Home Improvements

I’m very excited that our fireplace that has been in operation for over a year is now getting a front to it!  There has been so much debate as to how it ought to be done.  I was beginning to wonder if it would ever get done.  For the record, when stubbornness from both Knut and I faced each other, my husband won.  I always thought that when I got married I would be the stubborn one in the relationship.  Boy was I wrong.  Knut wanted to use field stone from our fields.  He asked what I wanted.  We both looked at a million pictures and took samples of facings home, and I liked brick the best.  Not a hard red new brick, but like an old Chicago brick: something that had a re-purposed feel to it.  Since Knut really wanted stone, I said I’d be willing to compromise, and maybe pick a castle stone, or some otherwise square, clean lined cut stone facing. 

We talked and talked about it.  Knut finally decided to go with field stone…without my ok.  I didn’t fight him on it for a few reasons.  I was maybe 20% for the idea for the simple reason that I love authentic renovations.  Field stone is what I believe the original owners of the house would have used a hundred years ago.  Knut tried to make me feel better, saying we wouldn’t have to buy the brick/stone facing.  We could just gather it from our rock piles on the edges of the fields for free.  I reasoned the facing was by far the cheapest cost of the fireplace, so it wasn’t much to argue over.  However, little did he mention that picking rock from our fields would mean that we would have to buy extensions for the fireplace fan, etc, to go around the thick rocks, since it wouldn’t be thin plates that normally go around fireplaces.   So the extensions cost more than the brick plates would have.  Hear me laughing.

The other element to the equation is Knut normally has better taste than I do on these things 9 times out of 10, and I normally kick myself at things he does, wishing I would have thought of it first.  However, I normally can see the big picture of whole rooms better than him, and he normally finds great pieces of rooms. 

I had to take into consideration that this fireplace is his baby. How it looks matters way more to him than me, even though I spend more time at home than he does.  He convinced me that he can envision exactly how it will look, and assures me I will love it.  I do trust him, but get nervous when he asks my opinion mid project.  Should it go like this, or this?  I have no idea what you’re trying to make it look like.  I have no vision in my head I’m trying to match it to anymore, because I just can’t seem to envision how it will look with field stone.

It helps to understand as it progresses.  Since the bottom of it is pretty much done now, I’ll have to admit, there’s a huge smile on my face.  Now we just need the actual facing done (so there will be stone basically everywhere it is black), the mantel, and the porch pillars that may make it to the scene as well.  Not because it is exactly as I had hoped or better.  I still can’t tell how I’ll like the finished product.  I’m smiling because there’s something about it I love: it’s looking finished (let’s face it…anything is better than the industrial black thing in our living room forever), and my husband is building it for me with his own two hands.

Pardon the tags and disheveled pillows.  It’s a busy day.  I know a red couch may not be the most sensible.  I’m so sick of beige everything.  Knut and I had a chuckle when we went to the first furniture store and met an old salesman at the door.  He asked what we were looking for.  We said a couch.  He asked if we had a color in mind.  Yes, we wanted red.  “Don’t have ’em.  Sorry.”
“Well, could you order one?”  I asked.
“Sure, but you’d have to wait a month to get it.”
Knut laughed and said “We’ve been saving a few years, I’m sure another month wouldn’t kill us.  We also need one that will fit in the small doorways of our house.”
“In that case,” said the salesman.  “You’ll want a couch that reclines.  The backs are removable on those.”
“You know, we don’t really want a couch that reclines.  This is our more formal room, and maybe someday in the basement we’ll get one of those.  This room we want something comfortable, but polished.  Clean lines, a more tailored look.”
“No, you want one that reclines.”  said the salesman.  “They’re very comfortable, and no one has anything formal looking anymore.”
“Well, not old formal, but polished formal” I clarified. 
“Let me show you what you want.” said the salesman.  He took us over to an over-sized reclining couch with pillows up the back like it was covered with marshmallows, and roughly the color of puke.  Not exactly the trim, tailored, red couch we had described to him. “This will hide any stain those kids could throw at it.”

“Yeah, I bet.” I said, as Knut covered his laugh.  Both of us could envision all 4 of the kids fitting on there, sick with grossness coming out both ends of their bodies, and not being able to tell at all.  Surely a high compliment for any couch.

Every time we asked him about another sofa we saw in the showroom, he kept telling us how it wasn’t for us, and how we’d hate it and really wish we had bought the puke sofa.  It reminded me of the book “Pride and Prejudice.”  The puke couch would be Mr. Collins, and the couch we were holding out for would be Mr. Darcy.  Almost makes me wonder if the salesmen had a bet about who could sell the puke sofa first.

Needless to say, we did not buy our sofa there.

Maybe it will fade. Maybe it will stain.  Maybe we’re stupid, but I just love my new couch.  I like the color beige but not everywhere.  I’m so done decorating in beige and white.  Knut and I both long for some refreshing color.  You could say that we’re both very excited how this turned out.  I think our new theme isn’t decorating with something “safe”, but decorating our house with things we genuinely like.  Of course, if we decide after a few years that our choice was not wise, I’m we can go back to the store with our heads down and shame and get the puke marshmallow sofa.

When the fireplace is done, and the furniture is actually back in place, I’ll have to post pictures of the finished room!