Adding a Fireplace

Ready or not it’s winter! The solstice has come and gone. The days may be getting longer but it’s still gonna be cold out for the next two months. What better way to wait out cold winter days than in front of a fireplace? So what if your house doesn’t actually come with a fireplace. You can always get install one. Yes, I just told you to install a fireplace in your already fully built house.

Here’s the thing, we’re deep into the late 2010s. You don’t need to take out part of a wall and build a chimney to get a fireplace if you truly desire one. It’ll definitely cost money, a lot of money… it’s an investment. Think of a fireplace as a slightly risky investment, an investment you can enjoy and could, maybe payoff.   

So, fireplaces are a desirable feature. Almost 40% of homebuyers said they would pay extra for a house with a fireplace. The best way to maximize the payoff of a fireplace is to ensure that the price of the fireplace is proportionate to the overall value of the house. A fireplace isn’t calculated separately in a professional home appraisal a $10,000 fireplace holds its value in a $1 million house because buyers expect this feature in an upscale home but a $10,000 fireplace won’t be such a crucial component of a $100,000 house. The fireplace is not going to be the main draw of a lower scale home… so maybe focus on other stuff, like curb appeal.

Also, put it somewhere it’ll actually be used, like a den, family room, great room, etc. Equip your fireplace with energy-efficient glass doors and an exterior venting system that prevents heated air from being pulled out of rooms. If you want fireplaces for smaller rooms, if you are so inclined, to think about a small gas fireplace that’s easy to maintain.

Firepit Types

Do you love spending time outside? I can’t relate. However, if I must be outside, I must
be comfortable, and nothing quite says outside comfort like a firepit. Especially, if you
must be outside in the winter, when it’s cold outside there’s nothing quite like sitting in
front of a firepit. So, if your thinking about building a firepit here’s a couple of styles you
could get.

Naturalistic Firepits

Rock Firepit: It’s traditional and pretty simple to DIY. You know what I’m talking about.
It’s the circle of rocks that you place the wood in middle and voila, fire pit. If you live
somewhere where you can get decent sized rocks it would be easy to forage them for
yourself and you can, in fact, buy rocks and Home Depot or something like that.

Pond Firepit: Did your property come with a nice, quant little water feature that you’re
completely unwilling to upkeep? Fish are a lot of work for living decoration. Turn that
pre-existing, rock-lined, hole in the ground to a firepit.

Salvaged pit: This kind of pit uses things you find in your own yard. Rocks, stepping
stones from a path you didn’t really want, leftover bricks and stuff from a build or the
construction of the house if you’ve just built. You can use salvaged wood to build
benches or other features.

Constructed Firepits

Tree Ring Firepit: Simple DIY build. If you don’t know, cause I didn’t, there are these
curved brick like fence… thingies that go around trees. They’re super good and
convenient material for building a quick firepit in about an hour. Make two circles, one
inside the other, Use the scalloped ones so they’re easy to stack, bottom facing up,
top facing down. You can use a small grill in the middle if you're super lazy.

Outside space: If you’re really going for it than go for it. Select a good amount of space in your yard, and section it off. At this point, if you’re really going for it, look at google images and Pinterest and get inspiration. Really build out the entire area. Stone floor, brick pit, built-in seating, etc. REALLY GO FOR IT.

See, mostly simple and can kind of be done on a whim. If you’re going to be outside, be warm and comfortable outside. Gathering around a firepit can also be great for parties with friends. If you get no other pleasure from a fire pit at least think about the s’more possibilities, you’ll gain. There’s nothing like a good excuse to make s’mores. Your taste buds and probably your friends will thank you.

Fireplace makeover

Baby it’s cold outside! So what’s better than a fireplace!? I apologize for the bad
pun but seriously, fireplaces are amazing in the winter time. It’s just an objectively
great feature to have in your home… unless it’s ugly. Unfortunately, it is very
possible that your fireplace might be ugly or maybe it just doesn’t go with your
aesthetic. Let’s face it, fireplaces often show the decade the house was built more
than any other piece of architecture, and sometimes… those decades sense
of interior style are garbage.

Decals! You can legitimately use decals. You’re going to have to put in a lot of
thought to make sure that the design your going for, goes on right but if done
right decals on tile could look amazing. Besides the mental energy it’s a pretty
simple project. It’s also a super cheap way of doing a high impact upgrade to
your fireplace.

Another DIY upgrade you can make to your fireplace that should be simple and
relatively cheap is painting it! You can paint just about any surface, not sure that
you should (don’t paint marble or granite, I’ll disown you), but you can! Tile, just
takes a little bit of forethought, a little bit of primer, and some acrylic paint and
you’ll have a brand new look. You can paint brick. You can do a wash over the
brick in any color you please to give the room a modern trendy look.
Continuing the color onto the walls, up to the ceiling can also add height to the
room! So that’s a really cool treatment that could enhance your entire space.
Uneven or stacked stone would probably look wired but you can knock yourself
out trying.

