The Big Reveal: The Fireplace

Ta-DA!!!

 

Dirty brick (otherwise I have nothing against brick - I like it) with brassy insert.

 Overall, it was a giant light suck in my library cave.  The fireplace itself blocks all of the light from coming in to the room.  Really, those two large doors that flank the fireplace are the only place it gets light from, so the fireplace itself gets the least of all.

Here's what I did:

• Painted the brick white (actually, it is primer, but I'm too lazy/cheap to paint it the proper color right now).
• Spray painted the brassy fireplace insert (which, while removable, would have only revealed a colossal mess behind it - something that would have taken FAR longer than the measly 10 hours I put into this project!)  While it looks black in photos, it is actually gun metal grey - that lovely dark dark charcoal grey color.  And, judging from the way I spelled "grey" I should have said "grey colour" eh?
• I left the wood mantle natural (obviously). :)
• Spray painted the black vents white (primer, again).

What a huge difference it makes.  While the room is still a cave, it sure does brighten it up having a white fireplace to reflect the light instead of a dirty brick one to absorb it.

Whaddya think?