Gutted - fireplace

Our fireplace has emerged from behind the stud wall and what a *gorgeous* feature it is too. The tiny brown tiles seem to suggest the current surround is the product of the fabulous 1970s and its obsession with 'autumnal' tones for decorating. It would complemented my parents original kitchen beautifully.

Hmmm.

So now we have to decide what to do with it. Initial investigations suggest it is probably capable of functon - subject of course to council approval (sigh). But do we want a wood burning fireplace or should we convert it to gas? Also, do we put a mantle above it or do we keep it a little streamlined? I'm fond of a mantle for putting vases and big pictures on, but will it take up too much of the room given we're planning that entire wall to be covered in bookshelves?

Decisions, decisions.

Exciting discovery

While we were pulling up the carpet on the weekend we uncovered this piece of stone next to the wall towards the front of the house and got a little excited. The main wall in the open plan living area is just over 8 metres long and has been 'built in' for about half of that length. Our plan was to knock that out and put bookshelves along the entire length of the wall. While we had been secretly hoping that a fireplace was hiding behind the wall, we didn't hold out much hope (picture us walking the length of the wall 'tapping' in a highly professional and authorative manner to determine lack of hidden fireplace).

So when we found this piece of stone that looked as though it might very well be part of a very old and very rustic fireplace we got out the hammers faster than you can say "fancy a trip to Bunnings?".

I've never been allowed to put holes in walls before so I was a teensy bit excited at this opportunity. Had there been no evidence of a fireplace I am pretty sure Mr Puddleduck would have insisted we leave the wall in tact until the professionals arrived, so I wasted no time in getting stuck in. I even let Mr Puddleduck go first (he maintains he is more methodical than me so would create less mess) and promised him new tools if he found me a fireplace.

It may have taken longer than it would have if I had been wielding the hammer (seriously why do we have to be neat when bashing down a wall ?), but we struck gold. Well actually, we struck really tacky brown tiles but nevertheless it's our very own fireplace.