Make Your Dusty Old Fireplace Look Modern and New

Fireplaces are intended to be the centerpiece of a home's living space. Unfortunately, when that centerpiece looks outdated and dingy, the entire room and even entire house can suffer. Here are five easy ways to make your dusty old fireplace look modern and new again.

Do a Basic Cleaning

Sometimes all your fireplace needs is a good clean. Soot from log-burning fireplaces is an obvious problem. Clean the firebox of old wood, charcoal, and ash as thoroughly as possible. Wash both sides of the glass door. Finally, vacuum, dust, and wet-wash all exterior surfaces using cleaners designated for wood-burning fireplaces.

"Clean burning" gas and propane leave behind an invisible layer of film that can attract dirt. A thorough wiping with soapy water around the mantle, face, and door will work wonders for your fireplace's appearance.

Deep-Clean the Masonry

If your fireplace's masonry needs a deeper clean, a "paint and peel" masonry cleaner may be in order. You simply brush the cleaner on the brick or tile and let it dry, then peel it off, removing embedded dirt, dust, and soot with it. This is a great way to clean out the natural divots and pits that give masonry its beautiful earthy coziness.

Replace Old Logs

Artificial logs lose their luster over time. The average lifespan of artificial logs is 3-5 years of regular use. Revive your logs by replacing them with vent free gas logs, which come in natural gas or liquid propane versions. You can also find them in a variety of different arrangements and wood styles to best fit your decor.

Update Your Mantle

The mantle of a fireplace can either enhance or diminish the appeal of what lies underneath. By updating your mantle with paint, fresh stain, or an entirely new mantle altogether, you can dramatically improve the modern feel of your old fireplace with minimal cost.

Refinish the Face

Last but not least, consider refinishing the face of your fireplace. Your fireplace face doesn't need to be completely demolished and replaced to modernize it. Simply whitewashing an old brick fireplace face can immediately brighten your room. Or go a step further and install a wood, tile, or stone veneer hearth over an existing face.

These are all easy and fairly inexpensive ways to make your dusty old fireplace look modern and new. Doing one or all of these will revive your living space and provide a sense of overall energy throughout your entire home.

Let the Fun Begin: Tips for Setting up a Craft Room

From scrapbookers to needleworkers, everyone’s craft room will be different, but they all have a few shared needs. When setting up a craft room, the basics include a table or workspace and various places to organize and store supplies. It’s time to create the crafting room of your dreams.

Make the Room Yours

Congratulations on claiming a room just for crafting! Now it is time to put your signature on it. You want your craft room to be comfortable, so set it up in a way that brings out your creativity. It also needs to function well. Choose a color for the walls that inspires you and makes you want to spend time there. A craft room is an opportunity to use colors you may not use in other areas of the home. If the room has carpet, you may want to remove it and choose vinyl flooring for easy clean-up from glues and paints. Throw down a rug that goes well in the space for some added warmth.

Table and Chair

Add a sturdy table where you’ll work on your crafts and a chair that is comfortable enough to sit in for long periods. After all, now that you have a craft room, you won’t want to leave. Be sure the table can take a few stains or scratches—this is not the place for your grandma’s antique heirlooms. Foldable six-foot tables work well.

Shelving

In a room full of crafting supplies, you really cannot have too much shelving. Stick shelves anywhere you can—walls, corners, hanging, and bookshelves. Variations in width and depth are great. Next, fill them up with all your wonderful goodies.

Containers

Just like shelving, gather as many containers as you can, preferably in a variety of shapes and sizes. Jars, baskets, and boxes all work well for many types of craft supplies. Fill them up, and then fill the shelves with containers. Setting up a craft room is so much fun because the result is a room created to create. Enjoy!

DIY Home Improvement Ideas for Beginners

We partnered with a home improvement company for this post. The opinions in the post are honest. All reviews and opinions expressed in this post are based on our personal views. We are excited because we know you will love it.

The more a home is lived in, the more likely it is that it needs a makeover. We get used to having a home just how we first set it up. However, shuffling furniture and reimagining a space is an amazing way to give a home a new burst of vitality. Makeovers are expensive, though, so many people split the difference with DIY projects. For anyone new to this, worry not. There are many DIY home improvement ideas for beginners that help build skills and are also affordable and fast.

Practical Home Management

Home maintenance goes beyond decor and repairs; it includes practical tasks that keep everything running smoothly. For example, someone looking to replicate a key can ensure that all family members have easy access to the home. This small but important task enhances convenience and security, making it an essential part of home management.

Swap Out Fixtures and Hardware

There are places in every house that are touched and handled more than we realize, particularly light switch plates, doorknobs, handles, railings, and similar assistive fixtures. After a few years of constant use, hardware starts to show its age. Alloys especially become stained and worn by the oils and acids on the many hands that interact with them daily. Replacing these items is very simple and typically doesn’t require much besides a basic electric drill.

