Hang It Up

When we did the stone fireplace in the den we had our fireplace tools just as most people do, hanging on the stand that the tools came with when we bought them.

See them down there on the right hand side of the fireplace?  Well, when we started adding decorative items in front of the fireplace like lanterns with candles, firewood, etc., things started to look a little packed.  We needed  a solution that would get the fireplace tools off of the floor.

Enter rusty bolts.  Yep, rusty bolts.  Nate found some 1/2" rusty bolts lying around the landscape nursery at his work and decided to recycle them at our house.  We decided upon the height and spacing for each of the fireplace tools.  Nate put some epoxy onto the end of each of the bolts and hammered them into the grout joints in the locations that we had decided upon.

Once the bolts were secured and the epoxy had a chance to dry, we hung our fireplace tools and put the old stand out with the trash.

The old rusty pulley is obviously for decorative purposes, but we liked the way that it tied into the rusty bolts that our fireplace tools now hang from.

Now, if you aren't lucky enough to have rusty bolts just lying around your workplace (which, I am assuming that the majority of you are not) simply take new bolts (we happened to have square end bolts) spray paint them oil rubbed bronze and then lightly spray them with Rustoleum Multi-Colored texured spraypaint in "Autumn Brown" to get the same effect.  If you had more time, you could also take new bolts and rough them up with some steel wool.  Then let the bolts hang out in a container of salt water.  Eventually, the bolts will rust.

If you happen to have a different type of stone fireplace or perhaps a brick fireplace, get a masonry bit slightly smaller than the diameter of your bolts for your drill and drill into the stone or brick.  Apply the epoxy to the end of the bolt and hammer into the newly drilled hole.  Allow the epoxy to dry before hanging your fireplace tools.

We love getting the tools off of the floor and really love the rustic look that the bolts give to the fireplace.  And with the stand gone, we have room for our reindeer during the holidays!

What do you guys think?  Any plans for using rusty old bolts or nails around your home?  Has anyone ever used Rustoleum's Multi-Colored texured spraypaint in "Autumn Brown"?  I love the look that it gives.  In fact, we used it on another project in our home (the orb chandelier) that will be featured in an upcoming post.