As January threatens to bring us the harshest winter we've seen in decades, a cozy fire is going to feel better than ever. The final piece of our living room renovation was to build a hearth for our fireplace. A hearth, simply put, is just a place to contain a fire, and yet the hearth was so commonly a gathering place for warmth, comfort, and fellowship in the household that it has become synonymous with the warm fuzzy feelings we get when we think of home. This little history lesson is just to set the stage for the pressure we're under to build a lovely and inviting hearth around our fireplace as we complete this room.
Before we begin get into the most recent updates, let's look at how this space began. (You can see the full post with better photos by clicking here.) When we moved in this space was functional and...ugly. We tried to make it nicer by painting the walls and adding a mantle. Finally fed up with waiting for our forever home, I started this entire renovation journey by just sprucing up the fireplace with a coat of paint over those ugly bricks, a few knick-knacks for the mantle, a fireplace screen, and a new mirror.
Then we got rolling on a major renovation and decided that the fireplace needed to relocate to a central spot in the house. Just a reminder, this is how the fireplace looked when we paused indoor work last springtime:
The original mirror was donated to a Habitat for Humanity Re-Store. The White mirror is now hanging in my daughter's home and looks lovely, and the mirror now hanging there is a beautiful antique that I inherited last spring.
If you recall from the living room post that I did earlier this year, we had the hearth frame built and laid cement board over it for later use as it was time to actually use the fireplace for the winter. With the arrival of spring 2026, we needed to get to work outdoors and the hearth got put on the back burner.
Since summer has passed and we are now into autumn, the rainy days have begun and that gives us the opportunity to turn out attention back to indoor projects. Also, since it's now autumn, we knew we would need to use the fireplace again soon. The cement board was cut to fit the space and then bricks were laid in to determine placing. Turns out we didn't have enough bricks to cover the entire space and going out to buy more would have eaten the day, so we supplemented with leftover tiles used around the library hearth.
I was tasked with grouting since the day turned nice and Mr. Bleu had to get back outside to work on siding. It was my first time to do anything like this and, well, it is what it is. I have to redecorate the mantle for the winter each year. This tiny little stove burns so hot that my lovely candles will melt into the mantle being that close to the fire.
The last step here is to finish the trim and paint.
And, now...Finally done! From where we began to the present, I think it's safe to say we've turned this ugly duckling into an imperfect, but still lovely, swan. Beyond that, I think we've managed to make a very inviting space that elevates the senses as it warms the body. The heart of our home, the hearth, is now complete.
