Our New Fireplace Tile Surround

Read the sizing notes before the shopping list. Scale is the part that is hard to return. 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 readers remember the “before”?

As much as A strong choice is 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 sold on it.

The colors, pattern, and natural feel of the wood grain finish are all right up my alley.

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 the house 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!