O Yes!

Three coats of oil based paint have been applied and it is a semi-glossy finish, making the old stone look shiny and new.
WE LOVE IT.
Good thing, since there is no turning back now.
The floor still needs a few coats, but no ladder is required for that.

The fireplace surround is looking O, So much better now too, in white.

That dreary corner of the room will no longer be dreary and it got me thinking...
Dave had to leave midday and was gone for five hours, so while he was gone I got motivated and put away all my stuff, cleaning out space in the closet, and putting a bunch of stuff outside to go to the garage attic. It occured to me that my big studio space is more than I actually use, and now that Dave has put in the effort to make that other half super nice, why not turn that half into a family room, for TV watching?


I was thinking of getting the big TV out of the living room (and all its accompanying wires and cables) and bringing it into this room. The studio was originally an outdoor room (before we got the house) but was made part of the house later, with the adjoining door remaining a heavier weatherproof door. This means that it is more or less soundproof to the rest of the house.
If this half of the studio became a family room, the living room could be JUST a living room. Football games, and loud car chase movies could be segregated to this end of the house, watchable at anytime day or night. Yes!
When Dave came home I presented the idea to him and he likes it. O boy!
There will be some reconfiguring yet to do, to move the dvd/Netflix player and make sure it gets hooked up to work here, but it looks like we have a plan.