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A Messy Fireplace Refresh

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YOU GUYS, I could not be more pumped to share this little makeover with you. Suuure it’s not a full room reveal or anything epic like that… BUT HELLO. This fireplace situation needed some serious TLC.

*This post is sponsored by DAP. Thank you for supporting the fabulous brands that make Reality Daydream possible! This post contains affiliate links.*

Never mind that there’s no ceiling… there’s just a LOT happening there, right? Not only is there sooooo much molding going on, there’s also 90’s wallpaper, fleshy-toned walls, and an enormous plaster picture frame that is PART OF THE WALL above the fireplace.

YES, those are plaster bows on the edges of the frame.

Don’t get me wrong, I actually LOVE a lot of what is going on here (and i’m overjoyed to actually have a fireplace now!)… but we need to make some changes, ya know? The least of which is the wallpaper coming down and priming/painting everything white. Which vastly improved the situation. Adding plants didn’t hurt either. 😉

I sat and stared at that wretched plaster frame for months, casually researching on my phone to try to figure out the best way to get that sucker off. And if you scroll back up to the above pic, you’ll see that I pried off the bows on the ends with a putty knife just to whet my whistle.

Nick was in the throes of kitchen renovation, and I knew it was on me to figure this one out. And a putty knife wasn’t going to do the trick for the rest of this mess. I played around with THIS TOOL and made some progress…

This was a tedious (and MESSY) process. But also very satisfying. Between the multi tool and a crowbar and hammer, I slowly just worked my way around the frame.

I was so relieved to finally have that thing OFF my wall, that I was pretty satisfied to just admire it in its current state for a time.

Have you ever seen a more glorious sight? 😉

All the online tutorials I was finding for patching a large area like this were for drywall. Not plaster. So I had to dig really deep.

To my surprise, my research led me to a couple of DAP products that seemed like they might work. You know I love DAP products and have used them for a multitude things in our home. So when I reached out to them with my problem, not only did they have the perfect product… they also are sponsoring this post!!!

To prepare the surface, knock down any high spots with a putty knife, and spray the whole area down with water to help with adhesion.

I mixed up some of the DAP Plaster Wall Patch according to the instructions, and cranked up the music.

You know how when you’re frosting a two-layer cake, and you really have to slather it on the sides to get frosting into that cavern between the two cakes? That’s a lot what this feels like. And the Plaster Wall Patch goes on so smooth!!

The first layer is the thickest and sloppiest. But that’s ok! My little inspector said I was doing a fine job.

Sand between coats. I highly recommend using (or renting) a drywall sander. It makes this part dare-I-say FUN, and it’s less messy because it hooks up to a shop vac to keep the dust down.

I love it when Nick bothers to snap a pic of me in action. Otherwise it’s not often that I make an appearance in my own blog posts.

LOOK HOW HAPPY MY FACE IS TO HAVE THIS PLASTER FRAME GONE!

3 coats later, and this sucker is smooooooth as a baby’s booty. Of course to your eyeball, it still looks rough because it needs to be painted.

And I had a moment where I was like… I DON’T NEEEEED TO PAINT THIS WHITE. I CAN PAINT IT WHATEVER COLOR I WANT!

So I painted it black, naturally.

I’ve been DREAMING of how this would look, complete with the big round mirror and new fireplace screen… and if you follow my Instagram Stories, you know how much hassle and drama went into making all of this complete. But it was JUST SO WORTH IT.

Wouldn’t you say it looks better without that atrocity of a plaster picture frame above the fireplace?! And it will look even better when we have a ceiling and our projector screen will be a little more incognito.

Eventually I’d like to put some pretty sconces on either side of the fireplace, but the hanging baskets with plants are a good filler for now. YOU CAN NEVER GO WRONG WITH PLANTS!

Thanks for following along on this saga!

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Comments

  1. 23

    As someone who loves historic homes, I’m a little sad to see the original go. But what you did looks fantastic and is a great blend of old and new.

