Beng the random decorator that I am, I've decided that the black and red faux-painted fireplace in the dining room isn't really working for me. It's not working with the new tiles either, so I've decided I'm going to need to do something drastic. Part of the problem is that it's a big mantlepiece and is made all the bigger by its blackness. And frankly, the current paint job is not all that anyway.

So, I have a couple of choices. I can go for white or I can go for a faux light-coloured marble finish. Now, I already had my paint effects stage back in the 90s and I've pretty much got it out of my system, but marble never goes out of fashion in my eyes, so this Faux Painting Techniques site was a good find. Lots of cool ideas, including some interesting metal effects that I've not encountered.

I do think I'll start with plain white and see how I get on, of course...