A Fireplace Facelift

It has been over a month since The Big Storm rolled through here. There are still some big branches in the backyard that need to be cut up and bundled and put out by the curb, but that will get done one of these days. The time I spent cleaning up the yard filled up my house work quota for a while, but in the last couple of weeks I have been feeling the urge to get some more projects done around here.

From the moment I first stepped foot in our house, one of the things that bothered me the most was the paint color on the walls in the first floor living spaces. And it isn't just the fact that it is an epically boring shade of khaki, but that it was indiscriminately painted on everything that wasn't the ceiling. Did the built in cabinets really need to match the walls? Were you really too lazy to paint the doors a different color than the walls? Did the fireplace really need to blend in to the terribly painted wood paneling in the family room? Yuck.

Where is the fireplace? I can't see it because someone painted it the same color as the walls.

As Drew and I prepared to buy the house we daydreamed about our future there, inspiring Drew to take a picture from the listing and transform it through Photo Shop to show me how wonderful the room would look with the changes I envisioned. Personally, I think the white fireplace, which is NOT the same color as the walls (can I get a "DUH!"?), makes the room look taller and more open and is a great focal point. Hopefully someday we can make that flooring happen, too.

Oh, the magic that is Photo Shop!

So, after months of procrastination, I decided that having a whole day off of work was a sign that I was supposed to paint the fireplace today. One of my former coworkers coached me by telling me that if the existing paint came off with nail polish remover that it was acrylic based and I would be good to go painting over it without primer. I used paint with primer already in it anyway, but it was nice to not have to do too much extra prep work. I cleaned the brick really well, taped off the edges (which I realized I didn't do so well after I removed the tape. Oops! I am choosing to blame the yucky wood panel walls), and got to work!

FIREPLACE BEFORE:

FIREPLACE AFTER:

Dear fireplace, I am going to let you dry for a few days and then I am going to decorate you for Christmas and you are going to be GORGEOUS! Love, Angie

What do you think?