Our home is in central North Carolina, where brick is the typical material for houses. Here, our dirt is not gorgeous, dark, and rich. It is, well, clay. Hard, red, and perfect for making bricks. It’s a good thing, because it is so durable. It’s sometimes a bad thing because, in homes built in the 1970s like ours, it is often dark and ugly when used for interior fireplaces. Where we live, every home in the neighborhood has a very dark, paneled den with dark stained paneling, trim and beams in 8′ foot ceilings. All of this creates a seriously dreary room.
Years ago, I painted all of the dark stain off-white in an attempt to lighten up. It was a tremendous improvement, since we have huge poplar trees in the back yard where the den faces, and it never gets direct sunlight.
I also added a lime wash over the brick, which did look lovely at the time. But over the years, smoke from fires just made the look dingy, and the black distressed chunky mantel now looks so dated, even though there is black in the rug.
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