simple fireplace before and after

I have been thinking about my outdated looking fireplace FOREVER. I have grande plans to paint it white someday and to also add a white mantle with some scrap wood and an extra piece of moulding that has been in the garage for sometime now. That will happen one of these days. But for now, I am very pleased with the simple changes we were able to make since Christmas. We got some Christmas money from my parents and from Mike's mom this year, so we finally went out and bought a new fireplace screen. The old one was brass and falling out of the fireplace. We have had our eye on a black wrought iron one for awhile, and found a very reasonable one at Target. ( I love Target). I also have been wanting to add some more low level lighting on the fireplace, but with the very narrow brick mantle that is in place now, you can't put anything wider than 4inches on it. So, I found some pretty candle sconces at Bed Bath & Beyond, that look great, esp at night with the candles lit and a fire roaring behind the new screen. Here is a couple before pics, I usually have a pic hanging above the fireplace, but at Christmas, hang a lighted wreath. These give you a pretty good idea of what the lovely brass screen looked like.

Now, the after. I also took my favorite picture of the kids that I had hanging in the hallway in a smaller frame, and placed it into another larger frame that housed some of Chase's artwork (his art is now in the smaller frame in the hall :) ) I LOVE it. What simple changes have you made lately around your house???