Thursday, February 23, 2012

Puzzles for renovators

Or how to make a stone hearth:

So this is what Ross and I spent the weekend doing, a giant stone puzzle.  We had the Cannon Fitzroy gas fire installed before last winter, which was money well spent, it seriously heats up half the house! Since then it has been sitting in it's frame, albeit with a mantelpiece, waiting for us to get around to doing the stone surround.


So end of summer we have finally got around to it!  We started by laying all the bits of stone out on the deck so we could see the size and shape of each piece easily.


Ross hard at work!  I helped by documenting (ie. I took photos!) and occasionally held the odd bit of stone in place so that he could take a step back and survey his workmanship.



Now to grout it!  So pleased with how it is looking so far though.






As for how we built the bench seat.... I did take photos at the various stages but unfortunately I can't access them at the moment as they are all stored on the back up thingy and I have no idea how to get to them and Ross is in a conference at the moment and being most unhelpful.  ie. ignoring my phone calls and text messages!



So I have included a bunch of photos of it and maybe if you have any specific questions about it Jane email me and I will get Ross to answer them for you!


For those that asked, yes there is storage underneath it!








Ross did all the hard work here, although I did paint it and organise the cushions!  My tip on the cushions... shop around!  I rang a dozen different upholsterers and the prices were varied to the extreme ranging from $400 to $1500!!!!  I went with the $400 quote and am so pleased with his work that I will be using him again.  For the fabric I used a sunbrella outdoor fabric and went for the darkest navy that they had.  Again, shop around for the fabric.  I ended up sourcing mine from a sail manufacturer who imported it and was happy to sell me a few metres.  Best thing about it I can practically hose it down when the boys have finished eating!

9 comments:

  1. Your fireplace looks wonderful. We looked at that heater a few years back when our old one died - we ended up going with a Rinnai and love ours too, especially the log fire look. Yours looks really authentic now with its stone surround.

    How great that your bench seat cushions are so hardy with little ones - our kitchen chairs are forever covered in mess!! Keep the photos of your beautiful home coming!! x

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  2. What a glorious space you're creating.
    The fireplace is the ultimate jigsaw puzzle and I can imagine you're both very proud of all your efforts.
    Thanks once again for all that you share so generously.
    xx

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  3. super job on the fireplace - it's going to look GREAT once complete. and that bench seat - LOVE!
    C xx

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  4. I love your fireplace! We would love something stone in our house (like a wall or something).

    Your table looks so perfect with the bench seat. And I'm totally jealous of your sewing machine's hiding spot.

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  5. Oh Emma! You're such a gem for sharing these photos of your bench seat. They're exactly what I want to be able to show our builder! Thanks a million. I may well take up your offer to ask Ross some questions once I've shown them to our man.

    And I imagine I'm also going to talk to you about the cushions as I had been wondering how to do that as well ☺.

    Thanks, Gorgeous! Oh, and a fab fireplace job - brilliant. J x

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  6. The fireplace looks fabulous!! It's exactly what I pictured. I would cover my house in stone if I could! Love it Emma!! xxx

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  7. I wanna be you.

    I wanna be down under.

    Hi.

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  8. I really love the feel of your home Emma, with the white and natural elements throughout, you can see the thought and effort you have gone to when decorating. xx

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