Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Light my fire(place)

*I've changed my comments form yet again, in the hopes of finding the system that works best and is easiest to use for everyone. What's your take? Do you prefer the plain old Blogger comments form, or was Disqus better? Ok, on with the post.

I think I mentioned here, a couple times, that we've been quietly on the lookout for a salvaged mantle to come live with us in Gilbertsville. We love fireplaces-- our Binghamton house has a nice one that we drink wine beside in wintertime-- and so adding a fireplace to Gilbertsville has been quietly in the works. We think one would look just perfect in the Great Room, along this wall. But, you know, you can't just drive to Target and come home with the perfect salvaged mantle. It has to be the right size and style, and, of course, the right price. So, I was sniffing around a little, keeping fingers crossed and putting feelers out to a friend who volunteers with house deconstruction.

And then I spotted this guy hanging out on Craigslist:

I ran it by Patrick, he said, "Looks cool," so I happily moved on to the next phase: going to visit. Yesterday evening, we met at a very dilapidated downtown apartment building to have a look. There are six mantles in the building, and all are for sale. The one we ended up making an offer on is similar to this, with a different insert (which we'll probably be scrapping anyway), and a pretty beautiful faux-wood finish. The mantles are actually made of slate, and (naturally) crazy heavy. But, we have a standing date on Thursday involving a burly husband, a burly father-in-law, and an F-150. Hopefully cursing, bruises, and frustration will not be part of our date, but you never can tell when dealing with dilapidated houses and century-old mantles.

I will be standing back, and taking pictures of the action. Because, you know, documentation is an important part of the job, too.

What about you? Have you made any good scores on Craigslist lately?

4 comments:

meshell1121 said...

Love it all :)

Anonymous said...

Beautiful! I hope moving the mantle goes smoothly. Our best score was off a bulletin board at the general store (old fashioned craigslist, right?) We got a soapstone wood stove for less then 1/3 it's original price! And moving that sucker did involve cursing and bruises...

I've had some trouble with both blogger and disqus recognizing the wordpress account even though it's supposed to be transferable. But it may be an wordpress issue, I don't know... At least I'm not going crazy thinking your comments setup keeps changing!

Kristina Strain said...

Whoa, that woodstove sounds like a real score. And yay for Vermont where they still have general stores! Gilbertsville has one, too (I always joke that the town is part Belgium, part Vermont).

Thanks, as well, for your comments feedback. :)

Becky said...

I'm catching up! And again pea green with the envy - love fireplaces! Yours is going to be beautiful!

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