Welcome to Thrifted vs. Styled # 154 where I share my latest estate sale find -- a French country cottage gel fuel fireplace! Being a fireplace junkie, I immediately fell in love. And while I love all fireplaces, the prettier the fireplace -- the better. Luckily this one is a beauty, painted with a cottage style floral pattern unique to any fireplace I've ever seen. 

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DISCLAIMER: I AM IN NO WAY ENDORSING THIS METHOD OF FIREPLACE USAGE. I AM NOT AN EXPERT IN THIS MATTER; MERELY SOMEONE WHO IS SHARING HER OPINIONS FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. ALWAYS USE CAUTION AND COMMON SENSE WHENEVER YOU USE ANY KIND OF FIREPLACE. PROCEED WITH CAUTION AT YOUR OWN RISK.  

I have to admit that when we unloaded it from the back of the SUV I had no idea what to do with the faux rocks, logs, and pine cones that came along with it, as well as the mystery metal box. Turns out they were a ceramic fireplace log set.  

After doing a little research I discovered it was a gel fuel fireplace, which was totally new to me. You buy cans of gel fuel and pour the fuel into the metal fire box and then carefully light it, after having placed the faux logs, etc, around and in front of the fire box to camouflage it.

Apparently, you can buy gel fuel that actually makes real fire crackling noises as it burns. Most cans burn from 2.5 to 3 hours. While on its surface this method seems like an easy way to have fires without the muss and fuss of using logs (and having ashes to clean up), I personally am uneasy at the thought of starting a fire inside a ventless wooden box. 

Will I light the fuel inside it? No. Will I still place the faux rocks, logs and pine cones inside it for a bit of faux reality? Yes, that works for me just fine. Eventually we could get an electric fireplace insert for a more realistic experience. 

Here's she is in all her glory at the estate sale. I was minding my own business one Sunday morning when I received a text from my daughter, including this photo. She said she had stopped at an estate sale on her way home and everything was 50% off. Oh, and did I want this fireplace? Hello!

Half price would have been $75, but they thought it might need an electrical cord (which it didn't) that they couldn't find SO they reduced the price to $50! She told them I'd take it, and my husband drove over with his SUV to pick it up. 

I've said it before and I'll say it again - I've taught my children well! 

 Not knowing where in the house it's actually going to go, I set it up in our foyer to get some styled shots to show it off. However, the light in the foyer is always sub par, and even with editing, most of the photos made the fireplace look more yellow that it really is. The color of the main front section of the fireplace is much more of a muted cream. 

That aside, I had fun styling the mantel. While the vibe is French country cottage, I wanted to juxtapose that with more of a classic style, which is why I used my Satsuma Ware gilded tureen filled with dried hydrangeas, as well as two rechargeable table lamps perched on thrifted vintage pedestals.     

I've never been a fan of black fireplace screens, but in this case I think I'm going to live with it. Eventually I could see me painting the black surround gold and replacing the black chain screen with a gold one.

One way to hide the black screen is with this French wall basket filled with dried hydrangeas. For similar tricks you can visit Five Ways to Hide an Ugly Fireplace (which happens to be one of my most viewed posts of all time).  

This vintage thrift store French wall basket has come in very handy over the years. I'll never get tired of it. I got it in 2018 for $3.99. Later I saw it selling online for $117.

The colorful Satsuma Ware tureen compliments the colors of the fireplace and vice versa. As do the muted purples, greens and browns of the hydrangeas. I love how the cordless rechargeable table lamps flank the tureen to complete the look. 

In my opinion you can never go wrong with hydrangeas.

I'm still trying to figure out where this pretty fireplace is going to go, but that's not unusual. I frequently bring home vintage finds without a clue as to where they're going to go! Can you relate? I believe just the right spot will reveal itself eventually at which point it will get a permanent place in our home. And as usual, I can not wait to continue styling the mantel throughout the upcoming seasons!  

Well, that's it for today, friends!

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