Before and After

Before he visited....

You may have guessed by my lack o'posts that we have been working on some things... and we have!! Perhaps you caught sight of Papa Mike in a few pics... Well, he is one of those people who are blessed with the ability to create, and while we love him visiting simply because he is my dad, an added bonus is his ability to help bring to fruition the ideas that pop into my head. I have been staring at the above for years now.. and every Christmas when it is time to hang the stockings I have dutifully precisely measured and hung those command hooks, and dreamed of the day when we would have a house with a mantle again.

Well, I told my dad about my little problem, and also how we had been using the fireplace for a library storage area... and look what he did!!

You'd think that after 30 years of him as my dad the beauty of a thing created would be old hat. Not at all... Everytime it catches my eye I am warmed by the thought that he made this. Granted he has made us many things... a laudry room, a bathroom, and a wrap around deck included, but this latest addition is right in the center of our house, right it would seem where a father's love belongs.

A friend's mom has suggested a cushion for that whole hearth area, and painting the inside of the fireplace black.. I have no idea about what type of fabric to choose, but am enamored with the new look!! Thanks dad!!