Our first fire & a refurbished radiator

Work on the kitchen is getting there. 

In the mean time our focus has been getting some heat in the house. 

Currently we have none. You read that right. No heat. 

I know some of you are thinking "What?! This is Michigan! It might snow tomorrow!". We know. & for the most part heated blankets at night are doing the job. However now the fall cold is starting to set in & there's a chill in the air that no heated blanket can completely get rid of.

 I feel like the dogs are looking at us thinking "OK, we've had enough".

So first things we're first this weekend: get a fire going in that gorgeous fireplace of ours. It's been over a year (so weird to say that) since I had the fireplace completely redone so it could be functional. Now it was time to put it to the test! It passed with flying colors. Although I was on standby with a bucket of water.

We had to use a starter log and make sure the draft was right and that everything went UP the chimney instead of into the house. Once it was started it was so cozy! 

Being able to watch the Lions & enjoy the warmth of the fire was amazing. 

We had an old radiator we received from my brother in law stripped down and re-finished. I have no idea how I didn't take photos of the radiator before anything was done to it but I didn't. I did however take photos of the first stage of clean up and the finished product. 

After the first stage of sandblasting and powder coating:

isn't it just gorgeous? I love the detail. 

The finished product! (currently wrapped until it can be installed)

Again  - love the detail on it!! The white coat makes it look amazing. 

I can't get over how gorgeous this thing is. It will go in the corner of the dining room, directly next to the door wall and against the wall. It's going to look amazing. 

This is just a perfect piece for the farmhouse. I will take some more photos when it's moved into place. It's made completely of cast iron and weighs such an incredible amount of weight - it might take a few of us to get it where it needs to be! 

Crossing our fingers for heat this week.