SPRING CLEANING: THE FIREPLACE

LETS GO WILD

Spring's here; at least we hope so. It's Wisconsin and winter can still make a mockery of all our outside flowerbeds well into June. Yet inside the windows are open letting in that sweet smell of spring. The logs in the fireplace have been burnt to ash and the ashes have now all been swept away. The issue is what's next. You can always leave the hearth empty until winter rolls around again or you can use it as an opportunity to do something wild. After the pandemic we all need to let loose a little.

Lets start easy. A simple coat of paint and color can hide the ash marks and bring some color where fire once hid.

If balloons are not your thing then chose your own balls. We found someone who stuffed their fireplace with vintage croquet balls. Highlighting a collection of objet d'art, or anything you didn't have a place to showcase before has potential as becoming the centerpiece of your focal fireplace.  

When the flue's been closed, the outside temperature is hovering around ninety and the hearth's been cleaned but you want to light a romantic flame, think about this. Fill the fireplace with candles and let the real heat come from what's happening in front of the hearth.

I'm not trying to channel the book burners of yore but here's a solution for what to do with your overflow book collection. Using the firebox as an extension of your library can be a beautiful way of showing off your J.K. Rowling and Vladimir Nabokov collection.

If you've got a green thumb let it shine in the hearth. Springtime is filled with flowers and that means it's time to throw out the plastic lilies and put a pot of real ones in that closed up winter firebox.

Those that don't have a wood shed and not many of us do can use their firebox as a place to store the wood that didn't get burned during that last cold day. The problem here is the wood can't be just any wood. You're going to have to step it up with even cuts and clean timber to make this work.

The cleverest transformation I was able to find was a dog lover's dream. What better place to let Fido sleep than on a cushy bed tucked in his own little firehouse palace?

I'm always short on space so finding an extra mini-room no matter how small is a bonus even if I have to give it up when snow once again begins to fall.

THE GALLERY

Two Women and a Cat, Wallace Nutting, photographer