Refresh the Look With Paint

Aside from replacing stained and aged hardware, giving old furnishings new life is a worthwhile project. Look at the shelves and storage spaces around your home. These features are easy to remove, replace, or restore as desired. Wooden shelves especially are an ideal project for beginners, as this material is very forgiving. Wood can be painted, sanded, beveled, stained, and so on—all useful skills for a burgeoning DIY pro.

Furniture upgrades are enjoyable DIY projects too. In addition to reupholstering chairs and couches, most furniture will readily take a coat of paint. Explore refreshing your household items and revitalize them with colors and textures of paint.

Reimagine Décor With Adhesives

Gone are the days when the only options for home improvement required precision and years of experience. Nowadays, homeowners divide DIY home improvement projects from the costly and permanent investment of a full remodel. Vinyl has made flooring, tiling, and redecorating a cinch, letting people release their creative side without the huge time and money sink.

Some easy and affordable DIY improvement ideas for beginners to make everyday life cozier are scented drawer liners. Adding them to a dresser, cabinet, or shelves that see frequent use brightens up a space. They’re easy to install and are designed to help protect furniture. As mentioned, flooring is also available in inexpensive vinyl tiles. Simply peel the back and arrange. They are an ideal way to reimagine a space or build a design into an existing floor.

Guest Post - Bringing the Outside in with the Help of a Landscape Gardener

It's easy to make your home more comfortable and relaxing. You simply connect it to nature by bringing the outside to the inside. Plants and natural materials instantly create a calm, serene atmosphere. Their effect can be remarkably therapeutic and can help alleviate stress. They'll also make your home look cozy and welcoming.

Spring Color

It's exciting to plan upgrades for your house as the winter months fade away. Spring is the perfect season to choose a new color scheme for your rooms. To provide a soothing backdrop for your plants, you should choose natural, earthy colors. Take your inspiration from the plants and views outside your windows. If there are nearby bushes with dark, evergreen foliage, choose a color to complement them. A pale gray-green or pastel yellow ochre could be ideal. Light blue can make your room connect with the sky outside. Remember that pale colors make a room look larger while dark tones make it appear smaller.

Indoor Jungle

You'll need to use plants that are suitable for indoor spaces. There are many evergreen varieties such as tropical palms and vines. They'll love a warm, sunny location near a window. You can add an exotic elegance with pots of flowering orchids in beautiful colors. They are relatively easy to grow and have a fragrant aroma. Amaryllis is a large, colorful plant that can create a striking focal point in a room. Jasmine with tiny white flowers is perfect for climbing around a window frame to highlight the plants outside. A landscape gardener can advise you on which plants will thrive indoors and how you should care for them.

Natural Shelves

A large plant in a heavy, clay pot is safer standing on the floor. But many smaller bushes and flowers may need to be placed on shelves. Natural materials can complement your collection of plants and give your home an environmentally-friendly appearance. Shelving made of reclaimed wood is always popular. It can often look weathered with rough edges and have intricate grain patterns. But your home doesn't have to be rustic in design to appreciate plants. If you adore industrial chic, you can install shelves or tiered racks made of metallic girders. Adding your plant collection to them should demonstrate how effectively nature can harmonize with man-made objects.

Maintenance-Free Plants

It can sometimes be difficult to care for living plants. Many of them need to be given different amounts of water. It's an easy mistake to place a potted plant in the wrong location where it may receive too much or not enough sunlight. Choosing artificial plants is a convenient alternative. There are many realistic versions that can provide the same effect of harmonizing with nature, but without the hassle. A current interior design trend is a living wall where you fill an entire panel with foliage. It's an impressive feature to have in your living room, but you need to be dedicated to maintain it properly. Maintenance-free, artificial plants are the perfect answer. They look realistic and could give your home an incredible appearance.

Seamless Harmony

It's important to make your exterior space harmonize with the inside of your home. A landscape gardener can help you create a seamless transition between the plants in your backyard and those in your rooms. Spring cleaning and maintenance for the exterior of your house is an ideal starting point. It gives you an opportunity to redesign a patio or porch to incorporate new planting schemes. Floor to ceiling doors can be opened to show similar plants both inside and outside. Hanging up potted plants on your porch and inside your home gives a coordinated look.

Floral Fabrics

Soft furnishings such as drapes and cushions are another easy care solution. Beautiful textures and designs include fabrics with prints of flowers and foliage. It's easy to connect inside and outside by using the same fabrics for covers on chairs on your porch and in your living room. Rustic kitchens look very stylish with floral accessories. Sophisticated home interiors should aim to balance patterns full of flowers with striped or textured fabrics.

Conclusion

A landscape gardener can help you bring nature into your home. You'll create a tranquil atmosphere that's restful and soothing. Painting your walls in neutral, earthy colors provides a calm backdrop for your collection of plants. Natural accessories such as wooden shelving and colorful, floral fabrics help to complete a design of harmony. Flowering plants also add a beautiful scent to the air. Genuine or artificial foliage and flowers can transform your room. It should become a peaceful haven where you'll love to relax.

Author Bio:

Ray Brosnan is the co-owner of Brosnan Property Solutions, a property maintenance company who have helped many homeowners with their landscaping and home interior needs.