But that’s just me, I would be scared I would mess up the lovely piece that it is. But for you I would say go for it, If it doesn’t fit your style then make it your own. I’m sure it will be just as lovely if not more so.
If this piece does not suit your family’s taste and decor, then by all means, PAINT IT! You are perfectly capable of doing a beautiful job! Maybe a nice distressed white or cream. Possibly with chalk paint of some sort. You can do it! Good luck! By the way, what a nice and considerate husband!!!!
We brought in a beautiful electric fireplace from our porch and put it in our living room, fully intending to paint it. But when we got it in the room, the wood worked really well with what we had. But if it hadn’t, I would have painted it, or done whatever I needed to do to it. It’s not a valuable antique, and you can make it any style you want!
Angie, your fireplace piece is very nice, but since I don’t know what the rest of your living room looks like, I can’t tell how it does or doesn’t fit in. I think if you don’t feel it looks right and since your husband is okay with you painting his gift, go ahead–do it! I think you will do a great job and every time you look at it you will feel happy to have it. Right now I think it kind of niggles at you, saying “make me fit”. I am very reluctant to paint nicely finished wood, but I’m learning to be a bit more adventurous and I can’t wait to see this fireplace after you work your magic!
Naomi, one of these days I’ll get around to photographing my entire living room, and sharing it!
P.S. I wanted to tell you, as a photographer myself, that to get great photos of black animals against a lighter background you have to over-expose a bit. So if your camera has a manual setting, just slow the shutter speed or open the aperture. When doing this you will have a sharper image if you use a tripod. The background may appear a bit washed-out, but you will get more detail in the animals and be able to see their eyes. Hope this helps you get that “perfect” shot.
Thanks so much for the tip, Naomi!!
I giggled when I read about your fireplace because I had a very similar experience/dilemma 🙂 Ours was a pretty pine wood fireplace…but it just looked out of place in our room. I submitted my story about it to a friend’s blog. http://www.restylinghomebykellyblog.com/connies-mantel-transformation/#comments.
I’d say paint it if it suits your decor and your own personal style. I knew when we got ours I wanted to paint it….but it took me a couple years to get around to it 😉 (Maybe by now you’ve painted yours too.)
Get out the paint girl! This is beautiful piece, however I am having the same dilemma with my electric fireplace..to paint or not to paint. The wood stands out too much in my livingroom since almost all furniture is painted with white chalk paint. So I have been thinking of doing the same thing but I have been too chicken to attempt it. However I have decided that it is now or never since it is at the end of the season to need it, so if I mess it up I have time to replace it for next year. I really like yours having the shelf for the media center! I am looking forward to pictures of the new painted fireplace! 🙂