Brick fireplace with white mantel - torn between painting it black or

[Anonymous]

just white washing it. I don't like the brick look and want to do something about it but don't want to replace it per se. Suggestions?

[Anonymous]

I don't like the brick look either. But we may not stay here long, so we added white built-ins to either side instead of painting. Really helps the look, is unversally appealing and inoffensive I think. And handy.