Young House Love

Home Decorating & DIY Tutorials

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How To Paint A Brick Fireplace

We’re back with the fireplace update that we mentioned in yesterday’s post about removing our old not-baby-safe wood stove.

Bart Pulled Out

This next step is definitely just the beginning of our fireplace makeover (as in step two of probably fifteen). We figure we’ll tackle this baby in stages (just like we do pretty much everything else around here) so the first step was to spend as little as possible to get it looking better for the short-term (since it might be a while until Phase Two kicks in). So here’s what it looked like yesterday morning:

Bart Gone Front

And here’s what it looked like yesterday evening:

Mirror After Straight

Mirror After Side

I know, I know – the orange paneling makes it look craZy with a capital Z. But just scroll down a bit to the dark den from our first house (which also had paneling and brick) to see just how transformative paint can be (we didn’t remove the paneling in there, just primed and painted it). So try to envision some fresh paint in a soft color on the paneled walls with glossy white beams and trim to match the same semi-gloss paint on the fireplace. Can you see it?

Done With More Table

And now for a word about the candles and the mirror that I tossed into the firebox. Those are definitely not Clara-friendly. That was just mommy psychosis (I wanted something cute in there for the pics, even if there won’t be a thing in there for a while during Clara’s waking hours). It was such a quick little addition that it gave me some baby’s-in-bed-let’s-have-date-night ideas (you know as opposed to baby’s-in-bed-let’s-upload-fireplace-photos-and-write-the-post-for-the-morning ideas). The latter won out, so maybe I’ll break out this look for anniversaries. Me-ow.

Candle Tray

But when it comes to the day to day stuff, l fully expect to find pillows, stuffed animals, books, and whatever else Clara decides to put in there awaiting me when I walk into the kitchen. The girl loves hiding stuff around the house, so I’m guessing that she’ll appreciate this new little nook. Maybe we’ll even be able to sneak a picture of her chilling in her not-hot-and-not-sharp-anymore zone reading a book or snuggling with Gee (her stuffed giraffe that she named herself).

The best thing about this little fireplace facelift is that it took us about five hours (on and off with drying time in between coats) and it only cost eight dollars (and three cents, to be exact). We just used primer that we had leftover from painting the guest room (Olympic Premium No-VOC primer), some white semi-gloss paint that we always have around for trim touch ups (Olympic Premium No-VOC paint) and a quart of Benjamin Moore’s Temptation in satin that we picked up from Lowe’s (color matched to, you guessed it, Olympic Premium No-VOC paint). Primer isn’t always necessary (we’ve gone without it while painting brick before) but we had it on hand so we figured we might as well use it.

You guys know we’re no strangers to painting brick fireplaces since we tackled not one but two in our first house. Remember this guy who went from this…

Final Living Room Before 1

… to this:

Final Living Room After 1

Detailshotfireplacemantlepr

And this one that went from this…

Final Den Before 1

… to this:

Final Den Take 2

You can check out our original fireplace-painting tutorial here, but since we’re nothing if not even chattier these days, we thought we’d recap the steps we took when it came to prepping our current fireplace for paint. First we:

  • Closed the damper and declared the fireplace inoperable (we never used the woodburning fireplace in our last house and plan to either install a double-sided gas or electric insert down the road).
  • Scrubbed the heck out of the firebox, exterior brick, mantel, and hearth with soap and water to cut the grease/ash (we used Dr. Bronners + water).
  • Let everything dry.

Then it was time to prime and paint. Here’s what we did:

  • Primed the firebox with Olympic Premium No-VOC Primer (remember, we’re not going to use this fireplace for wood burning, so if you’ll be using your fireplace either leave the firebox unpainted or hunt down high-heat options that are meant for the job).

Priming Firebox

  • Painted the firebox with Ben Moore’s Temptation in satin (color matched to Olympic Premium No-VOC paint).

Temptation Can

  • Taped off the wall around the fireplace (since you have to smash a paint brush into craggy brick, it’s hard to stay in the lines).
  • Caulked the big crack between the tile hearth and the firebox so it would look seamless when painted.

Caulking Crack

  • Caulked other especially cavernous holes in the craggy brick so it looked less shadow-y and chipped when painted.

Caulking Brick Cracks

  • Primed the brick fireplace surround, wood mantel, and even the tiled hearth (yup, the tiled hearth… more on that in a minute).

Primed Fireplace

  • Painted the brick fireplace surround, wood mantel, and tiled hearth with two coats of Olympic Premium No-VOC semi-gloss paint in off-the-shelf white (some folks like more contrast when it comes to mantel and hearth color, but we’ve always loved the all white look – although later when we build out or even tile the fireplace & surround we might add more varied colors and materials for fun).

Painting Fireplace

  • Applied three thin and even coats of Safecoat Acrylacq (a low-VOC non-toxic alternative to polyurethane) to just the tiled hearth on the floor. Be warned that certain polyurethane types will leave a nasty yellow tint so the only two that we trust are the Safecoat I mentioned above and Minwax Water-Based Polycrylic Protective Finish in “Clear Gloss.”

