Fence, Flowers, Fireplace.

Yesterday, I crossed a few living room tasks off the old list. See that little vent cover? It used to just be a hole. And the panel it's screwed into used to be gross, chipped and not cut to match the fireplace. I don't know why vents are needed there, but it's just a hole into the mantel and it's all cobwebby and disgusting, so the vent is a good solution. I ordered them (there's another around the other side) a few months ago, but yesterday I trimmed the panel to fit against the hearth (only six and a half years after the hearth was installed) and did some touch-up paint so it looks all spiffy. CHECK. 

The downside is that it really highlights how badly the mantle needs to be painted. I'm just starting to think about what that project will entail, since it's almost definitely lead-based paint, and there's probably oil in the mix too. I found a stripper that's made of soybeans (who knew?) that neutralizes the lead, so maybe we'll go that route. The other option is a heat gun, because I am NOT interested in sanding 70 years of paint off the mantle. It's made it a long time with a little bit of touching up, but it looks really crappy up close and will definitely need to be done at some point.

I also threw together this crate yesterday evening. It's not on "the list" but it was on my list to make a wood box (hey, just in time for summer!) for the fireplace. We had the wood sitting in a messy little pile next to the hearth all winter, and all I could think about were the black widows I was certain were lurking within. Turns out, no spiders, but this does look a lot tidier. I'm going to get a bin pull and stick it on the front for decoration. Brass, maybe, to contrast with the cedar.

 I'm calling this "birthday bouquet remix." The fluffy green things are from a bouquet Kate brought me for my birthday a few weeks ago, and I added some clippings from our magnolia bush out front for some contrast. LOVE!

Ok, next, the fence!! Todd's dad has been adding this fence addition to close off the back yard from the road. This is what it looks like from the back...

And from the front. The goal was to make it even with the existing fence, so we'll add lattice to the top, add 2x12s to the bottom to close the gap from the declining grade and then landscape around it so the whole thing looks nice and finished. Those really tall 4x4s will be trimmed down when we're finishing things up. Obviously, the gate will go in the middle.