One other thing you can do to brick is dye it! This isn’t quite as easy as painting
but it looks more natural, like it was the bricks original color. You can go from a
classic brick red color to something softer like grey or vice versa.

Don’t have a fireplace? That’s to bad. You can check out our article on installing
your own fireplace. However, if you’re just looking for the aesthetic you can also
get a fireplace façade! Pick up a faux fireplace and make it interesting. Fill it to
the brim with logs or books or other interesting things. Go wild! It’s not a
permanent part of the house anyways.

Choosing Your Light Fixtures!

Since people usually tour houses during the day, when there is plenty of natural light builders put very little thought into the light fixtures beyond providing basic ambient light sources. Which means the home you just bought might be a little darker and eerier in tone than you expected them to be. So now you have no choice but to change your fixtures, but what kind of light do you need to fix the feel of the space?

Here are the three types of lighting that you’ll be looking for in interior spaces and the types of fixtures you can use to achieve the effect you’re looking for.

	Types of Light Fixtures
Ambient lighting: In terms of interior design, ambient light is meant to provide general dispersed lighting meant to reasonably light.	Flush: lights mounted flush or flat to the ceiling. They usually span from 12” to 24” in diameter, the size chosen should be proportionate to the room size. They’re good for bathrooms, closets, bedrooms, and hallways. They’re discreet and provide optimal light for rooms with ceilings under 8 ft. tall. Semi-Flush: lights that hand around 4” to 8” off the ceiling made 7” around 23” in diameter, the size should be chosen based on the size of the room. Look best in rooms with 8 ft. to 10 ft. ceilings. They have most of the pros of flush lights, but they look better in more communal areas like dining rooms and kitchens. They are also more fragile than flushed lights, the light bulbs are more exposed, which at least make them easier to change. Also, a semi flush lights also direct light upwards toward the ceiling, unlike flushed light that can only shine downward. Recessed: these lights are also called pot or canned lights. This type of light is mounted inside of the ceiling and a series of them is the best choice for ambient light for rooms with ceilings around 6 ft. high. They are very difficult to install and should probably be installed by a professional. Hanging: these lights depending on the style of fixture you choose Inverted, Pendant, or chandelier can have the similar effect as semi-flush lights & island lights, & larger track lights. Track/Rail: These lights are super adjustable. You can mount them on the ceiling or suspend them at your preferred height, they can be modified to handle individual pendant lights. If you get the rail style of track lights the lights will not only be able to swivel and redirect light, they will be able to slide up and down the bar. This style of light is for ultimate customization. Usually looks very sleek and modern.
Task lighting: Task lighting is exactly what it sounds like. Its light meant to specifically light spaces where active work is happening such as kitchens, desks, and other types of workspaces.	Recessed: these lights are also called pot or canned lights. This type of light is mounted inside of the ceiling and a series of them is the best choice for ambient light for rooms with ceilings around 6 ft. high. They are good for workspaces where the ceiling is within close proximity. Track/Rail: These lights are super adjustable. You can mount them on the ceiling or suspend them at your preferred height, they can be modified to hand individual pendant lights. If you get the rail style of track lights the lights will not only be able to swivel and redirect light they will be able to slide up and down the bar. This style of light is for ultimate customization. Usually looks very sleek and modern. Island Lighting: Island lighting is task lighting specifically for kitchen islands. The fixtures style is a mix between track lighting and hanging lights. Island lights would also be appropriate over other central workspaces like desks and shop tables. Hanging: these lights depending on the style of fixture you choose Inverted, Pendant, or chandelier can have the similar effect as semi-flush lights & island lights, & larger track lights.
Accent lighting: Accent lighting is meant to highlight the cool stuff and features you have in your house. Kind of like the lights you used in museums and galleries.	Track/Rail: These lights are super adjustable. You can mount them on the ceiling or suspend them at your preferred height, they can be modified to hand individual pendant lights. If you get the rail style of track lights the lights will not only be able to swivel and redirect light they will be able to slide up and down the bar. This style of light is for ultimate customization. Usually looks very sleek and modern. Recessed: these lights are also called pot or canned lights. This type of light is mounted inside of the ceiling and a series of them is the best choice for ambient light for rooms with ceilings around 6 ft. high. They are good for directing light toward specific spots, especially if you buy adjustable ones.

Delana Cotton servers the northeast Atlanta region that includes Dacula, Winder, Lawrenceville, Buford, Snellville, Conyers and surrounding areas. Delana treats every transaction as if she were you, the buyer or seller. If you have a real estate transaction on the horizon, meet Delana for a no pressure chat over coffee.