Urban Sophisticate on a Disco Budget

I swear, one day I will be completely happy with my interior design aesthetic.

But today is not that day.

As some of y’all know, I tend to be a thrift store maven. I love going to thrift shops. I don’t care if someone’s grandma spilled tuna casserole on a table as long as the table is solid and has good bones. Some time back, I scored a pair of Lane Acclaim tables for $20, thinking they were a good size for the living room. I restored them and now they look like a million bucks.

Of course, that means I am on the lookout for the matching coffee table. It also means I am now, once again, redecorating the entire living area. The tables just do NOT go with a farmhouse chic style (sorry, Joanna. I still lurv you). They are definitely mid-century modern, and so am I. Goodbye, traditional Persian-style rug with fringe. Hello urban shag rug with bold stripes. Goodbye chippy paint. Hello metallics. Goodbye farmhouse antiques. Hello atomic retro.

The one thing in this house that has always stumped me is the fireplace. It is a dull grayish taupe brick, with the standard gray cement mortar. I am very leery of painting the brick, but lightening up the mortar would be a vast improvement to it. At least you could see the bricks! And it is a far thriftier option than having the bricks painted or even covered with tile. So that was a quick and very thrifty update to the fireplace.

You can see the difference. All I used was chalk paint in an off white shade to match the mantel. Though it wasn’t difficult, it took a couple of days because I was using a tiny brush and had to wipe the brick edges with a damp rag as I went along. I chose chalk paint because of its matte effect, which lets the texture of the mortar come through. Using acrylic or latex paint would make it look too smooth, and also, the clean up wouldn’t be as easy.

Ok, time to head off to Lowe’s. This place ain’t going to caulk itself. 😀