Why didn't we do this years ago?

Like every family, when we moved into this house, we had a list of projects we wanted to tackle. Some projects were massive - like redoing the kitchen. Some were minor - like switching out light fixtures.

But one project that never occurred to us until this week was to paint the fireplace surround. We love the mantle and switched out the cover last year (the original cover was a lovely 80's brassy gold). But the ugly brick and tile we never gave much thought to. 

However, this month's HGTV magazine spotlighted a young couple who painted their huge fireplace white. The article left us scratching our heads...Why didn't we think of that?

Before

Up close shot of brick

We love a quick weekend DIY project. After scrounging around downstairs, Mike came up with some primer and a paint brush. Game on.

Three coats of white primer later, we had ourselves a lighter brighter fireplace. Then we used our date night babysitter to accomplish two tasks: purchase some tile for the floor in front of the fireplace and go get some sushi.

Brick be gone! Looks better already.

We chose a porcelain tile that looks like white marble. It's going to look great after we chip up the odd ceramic tile. We're not sure what it was grouted with... maybe silicone? But it's definitely not standard grout. And the tile is very thick so we may need to lay down concrete board first.

But won't this look pretty when it's done?

Stay tuned for the next update... we hope to tackle the tile this weekend.