Fireplace Makeover!

When we first moved into this house almost five years ago, we knew there was a lot we wanted to do to the place. Not exactly a fixer upper, but maybe it just needed some updating. It was very plain, very 70's and very not our style! Back then I wasn't sure what "my style" was. I was trying to figure it out but couldn't come up with what it was exactly. I knew it wasn't modern, or traditional but something like a mix of country and shabby chic. I finally figured out what it was when I stumbled upon a blog called The Lettered Cottage (TLC). I found TLC through my online hero Pioneer Woman of course! So I got inspired by Layla, the author of TLC. She's got a rock star husband like me and I found that her style was exactly what I'd been trying to figure out! It's cottage style! Finally a name for what I liked! So, inspired by Layla and her amazing home, here's our fireplace makeover! Go here to visit The Lettered Cottage and be sure to go back through the archives to see all of her amazing before and afters.

Here's our living room a few years ago when it still had the original wood fireplace and bookshelves along with the carpet. We made the room complete with a massive pack and play, always very chic!

A little while later we got rid of the carpet and installed laminate wood floors. So happy with them! At this point I said I was never going to do anything to the fireplace and bookshelves. Although I remember one of the first things I said when I walked into the house to look at it was that I hated the color of the bricks on the fireplace. I guess I just got too busy to worry about it!

 Eventually I had painted just about everything I could in the house and decided to go ahead and tackle the mantel and bookshelves. The mantel decor was inspired by Layla at TLC. 

So a couple of nights ago Matt said, why don't we redo our fireplace? I am all about a makeover, so I of course agreed and went to work looking at pics online of fireplaces that I liked. We agreed on putting bead board on top and painting the bricks on the bottom. I was a little iffy about painting the bricks on the bottom. I never have liked painted bricks, I am mostly against them actually! I found that some people use a white wash technique instead of regular paint. So, we agreed to try whitewashing them first and seeing how it looked. Our friend Richard came over to help with the redo and the first thing the guys did was tear my mantel off the fireplace. I was scared.

The next thing they did was apply the whitewash to the lower half of the bricks. It was just watered down white latex paint and was applied using an old white t-shirt. He tried to keep the mortar the old color that it was before.

Next, they applied liquid nails to the back of the piece of bead board. They had it cut at Lowe's.

The tried to get the bead board to stick to the bricks but it just wasn't happening. So, they looked for a hammer drill so they could nail the bead board to the brick. They found one and got to work!

Once the bead board was applied they put up the support board for the mantel.

 Next they added the moldings for the top and bottom and added the rest of the mantel.

Then Matt painted the moldings white.

And here's the final product!

I am so excited about how it turned out! I can't even believe it's in my house. Looks like pottery barn or something! Matt and Richard did such a good job! What do you think?

And here's the quick view of the before and after: