<h2 style="margin: 10pt 0in 0pt"><font size="3" color="#990000">Fireplace -adding Beauty and Charm</font></h2><p><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: ‘Verdana’,’sans-serif’; letter-spacing: 1pt">For those of you who live in apartments, townhouses and condominiums and really enjoy sitting cozily in your favorite chair around a warm and inviting fireplace, this article is for you. Although autumn and winter is the time for snuggling up close to the fireplace and enjoying the rooms ambience, how can you when the fireplace is looking worn and outdated? Probably, years have come and gone since it was first built and now it looks totally dated and in need of a face lift.</span></p><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: ‘Verdana’,’sans-serif’; letter-spacing: 1pt"><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal">Well, come along, I’m going to give you a few pointers here about dressing up the old fireplace on a very meager budget and giving it an elegant and charming new look at the same time. It really doesn’t require a whole lot of skills and experience to give it a new look and it won’t take a whole lot of your time to do so either. Just follow a few simple instructions and commit yourself to the task and do a good job. That’s all. You will be amazed at what you can accomplish on a tight budget…and away we go.</p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"> </p><div style="text-align: center"><object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,29,0" width="425" height="282"><param name="movie" value="../images/banners/14a.swf" /><param name="quality" value="high" /><param name="menu" value="false" /><param name="wmode" value="" /><embed src="../images/banners/14a.swf" wmode="" quality="high" menu="false" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="282"></embed></object></div> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><strong>FIREPLACE RESTORATION 101</strong></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal">Fireplaces have been around throughout the millenniums and over time they have evolved from crude constructions that barely worked to modern day masterpieces that can leave you breathless. All around the world fireplaces are practically a part of every culture except for areas in the most tropic zones; fireplaces are a fixture for the needs they serve and for their aesthetic appeal also. And even in tropical areas fireplaces are used for cooking and sometimes heating too.However, throughout the United States where central heating and cooling systems are the norm, and where heat furnaces have been a mainstay for many decades; fireplaces are viewed more as a luxury than a necessity.</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal">Many newly built homes that have a steep price tag usually comes complete with a fireplace and in many cases two and even three fireplaces to boot. And upscale apartments, townhouses and condominiums also come equipped with a working fireplace no less. But rarely do you see lower priced units that have a fireplace in it. Generally speaking, lower cost structures come equipped with a central and heating system that controls the temperature. My point is this, fireplaces in this day and time in the United States are more of a luxury than a necessity.</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal">But if you happen to have one and its appearance is old and less than charming, you really do have an option. Here’s what we did to revive an old outdated fireplace in a condominium to give it a beautiful and elegant look.</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><strong>LOOKING FOR A DESIGN</strong></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal">When we were first contacted by our client concerning renovating the downstairs of his condominium, he stated that he wanted to give his fireplace a fresh new look that would be elegant and a focal point. We went over to a nearby subdivision and looked at some new homes and got some ideas on how we wanted his fireplace to look. We also looked in various home improvement magazines to come up with more plans and designs.Finally, with a few crude drawings of our own we began to rebuild his fireplace.</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><strong>PREPARTATION</strong></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal">The existing fireplace consisted only of drywall, a small wooden mantle piece and of a course the metal grill. There were no distinctive features that would draw your eyes to it. The metal grill had been painted with a flat black paint and it was totally flat in every sense of the word. You see, these apartments were built back in 1971 and in later years sold as condominiums. Nothing had been done to this particuliar unit since it was orginally built; our work was cut out for us.</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal">Our first move was to incorporate wood into our design, and even though we all agreed on painting it white, we no less wanted good quality wood without a lot of knots. We also wanted to put up fluted wood on the corners of the fireplace with rosettes at both ends. In addition to that we wanted a wide piece of wood across the center of the fireplace just above the metal grill. The owner decided to place an emblem in the center of the wood; he initially wanted an image of an eagle that was made in wood, however, he had to settle for an image of a plain bird that was curved out of wood; it really did look very attractive.</p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"> </p><div style="text-align: center"><object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,29,0" width="425" height="282"><param name="movie" value="../images/banners/14b.swf" /><param name="quality" value="high" /><param name="menu" value="false" /><param name="wmode" value="" /><embed src="../images/banners/14b.swf" wmode="" quality="high" menu="false" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="282"></embed></object></div> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal">At the base of his fireplace was old red bricks that had seen better days. Since we had installed granite tiles on his countertops and bar, we decided to go on and wrap the bricks at the bottom of the fireplace with the same granite tiles. The name of the granite tiles is ubatuba and it is simply beautiful. It has a black appearance with shades of dark green and brown<span> </span>in it. It gave the fireplace that added rich and formal look. Learn More.</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><strong>About the Author</strong>&
lt;/p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal">Donald Thomas is owner and CEO of American Painting and Pressure Cleaning, Inc. He is a home improvement contractor that started out in 1984.Our website <a href="http://www.americanpaintingandpressurecleaninginc.com" target="_blank">http://www.americanpaintingandpressurecleaninginc.com</a></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: ‘Verdana’,’sans-serif’; letter-spacing: 1pt">Article Source: <a href="http://www.articlesbase.com/home-improvement-articles/fireplacesadding-beauty-and-charm-738454.html" target="_blank">http://www.articlesbase.com/home-improvement-articles/fireplacesadding-beauty-and-charm-738454.html</a></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: ‘Verdana’,’sans-serif’; letter-spacing: 1pt"></span></p></span>
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