NICE update!
Definitely would go through the fireplace store first for any/all changes.
One of the more āfunā things is when you have lived any place a while, when things that break need to be replaced and are found to be obsolete. We have a Kohler tub w jets put in when the house was redone many years ago, and the faucets are leaking. I havenāt had the chance to get a plumber in, at one point we were told that the fixture base (where the faucet is locate) may be shot. I called Kohler and they said that that base was no longer available,that it was discontinued like 5 years after the tub was purchased. You donāt replace bath tubs that often and things like faucets are wearable. Kohler is notorious for using non standard parts on their plumbing fixtures, so it isnāt like there is an easy third party replacement. If the fixture base is shot, it will require a lot of work to replace it and very costly (may be easier just to get rid of it). I realize that inventory is expensive, but when you have wearable items on something that will be in use a long time, it is kind of nasty that they make it seem like a toaster, expected to die.
My most recent experience with this has to do with the range hood we have that has an exterior blower (it was one of the few luxuries we did when we redid the house a long time ago). The blower finally went after almost 30 years. This isnāt a rocket science item, it is an AC motor driven unit with a standard 10" duct, the speed controller on the hood is an ac controller, nothing exotic about it.
Trying to get a replacement was a nightmare. Not surprisingly, the original blower assembly or parts for it are not available. Vent a hoods current blower would fit, but they wonāt sell it to be used with an older unit because āwe havenāt tested itā, and their distributors wonāt sell it without knowing what you have (more likely, they want you to buy a new range hood, too). Broan makes a unit that is high cfm, 10" pipe, that one of the tech support told me would workā¦but they too refuse to sell it. Finally found a blower from Fantech that works great and cost like 1/3 what the Broan or Venta a Hood would be, and likely if the motor goes it can be replaced pretty easily or rebuilt.
Unfortunately with things like this, relatively low volume, high end, it isnt big enough for a third market (you can easily get parts for cars from many decades ago, in contrast), and the makers basically just shrug their shoulders (it is very similar to appliances, your washer dies just outside the warranty, and they no longer have the boards or whatever to fix it).
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@abasket, I like the idea of replacing the marble with tile although what you currently have looks classic to me. From the pictures you posted, though I like the clean look of #1, I think itās too modern for your house. #2 is lovely and strikes the right balance for a lake house. Love the relief tiles between the mantle and firebox. #3 is just a blah blue and too dark IMO. Iād definitely copy #2.
@momofboiler1: Love your refresh.
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I love the firebox tile that @momofboiler1 linked, especially the oasis blue and mottled blue colors. That company is rebuilding after the hurricanes, but there may be other sources.
Another thought to give you a lift for now would be to paint the chimney breast and the the background of the shelves a shade of blue. We did something similar in a previous house and were happy with the difference it made for little cost or effort. You could order color samples from Samplize of your favorite blue shades to see what works best with everything else in the room. The light adhesive (like Post-it notes) samples are about 8X10 if I recall correctly, and give you the chance to see colors at different times of day without having to actually paint the surface.
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Agree! 1 looks a lot like the existing marble. 3 is on the darker side, and 2 has the perfect balance of color and style!
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I appreciate the input and your detailed input @ChoatieMom !!
This fireplace does have bookshelves cupboards on both sides. Last house I did paint the back of the shelves a flat navy. I did love it there but donāt feel painting these in this room/house would be the right call. It can be a really nice look though!
Because weāre staying at the cabin later this year to enjoy Thanksgiving with DS/DIL and our BFs, I decided I had time to tackle one last cabin project. The kitchen cabinets were badly faded and stained after twenty years of previous weekend/seasonal owners, and they were not a color we loved. So, I decided to break the project into seven cabinet groupings to complete the project in a week with minimal drudgery and kitchen disarray. I used Farmhouse Paint which is a one-coat furniture paint that does not require any primer, adhesion product, or finish/wax application. Itās expensive (about $150/gallon*), but was a dream to work with, and we love the result.
