Random Excerpt: Happy Birthday to the best mother a girl could have! Mine. Hope Dad takes you shopping and lets you look at whatever you want to for as long as you want to and not just computers and electronic stuff.
Ok, A lot of paint. The size of this space is huge about 60 feet by 18 feet. So we took advantage of an Angie’s list special and hired 2 painters for a day. That was a very good decision.
They left us this cool bucket, with paint screen and a roller. I had never seen one before and it totally eliminates the need for a roller pan and multiple refills.
DH and I still painted about 8 hours on Saturday together, after we ran our first 5k as a couple, in the rain, in the wee hours of the morning. Yes we are totally drenched in this picture. At least he had the good sense to wear a hat. He got a medal too, but wasn’t as excited about it as I was. Um, his first time was less than 28 minutes….I arrived across the finish line 3 minutes later. He mostly has a desk job–I work out a lot. And even though I wasn’t any where near a fast time, I cried when they put the medal on my neck. It was after all to help save unborn babies and their mothers.
You can get a good sense of the color in the photo above. It’s Behr Silver Drop–which is a very light,very neutral greige. I’d call it a warm gray or a cool beige. I’ve used really wall colors in my house before and get tired of them really quickly. I’m a neutral kind of girl and I really love white. And then pops of color from rugs or curtains, pillows and such–or just really clean and almost bare.
Ok, here’s a confession that I can say here, because this isn’t a decorating blog. I kind of like builder’s grade–and everywhere beige or gray. Ever since I was a little girl, seeing a new house with builder grade everything was like the height of luxury. Our house was built in the 30’s with original doors and knobs and everything that is cool right now, but back then it was 40 years old–the same as 70’s stuff is today. We had pleasant dreams at night of builder’s grade. We had no idea how charming everything could be if we just restored the house to it’s original glory. Now when I read decorating blogs (and I’m subscribed to about 20 of them) they commonly bashing builder’s grade and working to eradicate it all from their home. Their transformations are amazing, but I’d be happy with the before and not even realize a transformation was needed.
I love how the kids like to be close to us. They brought a tiny lap top in to watch a movie where Darren was working even though we have rooms with furniture somewhere in the house :). Hmmm, I wonder where Dub was? Oh and paint the fireplace or no? I go back and forth every day on what to do. Everyone in my house says NO. But I love a nice white painted fireplace. And a mantle. Think I could stick a mantle above the arch? Would that look wonky?
Maybe you could whitewash the fireplace. It would leave some variation of color but give you a lighter feel overall.
Mantle, go for it. Paint on fireplace, no way–think chipping and how many coats it may take! I like the natural stone character. Hope you found Dub, LOL.
Carrie
Angela congrats on your 5K, you guys look great. I say do not paint the fireplace, but you could put a “mantle” over the wood box. A wooded shelf, even with a corner on the left – that is hard to describe but match the corner on the right and don’t just make a straight edge on the left. Know what I mean? Then decorate that just like a mantle.
Hummm, I think I’d be tempted to try and paint the fireplace grey or something. And make Darren hold a board across the top and stand there with it for a while to decide if you can do a mantel. I think the idea really has merit, but since you wouldn’t want to make a mistake, he should probably hold it for a really long time. 😉 SO excited for you and the 5K medals!! I really wanted to participate, but with our newest addition I feel I’m maxed out on helping babies!!!
I like color and fun design, so not crazy about builder-plain stuff, but I do like a clean, uncluttered look, no matter the style, so I understand that! If you’re taking votes, I would choose to paint the fireplace, or at least whitewash it since the rest of your room is so light & neutral. And of course you should have a mantle if you want one–but you may need to fill in with wood and/or decorative molding below it (between the mantle and the curved brick, on the outside edges) to create a seamless transition from the curved brick to the straight/flat mantle and make it look like it all belongs together. This page has a good visual for how to combine curved below with flat mantle on top … would work nicely for yours — the one labeled Sam’s Fireplace After Remodel. http://www.homebedazzle.com/diy_fireplace_remodels.htm Or you could just panel/facade the entire thing with wood instead of painting the brick, and then if you ever want the brick back, you can just remove the wood and have brick again. You’ll think of something fabulous, I’m sure! Enjoy the process 🙂
I would not paint the brick-one less thing to do, right? I don’t know about a mantle over that arch, although I love a mantle. Not sure how it would look and it would be kind of high. Ya’ll make me tired just looking at your photos, and running a 5K in the middle of all that work?! Can’t wait to see the finished project- I’m sure you are ready to be done, too!
Maybe an arched mantle? no! no! lol You have to go with what YOU want or the family but I think the fireplace is PERFECT just the way it is!
I can’t wait to see your progress, when the cabinets go in – I think it will be a shock. If you are looking for votes, I’m going to have to say no to painting the fireplace and instead of a mantle, bring in a rustic coffee table or something made of wood. That will warm it up without taking away fromt hat beautiful arch in the fireplace. If you just can’t live with the brick, I would save up and stone the brick with that stone tile from home depot. Not super expensive and would give you a look that would last forever. Best of Luck and Congratulatons on that 5K time and the metal – you deserve it!!
Wow, Angela, I am impressed with all you are doing. The house is looking really nice. My personal preference would be to leave the fireplace as it is. It has a lot of character of its own. And, much as I like mantels, I can’t visualize one there. Maybe there is a way to make it work, and I just can’t see how it would come together. 🙂
Your comment about Darren having the desk job and you working out all the time, but his running time still being significantly shorter than yours made me snicker out loud. I feel the same way with my husband. But maybe sometimes more with food. I feel like he eats what he wants when we wants with no repercussions. And I’m over here making myself choose what’s healthiest, sometimes allowing sweet treats and I rake in repercussions like there is no tomorrow. Or I’ll work out regularly and he’ll sometimes go running, but it looks like he’s the one that does it regularly. But I believe you Angela that you work out regularly. 🙂 I understand, lol. By the way I think a painted brick fireplace would be pretty.
I have a white painted fireplace in my living room and I hate it. It always looks grungy and dirty to me, no matter how I try to clean it. Just clean the brick with a dry steel brush. It should liven up the color.