I have a magazine that I've had for over a year now. In this magazine they have a kitchen that I love with a fireplace in the dining room and the fireplace was painted a light beige by the owners. I really dislike the color of our fireplace . So, Brandon worked 2nd shift on Thursday and when he walked out of the door I took it upon myself to paint the fireplace. So he was surprised when he called me that night and I told him what I did. I don't think he believed me until he got home and saw it for himself. I think he likes it. 
This is a picture of the fireplace before.
This actually looks better than the picture. The oak mantle had a golden tone. So, I was going to paint the mantle white with a primer paint color. After one coat of it I didn't like the white so I tried to clean it off with soapy water. It took off the shiny seal and instead of taking off all the white primer I left some on it to give it a vintage look. I am happy with it.
While I was painting my cousin Carie called me and I was explaining what I was doing. I told her I would put it on my blog so she could see what I was doing. I think she got the impression I had no idea what I was doing. She was laughing at me because I was using the paint color that we used in our foyer. She thought there was paint specifically for painting a fireplace. That night after I painted the fireplace I did google and she was right. Hope you like it. p.s. In the magazine (with the painted fireplace ) the picture has an amazing crystal chandelier. Friday night I looked everywhere for the chandelier and finally I found it (were I was hoping I wouldn't because they're so expensive) PotteryBarn $400. I was so bummed. I did hint to Brandon that it would make a wonderful anniversary gift. But he laughed at me. Oh well, I guess a girl can dream.
-nicole
