Fireplace Makeover

I love having a fireplace in my home.  However, my home was built in 1988 and that means brass accents.  Yikes.  It's been on my list of "projects to do" - to put a better mantel on it and get rid of the brass.

Brass-tastic

I decided to give it a temporary face-lift since I'm not sure how long it will take me to actually get a new mantel on it (that would take learning how to do a bit of carpentry work and buying some appropriate tools!).  Believe it or not, I've never spray painted anything before.  One of my favorite bloggers, Thrify Decor Chick, always talks about how she transforms items just by spray painting, so I thought I'd try it (originally, I thought I would have to replace that whole piece with the glass doors and all, but um, hello?  Spray paint is much, much cheaper).  Off to Home Depot I went to buy some spray paint.  I cleaned up the surface of the fireplace, took off the handles, sanded them down (they are made of wood - I never even realized it!), taped everything up, and started sprayin'.

I used Rust-oleum's Oil Rubbed Bronze on the brass and handles.  But, after I painted the handles, I decided that they disappeared into the fireplace and wanted them to stand out a bit.

I should have hung these while painting them.  They kept rolling around when I sprayed them and paper stuck to them before they completely dried.  Oops.  Hey, it's a learning process.

See how the black handle on the right does a Houdini disappearing act?

So, off to Home Depot again to get some primer (it was a PITA to sand off the dark color) and I picked out Rust-oleum's Satin Nickel.  This time I hung the handles, which made it a lot easier to spray.  (duh!)

The picture is not so great, but this color stands out much better.

It took 4 days to complete (including, drying time and changing my mind on the colors), but the actual time to do the work was minimal and easy and I think, it made a big difference.  What can I spray paint next?!

BEFORE

AFTER

I am very excited about another project that has been in the works for awhile - putting kitchen handles on my cabinets and drawers.  I think I finally found screws that are long enough and fit the handles, but I have yet to try them out so we'll see.  To be continued...

House: 7 1/2, Me: 6 1/2