Fireplace makeover...

One of the things I've always loved about my living room is the fireplace. It's large, with a beautiful mantle, and provides a lovely focal point for the room. One of the things I've always hated about my living room is the fireplace insert. It's brass. Bright, shiny 80s brass ~ like a bit of day-glow in an otherwise great room. You can see what it looked like before in the photos below. It just overwhelmed the room.

Anyway, the further along I got in my living room redecorating, the more out of place the fireplace insert seemed to be. It just had to be dealt with. My initial thought was simply to replace it. Then I priced fireplace inserts and decided I needed a Plan B. A couple people told me you could paint them with a special high-temperature paint, so I looked into that. I found an online tutorial and it didn't look too hard, so I went and bought some high-temperature paint in black (you either get that or silver) and got down to business. I had to lightly sand the brass first, then clean it well. I then taped everything off and started painting. It went quickly and before I knew it, I was done.

As you can see, it's a huge improvement. And it only cost me a couple of hours worth of time and about $15 in paint. You can't beat that.

I am linking to:
Wow Us Wednesdays at Savvy Southern Style
Home Sweet Home at The Charm of Home
Inspiration Friday at At the Picket Fence

Photos by The Art of Living Beautifully