Before (gray green):
After (gray blue):
The color difference is hard to capture in natural light especially as we chose a blue with the same saturation and undertone as the original green. This photo, shot with my work spotlight, looks a bit garish but enables you to see the color change more starkly.
What I particularly love is knowing that the cabinets are now like new and can be kept that way given that we have the paint and means to keep them pristine. In these two photos, you can see the fading/aging of the originals compared to the refresh:
On to Thanksgiving!
(*The company sent me four quarts instead of a one-gallon can. This project took two quarts.)
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Looks awesome! I love seeing before and after - the blue was a great choice.
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Great color choice! 
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Well done! Thanks for sharing the photos and comments.
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We have an entire wall that is brick with a fireplace about mid-way.
We had the entire wall painted white, and it really brightened up the room/gave it an updated feel. (I noticed same with your pics).
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Love the new color. (Although your initial pics do make it really hard to tell the difference, you can really tell when you put light on them).
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What brushes or rollers did you use for painting? Or did you use a sprayer?
I guess I missed the brand. I would love to put this in my bedroom!
I used two soft-bristle brushes, a one-inch for the edges and inset panel corners, and a 2-inch for everything else. The paint is self-leveling (no brushstrokes if applied amply and evenly). A sprayer would be easier/faster, but I donāt have the setup for that here.
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I paid quite a bit to have my cabinets painted (white over off-white). A weird thing happens now - if our house gets cold, the paint on some of the panels on the ends crack (at kind of a āseamā area) for lack of a better word. When it gets warm they re-seal or whatever, but itās frustrating when it happens. The painter has said heād fix them, but hasnāt been available right away when it actually happens.
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Thanks! Sounds like a good choice of paint for my bathroom cabinet revival project! 
I hate sprayers. Too much mess.
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I had ordered tile once, via a friendās discount deal and had it shipped to me. Tiling the entire home in a remote area. They laid it out and it was the wrong color. Instead of relatively neutral, it was a brownish cast. Looks like stone, but this has a quite brown tint. It is not so different that we could not use the room worth of the neutral with it, but it set a different color tone for the entire house (rental, so not worth fighting) but I have been bummed about it for many years.
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I found a tile I liked out of town and had a sample shipped to our house. I uploaded a picture of it on the bathroom remodels.
Went to our small town local store. The tile I liked was pretty basic Virginia tile but was told it was $6/sqft. They had a similar tile for $3. Great! Send me a sample.
Got the sample yesterday and itās nothing like what I thought it was and not the color I want at all. Itās a dull gray. Much darker imo than what I thought I saw in the store.
I canāt figure out if she ordered the wrong tile or if itās the right tile but not what I am looking for. I donāt have a big bathroom, Iāll have the husband measure and see if $6 tile will make that big of a difference. Or if I need to look for different tile. Because the sample I received yesterday is not it.
Remodeling is a big pain in the behind
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My husband decided to put in a dry bar in our family room, ostensibly as my Christmas present. I think itās really to keep himself busy this fall, but I get a bar out of it, so ok.
It will incorporate our full-size wine fridge on one end, a small (15ā wide) beverage cooler for bar things that need to be kept cold, drawers for liquor and bar tools/supplies, and glass-front upper cabinets for glassware and display.
We have to rip up the carpet (yay!) and install new flooring. Now, 20
(!) years ago when we redid our kitchen, I wanted hardwoods in the FR as well (itās a step down from the kitchen), but he was totally against it for a very stupid reason. Weād pay double now for the same, but heās managed to find an engineered oak flooring that looks close enough.
New paint in the FR means he now wants to repaint the kitchen. And so it goes. After that will come the front stairs and the upstairs hall and what was the girlsā playroom, andā¦
Actual wine fridge and mini have black glass fronts. All drawers will have panels.
Oh. And heās doing all of the work himself.
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