Reader Question: My Fireplace

I've had a lot of comments/questions/requests about my old-school fireplace, as well as the art on it.

Most everyone who emails me, seems confused about what to do with their brick and raised-hearth situation. I just want to let you all know that I am confused with you. While I find fireplaces visually appealing, the amount of room mine takes up can be frustrating at times.

My fireplace at the moment:


My plans for the fireplace:
- Get rid of the brass. Once it's nice outside (and not raining), I'm spray painting that mofo black.
- For the shelves, I want to fill in the holes, paint it all white and then have a different color for the background. While I was debating green for awhile, I think a greige color would be best.

I will admit, at times I have considered painting the brick – but I can't bring myself to do it. I liked the brick better when the carpet was in, because of the contrast. Now, with the hardwood floors, it's just a lot of brown. Clearly, this is something I will not tackle unless I'm 100% for sure, and I don't know if I will ever reach that point.

As for the art on the fireplace, that's another Ashley original. I actually just put it up for the holidays, but then got lazy and never took it down. It's simple enough to make – paint the canvas white and then use painter's tape to create the squares. I actually made it in college after I got my tonsils out and was stuck in my apartment. I've done a color switcheroo since then, and the only original color left is yellow.

I hope that answers are the fireplace comments and requests. :)