DIY: 

German Schmear

Well – here we are coming upon day number… well – I have lost track… day number (15, 23, 200?) of our “Sheltering in Place”.

To say that I am a person who likes (NEEDS) to stay busy)… is a bit of an understatement.

And if you are like me, you may be getting a little stir-crazy and looking for things to do around the house to keep you sane.

When Scott & I moved into our 1980’s home – we fell in love with it – even though the whole house needed updating!

So, here I am, at home, tired of my surroundings…so I suppose now is the time to tackle some of those DIY projects I have been putting off!

One of the first major projects tackled was to take that dirty, ugly, 1980’s, fireplace and update it with a technique called German Schmear.

Nope – German Schmear is not a donut or a bagel… 🙂 but rather a wonderful technique “that mimics the look of irregular stones and heavy mortar joints, a style often found on centuries-old cottages and castles throughout northern Germany.” (Thanks, Bob Villa for the great description!).

There are a lot of different ways to get this look – some easier than others, but this took me approximately 15-20 hours.  Mind you, I had more than your average amount of fireplace brick to cover!

Check back with me in a week or two and I will update you on what I am working on next!

-Terri Pettit