Fireplace Update

Eventually I'm going to paint the walls a lovely beachy blue. But there are a few things that need to be tackled before I can do that. First up: update the fireplace. My house was built in 1990, and is full of basic contractor-grade materials that have not improved with time. Exhibit A - red brick and brass. 

Look at this poor thing, still living in the 90s and thinking it's cool. It makes me sad. Poor ol' girl needs a little makeover. 

As usual, payday was yesterday and I'm just broke already after paying bills. Whatever we do has to be cheap. 

I had white trim paint on hand, and painting supplies. I only had to get some spackling paste and the high-heat black spray paint. So a little under $9 for the whole thing. 

(You can see I was going to buy a paintbrush but at $5.47 I will just scrounge around the garage, thanks anyhow.)

So we got to work painting the mantle glossy white. First sanded it a bit, then taped it off. The Kid was very helpful with this. Even excited. Especially with the painting.

Who knew this would make a tween happy? I would have set him to painting weeks ago. 

The trim took about 3 coats but worked up quickly. 

Next, we took about 2 cups paint and equal amount of water and made our white wash. Two rags. Soaked one in the mixture and dabbed it in. Blotted with the other. The Kid's whitewashing was hands-down superior to mine. I was quickly demoted to blotter. 

PRO TIP: At about this stage in the process we learned that while drop cloths are great for managing splatters, if you accidentally spill a pint or so of whitewash on them, it soaks through and into the carpet. Take note.

Next was preparing for the black spray paint. We taped newspaper all around and opened the doors and windows and hoped for the best.

I will admit to being really worried about this step. I had visions of black paint streaks all over the brick. And the walls. And the ceiling. The Kid was not thrilled that I maintained control of the spray can. But I did let him use a razor to scrape excess paint from the glass, so we're good. And with the leftover high-heat paint I'll let him repaint our crappy barbecue tomorrow. Which is outside so he can spray and spray and spray to his heart's delight. Shh, don't tell him. It's a surprise 

So this was the end result:

Not bad for $8 and a couple hours. It took longer than it should have because we took a break in the middle and got caught up in some Family Guy episodes. We'll chalk that up to "drying time". 

Here's a before and after:

I'm really very pleased. So glad that red and brass are GONE! 

And.... here's my least favorite part of doing DIY projects. 

The rest of the room:

SIGH. How does one little project result in such chaos!!??

It'll all come together someday. Right?