Let's Freshen Up

My family room fireplace was feeling very grey, very cold and very ugly to me. It really needed a shot in the arm.

Ever since we purchased this home, I have wanted to build a wood mantle and surround for the fireplace, but alas, in five years it still has not come to fruition.

So in the picture on the left, when we first moved in, I whitewashed the lavender ~ yes that's right LAVENDER bricks. Unfortunately it made them look grey and I have done my best to ignore how awful they looked for nearly five years.

This morning while I had my coffee I thought to myself ~ why don't I get out the Benjamin Moore Cloud White semi-gloss paint and paint over the whole darn thing, mortar, brick & stone mantle included.

Here below is the result. I had fun moving the pictures around in the room and re-stylizing the mantle as well. As you can see I went with a collection of mercury glass with a nod to a primitive feel on the left. I switched the original picture with an African flavoured painting and set a brass handmade singing bowl beside it. This will have to do until I actually start the DIY project and get that mantle and surround built.

All in all, I'm quite happy with the look and the room suddenly feels like the sun is shining in it.