fireplace sneak peak

A few weeks ago (before our vacation) I decided the fireplace had to be painted. So I did.

I painted the brick white and sprayed the brass black. In keeping with the current financial climate around here (I have hardly worked in the last 2 months) I used all stuff we had on hand.

Here is what it looked like before we moved in. No, I don't think it looks dated either.
After a few months of being in the house. I always wished those cabinets were white.

This past winter. I didn't want to go to the trouble of painting the cabinets white so I painted the mantel dark. It didn't have the effect I was after.

So now, I am almost ready to show you the current state of things. But not quite.