Fireplace Makeover

Our fireplace has always been a bit of a decorating dilemma for me. When we moved in, the mantle was this huge piece of dark wood. It matched the trim and the dark wood in the kitchen, but those were all things we were going to lighten up a lot.

All the trim was going to be changed over to white, but I didn't think that would look good against the brick.

So, when I was painting the walls, a nice light butterscotch color, I painted the mantle as well. It was much better than the dark wood, but still not quite right. It still stood out a lot.

Today, I decided I would try to soften the look by sponging on a couple of other browns. It think it turned out pretty good. I think the overall affect is much better, but it still works with the brick.

What do you think?