Warms My Heart

 

We moved into this house five years and I was never crazy about the fireplace in our den.    So this spring we made a change…out with the old and in with the new look we chose for our fire place.

BEFORE:  The black hole…

AFTER:

We chose stacked stone for the fireplace and fieldstone for the hearth.  I’m so happy with the new look.  It seems to brighten up the room.    We also painted the walls  Sherwin Williams Latte.   The mantle is a solid piece of cypress.  I kept it. I sanded it smooth, distressed it and stained it a warmer brown.

The picture above the fireplace is very special to us.  The frame was handmade and designed by Keith’s dad.  He used old barn wood to construct the frame.   His dad passed away over a decade ago, so it is very meaningful to have this.

The art work in the frame is a pheasant painted by Artist Lynn Ash.  Lynn is my mother-in-law’s cousin.    Lynn is a lifelong resident of Tampa, Florida.  He was employed by Busch Garden’s in Tampa as an artist for years and is now retired.  He has painted so many beautiful wildlife pictures as well as the mural below.  The Tampa Bay area is my hometown, but  I haven’t lived there in nearly 20 years.    I have a small copy of the mural below by Lynn.  I just wanted you to see other work he has done.

In 2003, the City of Tampa's Public Art Program commissioned artist Lynn Ash to create a large painting that would weave together many of the notable aspects of Tampa's unique character and identity.  (from Tampagov website)

This is the 4’ x 8’ mural that Lynn painted and is in the lobby of the Tampa Municipal Office Building.  To read more detail about this mural you can visit the website above.

 

You will also notice on the fireplace hearth a chair that is near and dear to my heart.  This chair was handmade approximately 125 years ago and has been in my family all these years.  The seat is made of cowhide.  In a future post I will share pictures of my family dating back to the late 1800 – early 1900s and you will see what possibly is this chair on the front porch of their home. 

Here is a little closer view of the chair.

So the fireplace in our home is now a focal point of family history and treasured items.  Just the look I was going for.

  Joy