This baby was a long time in the making. I started thinking about changing out our fireplace tile almost two years ago and labored over the decision for months. Our old fireplace tile wasn’t awful – it just wasn’t my style and kinda stuck out like a sore thumb in our space. And our old mantel was a measly 5″ deep which made it hard to decorate since there wasn’t enough space to layer art or accessories. After finally deciding to say bye-bye to the old fireplace, picking out tile for the new one, designing a new mantel, and painting and styling it up, our new fireplace is finally done!
Do you guys remember the “before”?
As much as I love blue and white, this tile just didn’t do much for me (and it wasn’t original Delft tile – it was a reproduction). And the old fireplace surround was dated and pretty much flat as a pancake in profile:
The new one has a whole lot more dimension:
And of course the star of the show is the tile – it’s Sterling Row Wingtip tile c/o Walker Zanger and I’m pretty much obsessed with it.
The colors, pattern, and natural feel of the wood grain finish are all right up my alley.
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And since my fireplace is all fancy now, it needed a little mantel styling makeover too. I raided my hoard closet of accessories for most of what I ended up using – some of you long-time readers might recognize the background of the horse photo as a bulletin board I made for the kitchen in our old house. Swapping out art or prints will be as easy as pinning them to the board – love that! I stole the botanical print from our home office gallery wall (now I need to find a replacement!) and snagged the pair of stirrups from the saddle I still have from my riding days.
The round mirror was an IKEA find – I sanded it a bit to lighten up the finish:
The feather art was a two minute DIY (the feathers are stuck on to white textured cardstock with glue dots) and the deer print was a downloadable print bought on Etsy.
The star seed pod was found {here} (affiliate link) – it usually sits on my living room ottoman but I like it better in its new spot:
I think I’m probably the only gal in blogland with a fireplace that hasn’t been decked out for the holidays yet so guess what I’ll be doing tomorrow? I need to get a move-on because my Christmas house tour is on tap next week!
Hope you all have a great weekend!
Erica says
Hi Kris,
I was wondering what color and brand of paint did you use for your walls?
Kris Jarrett says
Hi Erica – the walls are a slightly tweaked version of Sherwin Williams Keystone Gray – the exact formula is at the end of this post: https://www.drivenbydecor.com/house-tour-dining-room
Samantha says
STUNNING!!!!! That tile is gorgeous!!!!! Awesome job!
Kris Jarrett says
Thanks so much Samantha – it’s one of my favorite-ever projects. I appreciate you sharing in my excitement about it 🙂 Happy new year!
Amanda says
That looks a lot better! Love the tile and the cute framed feathers!
Kris Jarrett says
Thanks so much Amanda! Happy new year!
Shauna says
yep, I’ll be dreaming of that mantle for a long time! Oh my goodness LOVE that tile! So unique and looks like it was made for your home!
xoxo,
Shauna
classic•casual•home says
So pretty…much better. And the Walker Zanger tile is gorgeous… timeless, elegant and classic.
Kris Jarrett says
Thank you Mary Ann! I sooo appreciate your help with figuring out the order for me – I owe you bigtime!!
sherry hart says
Beautiful…..that tile is everything….I love it!
Kris Jarrett says
Thanks Sherry – I’m pretty psyched on it 🙂
Kristi @ Chatfield Court says
Beautiful Kris. Love, love the tile you chose!
Kris Jarrett says
Thanks so much Kristi!
Suzy @ Worthing Court says
Oh yum, Kris. That tile is delicious! Your new fireplace is simply gorgeous.
Kris Jarrett says
Thank you Suzy!!
Karena says
Kris I loved seeing this post and your new fireplace! This is exactly what I need to do, as mine is flat as well with virtually no mantel top ledge!
Thank you so much for sharing !!
xoxo
Karena
The Arts by Karena
Books for the Holidays!
Kris Jarrett says
Then you must know my pain in trying to style or accessorize a mantel that has almost no ledge – near to impossible, right?!
Pam @ Simple Details says
OH MY, that tile and your styling!!!! The end!
Kris Jarrett says
Thank you Pam – I really didn’t realize how much that old tile bothered me until it was replaced with the new one!
Garden, Home and Party says
Kris,
This looks wonderful. I love the tile. I also love the way the over mantle turned out. You styled it beautifully. Great improvement.
xo,
Karen
P.S. not that the other fireplace was ugly! 🙂
Kris Jarrett says
Thank you for sharing in my excitement over our new fireplace! I would have loved our old one in someone else’s house, just not mine 🙂
Jo Abella says
Simply gorgeous! I love your tile selection and mantle pieces. Can’t wait to read your blog next week!
Kris Jarrett says
Thanks – I sure hope you’re not disappointed – I kept it pretty simple this year!
Vel says
I knew it was gonna be fabulous, but oh, my, I’m so jealous on how great it turned out (far better than my imagination)! You styled it perfectly too!
Kris Jarrett says
Vel, thank you, thank you!!!
Meredith says
Yes, the tile is the star but YOU have the vision and style! I love the new clean lines if the wood, too. Happy decorating for Christmas. I can’t wait to see your flair.
Kris Jarrett says
You’re so kind Meredith – thank you! Sometime thinks don’t always end up looking like I envisioned them but this one definitely did so I’m pretty excited about it 🙂
Jo says
Wow….your fireplace is absolutely stunning! I love the tile!! I also love the paint color on the wall. Can you tell me what color it is and who makes it?
Kris Jarrett says
Thank you! Sure, it’s a slightly tweaked version of Sherwin Williams Keystone Gray. For the exact formula, click on the pic of our dining room (which is painted the same color) under the House Tour tab on my blog.
Jennifer Taylor says
What a fantastic transformation! J would love to do something similar at my house and loose my skinny brick mantel. Did you hire a contractor to do all the work? I would not know who to call to help me re-do my brick fireplace. Thank you. I love your style!
Kris Jarrett says
Hi Jennifer – yes, I considered doing a DIY but ended up hiring out and am so glad I did because the tiling job ended up being a challenge even for my expert tilers (our old fireplace was horribly uneven so they had to go to great lengths to get it flat and level for tiling. I also had a contractor build the mantel and surround but I specified the design and the molding and did the caulking, nail hole filling, and painting to save a few bucks. To redo your brick fireplace, I would call someone who does tile – they should be able to give you an idea of what you can do with it and how much it would cost!