Living Room Makeover

Feb 28

What a difference painting the fireplace tiles and accent wall makes.

This living room used to have a TV over the fireplace and that just sorta spoils the mood of a classy parlor, which was the vision. I wanted to add warmth to the room and turn it into a place to enjoy a quiet book by the fireplace, time on the piano, or meaningful conversation. This room was going to be transformed from an American Front-Livingroom back in time to the 50’s– where the home was build and designed, to a “parlor”.

When I first moved to Kansas City I was inspired by the iconic old neighborhood of Pendleton Heights. I wanted to bring that old feel into this Kansas City suburb home. The first thing was to figure out what to do with these tiles. I didn’t want modern, but classic. After some research I discovered that You can actually paint fireplace tiles! Next, I knew I wanted a velvet green couch… that was the “parlor” style I was going for and being a bit trendy, it tied the old parlor feel to the modern-classic look I was going for.

I had these incredible chairs circa 1880 I picked up at an auction in Berkeley, CA, and they really needed fit into this room somehow as well.

Next, What would I do above the fireplace? I definitely did not want a TV, but needed something large and stately. I found this incredible mirror with a beautiful ornate baroque style for $25 at my local Restore, and it was already black! Didn’t have to paint it!

I shared my vision with TAV Contracting, a local small business contractor, and they did the painting and patch work. Voila, you can see the process and finished product below!

Here is the living room before the makeover.

*For spraying the inside of the fireplace to give it a fresh look, you will need HIGH HEAT spray paint like this one. *note, if you click this link and purchase it on amazon, as an amazon affiliate I may receive a small kickback)

Fireplace before the makeover- Tiles needed a major update so i found help on pinterest for how to paint fireplace tiles.

Taping off the mantle to paint the wall and tiles

SIDE NOTE: *This is also when I learned about the LG cordless vacuum from my contractor— OMG! It’s the most amazing vacuum ever, check it out here.