Whitewashing the fireplace

In order to make our massive red brick fireplace blend in with our modern-rustic look, we decided to try whitewashing it before taking other extreme measures (like taking out brick in attempt to make it smaller). 

This is what we were starting with...

Sooooo, I started white washing.

 

Using a white water based sample paint we had from Home Depot, LOTS of paper towels, a sponge, and a bowl (for the paint and water) I diluted about a tablespoon of paint into about 1/2 cup of water. This mixture varied throughout the process, but I found that ratio to be the best and easiest to control. Remember, you can always ADD more whitewash, but it's a lot harder to remove paint. 

I started first just sponging it onto the brick, but since it's a SPONGE, I kept getting watery paint everywhere. I learned quickly that less is more on the sponge, because then you avoid dripping as much into cracks and down the other bricks. 

I also put gloves on after doing a small section and realizing how much paint I was getting on myself!! 😂😂 oops!

Using a ladder helped too because I'm a midget. 

And there was the finished product UNTIL Brad got home and thought it should have one more coat :P I kinda like the more rustic, random look, but a more uniform whitewash will definitely be more minimalistic and clean. 

After we painted the living room too, it looks MUCH better :) 

We will see what he thinks when he sees it today. I think maybe doing one more might be even better, but we will see what he thinks!