You think we’re crazy for painting the tile on the floor huh? Check this out. We did the exact same thing to the exact same heart floor in our first house. See the same little smashed up tile?

Final Living Room Before 1

The whole prime, paint, and poly technique was meant as a very very temporary solution (we planned to replace the tile pretty soon thereafter). But it stuck. Literally. It still looked mint four and a half years later when we sold the house! Even with foot traffic (in shoes) and small nephews of ours ramming it with metal matchbox cars. Here’s where I’d add a close up shot, but sniffle, we don’t live there anymore. So here’s the last wide shot we took of the room (you can see that it still looks glossy and white):

Final Living Room After 1

So although painting ceramic tile, especially tile that gets walked on, is nothing the pros recommend, we’re totally cool with doing it as a temporary fix (although doing it in a bathroom is probably a terrible idea because it can get slick when walked on with sopping wet feet). I should mention that in both cases the tile was terra cotta which is really matte and porous (and not slick and shiny), which might be why it grabbed the paint and held the heck on for such a long time. Who knows, it could inexplicably show a lot more wear and tear than it did in the last house (you know we’ll tell ya if things quickly go south). But either way we’re pretty sure we’ll bring in some awesome new tile for the hearth and maybe the entire fireplace when we get down the road a bit (read: save enough loot to tackle the kitchen in a more major way).

Have you guys painted any brick lately? Or ever primed, painted, and poly’d tile- just to see what would happen? Has your husband ever taken terribly unflattering photos of you painting something to get you back for sharing pics of him scrubbing brick in his high school gym shorts?

Comments

  2. Cassie says

    Just another example of the miracle that is white paint! Looks great, guys! Can’t wait to see what you decide to do with the paneling.

    Reply

  4. rhiannon says

    i am seriously and anxiously awaiting the day you guys tackle the kitchen. i know it’s a big job and that’s why you’ve been holding out on it, but oh man, that panelling would seriously drive me super crazy. i don’t know how you’ve managed this long. but it is looking mighty spiffier now that you’ve painted the fireplace!

    Reply

  5. Ayana says

    WOW!!! that looks great, but all your fire places have looked great. I dont know what to with our fireplace, it has a big frame around it. plus my husband likes warm colors. can’t wait to see when its done

    Reply

  6. Jennifer says

    I was stunned when I saw the after photo. What a HUGE difference a can of white paint makes!! Great job! It is inspiring me to get a mantle for my tiny, weird, brick dome fireplace.

    Reply

  7. lyndsey says

    Hey guys! I love reading your blog..the hubby and I just purchased a 1960s brick ranch and can’t wait to tackle a lot of the projects we’ve seen here! I love the idea of painting our reddish brick fireplace, but my hubby’s afraid this will turn away future buyers who’d rather have the natural brick intact…can yall weigh in on this? Did yall have any trouble selling your old house with all the painted brick?

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      We sold our house (with two painted brick fireplaces and a wall of painted paneling) within two days of it being on MLS! Realtors these days say that when things look lighter and fresher they sell faster, so I bet the paint helped rooms look bigger and newer!

      xo,
      s

  8. Lisa H. (bountifulchaosmom) says

    We painted parts of a half-brick, half-wooden fireplace last year. Black on the bricks, white on the rest. We also painted some similar tile, but I didn’t use a polyurethane type product – it chipped. We’re getting ready to do a touch-up this weekend as we finally finish painting the room (yea!) and we will add that to our to-do list.

    Thanks for the very timely post! You’re lifesavers!

    Reply

  10. Megan says

    Totally used your first “how to” to paint our own fire place!!! Glad to see you at it again… you were pretty much the only way I could convince my husband to go along with the plan! Thanks for all the tips and inspiration!

    Reply

  12. Stephanie M. says

    Like others, I thought I was looking through to the other room; then realized it was the mirror! Makes me wish I had a fireplace like that. I grew up in a 1911 house so I had my own fireplace in my room! I never did anything to it, but would love to today!

    Reply

  15. Elizabeth says

    Alright guys, you must have something up your sleeves, there wasn’t a second post today… :D The fireplace looks great! I can’t wait to see what else you do…

    Reply

  18. Laura says

    I am so impressed! What a difference that made. We also have a non-functioning fireplace in our new house that is already painted ORANGE so I really need to get to it. You guys have totally inspired me. We have a toddler, so when we moved in we immediately threw up some fireplace doors (just ones from Home Depot) and that helped it look less scary. I guess since you guys have bigger plans down the road you probably don’t want to bother with anything like that right now. I never would have thought to paint the inside. That gave it a nice clean surface that you really can feel comfortable letting your baby crawl around on. Good job, guys!

