fireplace reveal

When we bought this house almost 5 years ago, we decided it had about 90% of our must haves in a house and so we bought it.  We have not been disappointed.  We love this house and the neighborhood.  This fall we got one of those must haves installed and we are loving it.

My husband loves a wood burning fireplace.  Our house had a gas fireplace, which we never used.  It was pretty but not really our tastes and it was expensive to use.  We have a two story family room and the previous owners had a full chimney installed.  So we were able to have our gas fireplace replaced by a new wood burning stove insert. 

I really never did figure out how to decorate that mantle either.  I had pictures of the kids leaning up there and some wooden candle sticks but it was always lacking something.  Some sort of height was needed but it was always on my list of things to get to.

So we went from this,

To this,

We went with a layered stone, blue stone raised hearth and a barn wood mantle stained in light cherry.  And we love it!  It is amazing how much it changes the look of our living room.  The unit we got installed heats like a furnace so we haven't really had to use our heat yet this year.  I do run it in the mornings to take the chill off when the kids are getting up and ready for school but not during the day.  We are of course using a lot of wood.

Here is another view with more of our family room showing.  I just love how it adds texture and interest to that wall.  I still need help with mantle decorating.  Right now it is decked out for Christmas.  So we have decided to live with it for a while until inspiration hits me.  I'm trolling pintrest and design magazines for inspirations right now.

We are so happy with our decision to redo our fireplace.  I know a lot of people love a gas fireplace for the ease of it, but I guess we are just real wood fire kind of people. 

What would you do with our mantle?  What is your go to source for decorating tips or inspiration?

Oh and I guess, you've noticed my blog facelift.  I decided I needed a change and had the pleasure of working with Amanda at Royal Daughter Designs.  She was so sweet and easy to work with.  I love the new look she gave my blog.  If you are thinking of updating your blog, I recommend you check out Amanda's work, she does a really great job!