I'm Dreaming of a White Fireplace

I like fireplaces. I like brick. I am not, however fond of my brick fireplace.

These bricks are so uniform they look fake. And they're SHINY. Who ever head of shiny bricks?!

Someday I'd like to put up a white wood facade to cover the bricks. But it's number 443 on the boy's project list. So in the meantime, I'm seriously dreaming of a white fireplace. I don't take painting brick lightly, but I want my living room to look like one of these lovelies:

Rachel Stuart Haas' living room @ decor8

flickr user Panopticon2's fireplace

AB Chao even shared a fireplace painting tutorial on Apartment Therapy