THE HEAT CHAMPION FIREPLACE IS HERE!

Now that we have piles of wood, thanks to my Wood-Chopping-Champ-Hubby, I am happy to report that we are using the recently installed Heat Champion fireplace!

You may recall that the old fireplace was also a wood burning fireplace, but we rarely used it because with the flue open, it sucked all the heat out of the rest of our house. Because we heat with oil, it was just too expensive (and too cold) to enjoy a fire on a chilly night. Also, since our fireplace happens to be on the enormous side, it just was not efficient at producing heat before.

So, after completing renovations on the hearth and brick facade, we purchased a custom-made Heat Champion unit from Hearth and Home Shoppe. It was installed a few days ago and we have enjoyed a fire pretty much round the clock ever since. The best part is that we are now able to supplement (instead of subtract) the heat in the house just by burning a fire.

 
This new product made by Stoll has a built-in firebox that concentrates the heat and uses internal fans that blow out the warm air produced by the fire, thus heating the house. Due to the ceramic class doors and other insulation, unlike before, we do not seem to lose any heat through the flue when we burn with the doors closed. Plus, isn't the new fireplace a handsome fellow?

Albus the cat is pretty darn handsome, too!

So with the installation of the Heat Champion, our fireplace renovation is now about 80% complete. We only have 2 items left on the list for updating this part of the house:

1). We need to decide what to do for the mantel. We are leaning towards using a rustic wood slab salvaged from the old barn.

2). After we replace the carpet, we need to install trim around the new granite hearth to frame it in.

In the meantime, I think I might grab a good book and go read by the fireplace. It's a tough job, but somebody has to tend to the fire, right?

A LESSON in CHOPPING WOOD

In anticipation of the installation of our new wood burning fireplace, the Mister and I (um, mainly the Mister) have been busily chopping wood. Since a big oak tree fell down in the back of the field last Spring it has become the fortunate first fodder for our new fireplace. So when I say "we" have been chopping wood, really, I mean "he" has been chopping wood. But I enjoyed an embarrassing lesson in the art of wood splitting - something this suburban-born girl has never had to do before.

Here's how it went...

 

As you can see, I did make contact with my log, but I didn't quite make it through the wood. In fact, my axe got stuck in the top of it. This, by the way, was one of my more successful cracks at it. There is an embarrassing video somewhere that depicts a time when I under-swung and my axe made a mean dent in the dirt. Take that, Dirt!  I am sure with more practice, though, I will be splitting wood like a champ. Or maybe I will just stick to my Zumba and Kettle Bell classes and let the Mister Wood-Chopper chop the wood. 

Ta-da!

We do have a chainsaw, by the way, but that hubby of mine is kind of a survivalist. He likes to do things the old-fashioned way.

Yellow Room Makeover Re-Cap

 

 This multi-purpose room is a study that can convert to a guest-room in a flash. 

 

 I do love red but the color was just too dark for this small, cramped, 9x9 room.

 

 I had to fix the plaster walls before I could prime them. 

To find out how many coats of paint it took me to cover the red, Click HERE.

 

The walls are painted Lemon Parfait by Valspar to brighten the space.

I rearranged the furniture and added a modern area rug. 

Adding artwork to the walls and hanging a shelf of travel curios completes this cozy book-nook. 

Handmade artwork, a framed blue morpho butterfly, and a mirror from Morocco add pops of turquoise blue, gold, yellow and green.

My original "Turtle Drum" painting finds the perfect space between birdy prints by LeeArtHaus. Overall the room feels so much bigger and brighter in this cheery shade of yellow.