Okay, so, here is a little background on me. I am a teacher, currently teaching first grade in Texas. I have three kiddos and a hardworking hubby. About five years ago my husband and I bought our first home together. Did I mention that I am a school teacher? Yeah, well that means we had to be reasonable in our purchase and ended up with a 1970-somethin' ranch-style house that had good bones but needed lots of love. I had just had our second baby when we purchased our home and so I rushed in, painted all the walls and cabinets in a flash and in we moved. Whew.
Fast-forward a few years and I was more than ready for a change. So, I began the slow process of changing things up a little bit at a time. Did I save all of the before and after pics..heck no, what was I thinking? I guess I wasn't anticipating a blog :-)
Anyway, since I have been on Christmas break for two weeks, I seized the moment and worked on the house a bit. My focus was on the living room this go 'round.
Here is a picture of the "before" fireplace. It takes up a whole corner in the living room and is the focal point since we decided to mount the t.v. above it. So, it was definitely time for a makeover.
I was too scared to actually paint paint the fireplace bricks, so I decided to whitewash the bricks with the same off white color that I used on all of my trim (Heirloom Lace from Lowe's).
Next, I had to get rid of that brass on the fireplace facing. My plan of attack was Rustoleum brand black paint made for high heat (it comes in a spray paint or regular brush on paint).
Last, my mantel was stained a dark brown and since my t.v. and my new fireplace surround would be black, I decided to stain it black too (Ebony to be exact) to make it all look cohesive.
We had already whitewashed my outside brick and so I had a little experience and it wasn't as scary for me. All you do is mix paint and water 50/50 to create a really watered down paint wash. Grab a rag and a brush and go to town painting. BEWARE...this will be a messy process! The paint is super thin and will drip like crazy so have your rag handy and cover anything that you don't want to get dripped on with painters tape. The brick is like a sponge and will soak up the paint quickly. So as to not go overboard I did a light coverage first and then let it all soak in and then made the decision to go a little thicker and do a second coat on several of the bricks.
Here is a picture of the bottom half completed. See the difference from the top to the bottom?
Stay tuned for the finished fireplace with it all fancied up southern style. :-)
Blessings,
Amanda
