My house is one big perpetual home improvement project. I’m easily distracted, so I have a ton of projects that I’ve started and never finished. The latest project I tackled? The fireplace.
I don’t remember when exactly it happened. I just woke up one morning, walked into the living room, and said “I hate that fireplace.”
And I did. It was big, dark and dirty-looking. I’d somehow never noticed how horrible the fireplace was, and I think my eyes were finally opened when we started preparing to paint the woodwork around it white. It really set off how much darker and smaller it made our living room feel. With only one small window, the room needed all the brightening it could get.
So my mom came down to stay for a few days and help with the baby. And I got out some paint.
I mixed leftover white latex paint with water in the only small bucket I had, dumping my sea shells and shark teeth all over the craft room table for the duration of the project. Then I taped off the metal doors and got started.
It took several hours, but when it was finished, I was so excited I didn’t even wait for the paint on the top half to dry before putting stuff back on the mantel and taking a picture. As a result, the top half looks way darker in the “after” picture. It doesn’t look like that in person, I promise! Though I do intend to go back and touch things up when I get around to painting the rest of the woodwork around it.
The end result is all our visitors being surprised at how much brighter the room seems, and everyone thinking I’ve repainted the whole room.
Isn’t it funny what a difference a few hours can make?
Now I just need to finish some of these household projects I start…