We lived with a red mantel for over a year. It was red when we moved in, and red it would stay. It stood out to us an unexpected choice and place for that kind of color, and we always like the unexpected. On a whim recently, we decided to paint it black for a more sophisticated look, and we can't belive the difference. Seeing it now makes us think it never really looked all that good in red. (See "After" pic below.)
We'd love to see some of your Before/After pics of small jobs or big ones (even if "before" didn't equal "bad"). Tell us what you did and why you did it...we're all eyes! We want to know what little changes you make in order to make your apartment a better place to live.
What a difference! Love it in black!
i liked it better in red.
just sayin'
I like it much better in black. I would emphasize it by taking a few colors away. Like the multi colored candlesticks and the statue. It's a lot going on.
I like both the before and the after; I think the total effect is also influenced by the wall color. The red could have looked a little more sophisticated with gray walls.
...of course, the change in wall color could have been just a trick of the light...
I think the picture of the red mantel looks so much better. Not to say I don't like the black, cause your right, it does look classy. But there's something about the picture of the black mantel that makes me think of a gramma's apartement painted all white. The first photo looks so much more bright and fun.
Oh, I just read Joan A's comment...the red mantel would look amazing with grey walls. Yum.
thanks for the comments. the wall color is the same actually...i think there was just some weird lighting going on before/after. funny about the grandma comment because the candlesticks were my grandma's and the gold mirror belonged to my other grandma. so i do have a certain "thing" going on! but... i am one of those people who likes a lot going on, so those candlesticks aren't going anywhere! thanks everyone for your thoughts; maybe someday down the road it'll be red again...or something else.
this reminds me of the fireplace in the re-done living room in Beetlejuice.
not necessarily a bad thing, but whew. stark. i think if that's what you're going for, you should get rid of the vases, which are too cottagey and victorian for that brutally sophisticated mantle. i do like the candlesticks, though.
I like both colors, but preferably red because is more cheery.
I like the guy in Pic 1. He's got a sexy back and nice hair.
As for the mantel: I don't care for either color and would have painted it a warm gray. then granny's stuff and the marble tiles would have really popped!
Oh my, the red was so nice. I'm sorry but the black looks so very cheapy, cheap. Also, were your walls yellow in the first pic? Yellow walls and a red chimney piece would look quite nice together.
I like both. The Black is very sophisticated! Though I think the red was fabulous. I agree with Joan A and Casey on the changing up the wall color. It is amazing how much a little wall paint changes things up- I mean use the fireplace paint change as a model!
I think the 'red picture' looks better. The top of the mirror is cut off--so it appears that the mirror continues-the 'black picture' reveals that it is actually short and squat--the kind of mirror that might be atop granny's dresser. The 'after' photo makes the wall color seem too white and washed out, and the tile surround looks too prominent (and cheapish). I say do something bold and wacky--Hang the mirror on it's side!
i'm with john. yet i wish i could get a better sense of the guy's butt.