In my years of Pinterest perusing, whenever I would come across a brick fireplace with the German schmear technique…I would fall in love again and again. I think my first exposure to this idea was on Fixer Upper…when Chip decided on a whim to schmear the fireplace. LOL! So when it came time to build our woodburning surround in our sun room, I knew exactly what I wanted!

This method dates back centuries…and it turns out different every time, much like a unique work of art. And because I want my house to look like a quaint European cottage, this was the perfect choice. I love the distressed, rustic look…and I’m so glad we did it!

But before we could schmear (and yes, that IS a word…even though some people may say “smear”)…we had to BUILD the surround first! We headed down to Hebron Brick in Sioux Falls and picked up some thin brick from their Americana series. We chose the Bell Tower color because we wanted a little variation in tone.

We wanted to try something fun…and decided to do herringbone on the floor. It turned out so fantastic…Matt amazes me every time with his endless skills! Oh, and do you see the front windows completely covered in ICE?! It was a sure sign that this warm little corner is highly necessary in South Dakota! :)

The most stressful moment occurs when you’re putting the mortar on for the first time. Ok, Matt wasn’t stressed, I was a little stressed. After watching 29 tutorials…he was like “just let me do it babe”. LOL!

Here is the finished product! So perfect! The floor turned out with more coverage than the wall, but over time it will wear down as the wood is piled up. You can see that we also got the pine put on the celing and the dry wall is starting to get finished. All that’s left now is to finish the trim and paint! We’re planning to get that done in early December so we can decorate our very first upstairs room for Christmas! The hardwood will go in sometime in the spring.

And just a peek at what it looked like when we moved it!! Lots of changes and many more to come!!

Our first fire…just in time for my birthday! The stove is a Blaze King Ashford 30…and we got it on marketplace for $500! It’s a super high quality stove that will heat our entire first floor if we would ever lose power in the winter. Hooray for self-sufficiency!

I’m so excited and thankful to have the glow and cozy warmth of a woodburning stove this winter. Be sure to scroll through the process photos below and ask any questions in the comments!