Of the four fireplaces in Brenda Stearns' 1850s Indiana home, the one in the dining room is the only one that doesn't work. But that doesn't mean she didn't give him some love. “This fireplace is not up to code today,” she says. “Rather than spend thousands of dollars trying to convert it to code, we decided to keep it as a decorative element.” She's no stranger to DIY renovations—Stearns has updated her historic home room by room and posted the results on her Instagram Account @she_plusfive shared – she got to work installing whimsical mosaic tiles, building a new mantel and giving the finished project her own take on flickering flames.
Match the aesthetic to the age of your home
A Victorian-era fireplace calls for Victorian-era design inspiration. While scrolling on Pinterest, Stearns noticed that many fireplaces from this period featured elaborate tile artwork. “I then started to find out more about mosaics and came across the company Mozaico,” she says. Stearns fell in love with a design on her website called Garden Gate. “I love that it is unique and abstract – there are no straight lines. It is also feminine in a way because of the flowers and the curved details in the leaves and branches.”
Keep the color scheme of the entire room in mind
Stearns initially wanted to adjust the colors of the mosaic, adding shades of blue and a touch of red. But before a model of the new-look Mozaico returned, Stearns installed wallpaper in the room and painted all the trim ivory. She says: “When the picture came back and I saw it in front of the wallpaper, I realized it clashed somehow, so I decided to go back to the original colors of the mosaic from the website. These are the colors we have now and I think they add an earthy tone and keep everything in a neutral scheme.”
Be aware that laying tiles takes time
Although Mozaico designs come as tile sheets cut to individual dimensions, speeding up the tile installation process, this DIY project still requires patience, often with several days between each step to allow for sufficient drying. “It all sounds like it happened really quickly, but it was like weeks of work,” says Stearns, who found enough time to work on the project between homeschooling her children.
“We started by removing the old mantel, which was not original to the house and was actually hitting a steam pipe, and then we repaired damaged plaster,” Stearns says. “Next, I realigned the bricks at the base of the fireplace and covered them with a layer of joint compound. Then I waited two or three days for everything to dry completely before priming the entire room with Kilz primer. Once that dried, I spread the mortar and added the mosaic pieces. I did the interior part first, then the floor area and the edging the next day. Then I waited two days for everything to dry and then grouted the whole thing, which was probably the hardest part of the entire project.”
Salvage from other parts of the house
For the new mantel, Stearns used pieces of wood she found in the attic. She says: “The previous owners left behind a bunch of wood and trim – really intricate, cool pieces – so I dug up some of it and cut it to reuse for the mantel.” She then primed the entire mantel and painted it the same ivory color (Benjamin Moore Ancient Ivory) like the rest of the room. Stearns also repurposed an antique brass fireplace guard that the previous owners had left behind in another room of the house. “It has these little lion feet and is very Victorian,” she says.
Create a candlelight
Since the fireplace isn't working, Stearns added a set of flameless LED taper candles that she purchased on Amazon. “Eventually I want to replace them with unique candles that I find at antique stores, but for now it works,” she says. “When we have dinner, I light all the candles and it’s so romantic.”