    I see other people have left comments how they like the way it was before.

    And you’re right. It’s your house, it’s not a museum.

    Enjoy it!

    Reply
  2. 24

    I love that you are making your home a mix of modern and traditional. I’m one of those people who always thought that you’d have to have overstuffed, old-fashioned furniture in a home with all that fancy plaster work, but you have shown me something different. It’s really, really pretty. Just because something is old and historical doesn’t mean it’s good. Removing the fancy frosting “frame” while maintaining the rest of the beautiful molding and embellishments was a great choice. Others might make a different choice, but what matters is what you and your family want.

    Reply
  4. 26

    I’m sorry but I’m not a fan of the fireplace change. I know it’s your house but I feel you just removed an intregral part of the house’s character.

    Too bad you couldn’t have just left the frame in place and covered it with a fake wall. That would have been a lot less work for you. You could have removed the fake wall and used it as a selling point if you ever decided to sell the house.

    Reply
  5. 27

    Can’t believe what you are doing to that lovely home……..in a negative way. Preservation is a wonderful word. I can’t watch anymore so I am canceling my subscription. Please rethink some of your choices.

    Reply
    • 28

      It’s totally fine that you feel that way! Although I hope your home is exactly the way YOU want it, and not the way *I* would want it. 😉 I’m confident that we’re honoring the history of our home by leaving 99% of the decorative moulding in this room!

      Reply
  6. 29

    I disagree with those who said you should have kept the frame and the bows. It was waaaaayyyyy too much “icing.”
    I think this is a great mix of modern and still keeping some of the history of the original house. Love the black and how it coordinates with the doors. I love the fireplace screen too. Sconces will really tie everything together when you get to it.

    Reply
  7. 31

    Wow, that was quite a hard-working project! Glad you’re happy with the results 🙂
    For me, I’d have been ticked to have it in your 1/2 way pic with the frame in place and all white…maybe from there I’d do some kind of paint technique on just the frame over the fireplace to give it a little presence.

    So very much improved. Love the great big mirror…light will dance all over the room.
    -Kath

    Reply
  8. 33

    Awww it was so magical before!!! You just can’t recreate beauty like your ‘before’ picture. It’s good that you are happy with it though. I hope these companies comping you to advertise don’t cause you to completely ruin all of the homes character. RIP Gorgeous fireplace. It’s very modern now.

    Reply
    • 34

      Rest assured, this was HAPPENING with or without the brand backing us on it. There’s sooooo much ‘character’ and decorative moulding in this room that we’re embracing. Even the fireplace itself is very ornate. The picture frame was just over-the-top for us, and since it’s our house, we pulled the trigger and have NO REGRETS! The beauty of owning a home is that you can infuse your own style while still honoring the history of the house in many MANY ways. <3

      Reply
      • 35

        I like what you’ve done. You’ve added some personal flair while maintaining the antiqueyness of the home. You have a good eye, and your stuff turns out classy and fun. Yours looks like a home to be lived in. i love that!!

        Reply
  10. 37

    I actually liked it better before, without the wallpaper though, but that is just my taste. I am always amazed at the talent people have, I am impressed at the craftsmanship.

    Reply
  11. 38

    Wow did not see that coming!! The black is amazinggggg!!! Your fireplace screen was sooo worth it!!! Just stunning!

    Reply
  12. 39

    What a great transformation. I tried to imagine what you would do and it didn’t even come close to the end result.

    Reply
  14. 41

    Love it!!!!! That exact fireplace has been popping out for me ever since I watched your stories about it being misplaced. And I’m not even shopping for one!

    Reply
  17. 44

    I totally forgot that wallpaper… so fancy formal! Great product to fill the wall from the plaster frame- it’ looks like it wasn’t even there & that fireplace screen – wow!! the gold pops! & it brings out the floor brick pattern too!
    10’s all across the board!

    Reply
  18. 45

    You should do the magic light trick by nestingwithgrace for the sconces. It would take you two seconds!

    Reply

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