Don't you wish your fireplace was haute like me?

I have been wanting to do something to this fireplace for awhile. I read this blog entry and was completely inspired by what I needed to do. Now, I will admit for the longest time I thought I was going to do this myself on my dad's radial arm saw, but my brother in law (Travis) laughed in my face, and I hate to admit it but he was soooooo right. Me doing this by myself is a very funny joke which I was reminded about constantly that day. First we primed the brick and then painted the brick a dark chocolate color and the backs of the book shelves green. Actually it is called pepper grass and that is exactly what I wanted. Green but with some spice. I love it!!

Have you ever seen Todd painting? Me neither, so I thought I'd take a picture to prove it.

Some of my favorite parts are the crown molding Trav added to the tops of everything, the clean lines of the wood around the fireplace, and this wire basket holding my old books. I do also think the fern in the insert is a great idea. None of these ideas are mine however, completely plagiarized by my friends in the blogging world. I realize that my ceiling needs to be touched up in this picture but I was reassured that the painting police aren't coming any time soon because they are too busy arresting people who are afraid to paint their brick and wood. TRAGEDY!

I'm still thinking of how I want to accessorize the mantle. But I know that it should involve a convex mirror that you usually see up in the top corner of a hallway at the hospital. Where can I find one of those?

Now the problem is my couch doesn't match with this beautiful new fireplace. We'll see what I can do about that. Do you think I'm capable of slipcovering myself? I also have a few other projects detailed out in my mind, but I think we are going to need a little break after this one. I forget how much work a little painting can be with a 4 year old and 2 year old.