AirStone Fireplace Makeover

Disclaimer:  This post was sponsored by AirStone.  All opinions are 100% my own.

I am reeeeally excited to have teamed up with AirStone and Lowe’s to bring you today’s post!

Our living room is a unique space with arched entryways into the foyer, kitchen, and dining rooms.  The fireplace sits in the far left corner of the room which serves as the focal point which, up until a week ago, was pretty sad and well, “basic”.  From the time we moved into our home, I knew I wanted to makeover the fireplace to cover it with stone one day- a not-so-easy or cheap task.  However, thanks to AirStone, I finally have the fireplace I’d been dreaming of for a budget-friendly price.

AirStone is an ultra-light recycled stone veneer that provides the beauty, texture and durability of real stone without the need for professional installers or specialized tools.

It can be used to cover tile, brick, wood, and drywall and used both indoors and outdoors and all you need to adhere AirStone is a putty knife, a hacksaw and a tub of pre-mixed adhesive.

AirStone is available in three colors (Autumn Mountain, Birch Bluff, and Spring Creek) that complement a wide variety of interior and exterior decors. Each collection is made up of stones of varying sizes and color tones that all have the texture, feel and durability of real stone but weigh 75% less.  I chose the color Birch Bluff (the lightest of the three collections) for this particular project.

BEFORE

To get started, I simply emailed the company a picture of my existing fireplace along with the dimensions of the wall and they promptly responded with the projected number of boxes and tubs of adhesive I would need (4 boxes of stones- 3 flat edge, 1 corner- and two tubs or adhesive).  They also provide a product calculator on their website if you’d rather calculate it yourself!

Once I began, I first opened all of the boxes, took out the contents and sorted them into piles according to tone (indicated by the color on the plastic wrap) in an effort to mix the contents of the cartons to assure a good mixture of color just in case there were any dye variations between the boxes.

DURING

I chose to start on the top wall, above the mantle, and worked my way up from bottom to top in a horizontal manner.  It felt like I was putting together a large puzzle which was a bit confusing at first but once I got the hang of it it went really fast.  I would test out the pieces to see if they were a good fit and not too matchy-matchy and then apply the adhesive and firmly press the stones into place.

I read that it was best to apply the adhesive as if you were “icing a cupcake” rather than “buttering bread”.  Cuts could easily be made with a hacksaw.

The open space above the tv was the most difficult area to cover since there was no support for the stones to rest on and gravity along with the weight of the stacked stones caused them to slide down.  I ended up screwing a 2 ft piece of left over trim to the wall, hidden behind the tv, in an attempt to support the stones and keep them from moving.

 

I used a level to keep the stones in line and a few pieces of cardboard to maintain some spacing.

I would have to say the bottom half was the most difficult and required the most work, aka the most cuts, and my husband ended up using a wet saw to make special cuts around the baseboard molding.  I simply applied the AirStone products over the existing tile.

I can NOT stress enough HOW MUCH I love the end result!  It’s perfect- so much better than I’d imagined it would be!  The whole project took about 7 hours to complete and I couldn’t be happier with the way it turned out.

AFTER

I would undoubtably recommend AirStone to anyone wanting to makeover a space to achieve a traditional stone look and I would use it again in a heartbeat!  The transformation is amazing and I love how the fireplace now stands out with dimension and texture.  Knowing I did it all by myself we accomplished it together 🙂 makes it even more enjoyable!

Like what you see?!  Wanting to makeover a certain space in your home with this easy-to-use and budget-friendly product?  You can purchase AirStone products at your local Lowe’s.  And be sure to check out other AirStone Projects here!