So do y'all remember the monster 1970s fireplace in our future living room?

I could probably sit in the middle, it's that large.

On each side of the bbq pit/pizza oven size fireplace are two cubbies for firewood storage.  Since we are going to hook up the fireplace to gas, we don't need to use the wood storage.  The plan is to seal off the outside doors and make these storage nooks.

Over Thanksgiving break, we started working on brightening up the color of the rocks.


We just weren't feeling the dark stone color, so we started with a diluted gray chalk paint and a light application.



The next step was a diluted white paint over just the stones themselves.

My next phase will be to combine the two colors and soften up the contrast between the grout and the stones.  I also want to try one of the chalk paint glazes to add a bit more depth to the stones.  As of right now, I think it's looking way better than it did before.  The lighter color also helps the stained mantle pop, whereas before it was lost in the midst of all that brown.

It really brightens up the room!