paint and bricks

Thats exactly whats going on here

This kitchen saga might be getting boring to some of y'all but because its in the center of my house and my life-any small improvement is like a small victory!

Lets talk paint first -after I agonized over several greyish paint swatches

see;
                           
 we ended up going with "ashes" by Behr (the one over the plug outlet)

I'm really in love with it:)  I did have trouble taking a picture that captured the true color but this one is almost right
we (and by we I mean my sweet husband and his brother)  used a sander with a grinding pad on it (I'm sorry I have no idea of the technical terms here)
                        

 and then painted a thin coat of lacquer to seal it and avoid dust fallout-especially since there will be shelves next to one of them. I would have taken pictures but it was crazy dusty and smelled like burning hair.
                          I actually didn't know about the plan to seal the bricks but am very pleased with the results-smart guy I'm married to

We should be moving right along now-we purchased beaded board for the back-splash and should be started on the floors soon!  So get ready for some more play by play on the kitchen and thanks for bearing with me...