    Reply

  19. Kimberly M. says

    I love the fireplace! Who knew paint could make such a difference on something. It looks amazing. &I love how you put a small mirror and a tray of lit candles inside the hollow fireplace, really makes it pop. To bad its not Clara proof lol. It could stay there =P

    Reply

  21. Donna Huebsch says

    Wow – my jaw literally dropped…this looks great! Totally changes the look of that fireplace. I am going to have to come up with something to update ours…it’s an 80’s stone fireplace with a chunky brown mantel. It looks pretty dated – time to browse the Internet for ideas :o)

    Reply

  22. kell says

    Hi, I’ve been reading for a while but this is my first time commenting. I love watching you two create, you’re very inspiring. We have a little one similar in age to Clara too, she’s adorable.. (both Clara and our baby). I wanted to tell you that we also have a double sided fireplace, and we love it. Heats up the whole house. You won’t look back!

    Reply

  24. jenn says

    hello I am the blog police and I am here to inform you of a very serious infraction. You only posted ONCE today!! It’s not friday. Saving grace…saturdays surprise. Please don’t do it again, every time blogger updates that you’ve posted I get christmas morning giddy.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Haha, you’re funny. And very sweet. But we always post once on Wednesdays (and usually on Fridays as well). We probably haven’t done two Wednesday posts in three months! We average 8 posts a week (well, eight posts within a five day span) and do occasionally toss in a weekend bonus when we can. But all that writing and projecting is definitely enough to keep two people (with a one year old) busy! Just picture us working away on a project if we’re not posting (gotta carve out time to do stuff along with write all the posts). Hope that makes sense.

      xo,
      s

  25. kathy says

    What a difference white paint makes! Lovely!
    You may have already gotten this advice, but you could use a bunch of battery-operated candles, which look pretty real now–esp. with the mirror backdrop.

    Reply

  26. Cristina says

    When do you think you will paint the orange paneling?
    I can’t wait to see the final result (already now the fireplace looks much much better!) :-)

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Hopefully within the next month! Since it involves priming and then painting the beams, and the trim, and the walls (and the room is 25′ long) we’ll need to cash in on some serious babysitting sessions from John’s parents to get ‘er done!

      xo,
      s

  30. Maria says

    Have you ever tried those flameless candles? I got some at Costco, and you really can’t tell the difference, even close up! My kiddos are older (I realize you probably still have to contend with the whole – maybe she’ll eat it thing) but they are a good solution for parents. Although my 8 year old son would probably definately prefer a live flame (scary) I feel good knowing I can have these throughout the house and everyone is safe.

    Reply

  31. Jill says

    My friend just opened her first shop- a home decor store- and had a carpenter fix the fireplace just like the first example of ones you liked on Pinterest. I had never seen anything like it before and thought it was a cool idea. I wonder if she saw the same photo you did! Her store is called “The Purple Polka Dot” and you can check it out on Facebook. She shows the before and after pictures of the old store/house that she fixed up. She sells a lot of her own art, refinished furniture, and stuff from local artists. You should check it out! I think she also has a website but not sure if it has been updated like the FB page has been. :)

    Reply

  33. Milu says

    Sherry–where do you buy the Olympic no-VOC paint? We used to get the Freshaire from Home Depot but they don’t carry it anymore (sniff). I wish I would have stocked up on white before they discontinued it! Any pointers would be oh so helpful! Thank you!!

    Reply

  35. Julie says

    Do you have any secrets to finding inspirational pictures to pin? E.g. websites you search or hints on search terms? You found some good ones to pin for fireplaces. I have searched looking for mantel decor inspiration and the fireplaces you found were so much better!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Hmm, I just use google and search within Pinterest (and repin). I also read a ton of blogs (like 200) and pin things as I read. Hope it helps!

      xo,
      s

  37. Marelis says

    Looks Amazing…even with the orange paneling ;) Can’t wait to see what else you guys do with it!!

    Reply

  39. Martha says

    More than ever this makes me want to convince the husband we need to paint the faux brick behind where our stove will go. I think it will change the whole appearance of our dining room. I guess I will have to keep trying!

    Reply

  40. Paula says

    Here is my question: How can I convince my husband that our wall of brick would be prettier if it was painted? I’m a painter and he’s a purist, and I might go crazy looking at this dark brick much longer. It’s reused brick from a landmark in our town, so he wants to preserve it’s historical integrity. I could give a rat’s backside.

    Reply

  42. Casey says

    The fireplace looks amazing… and the mirror and candles are great! I’m sure someone has suggested this…but you should look into good quality flameless candles (totally baby and dog friendly)- best invention ever. I actually have an arrangement of them in my fireplace like the one you did with the real candles. Candle Impressions on QVC are the best- they last 1000 hours on one set of batteries, come on every night on a timer, stay on for 5 hours and look awesome. Here’s an example
    (http://www.qvc.com/qic/qvcapp.aspx/view.2/app.detail/params.CM_SCID.coll.item.H168468.desc.CandleImpressions-S5-Graduated-Slim-Candles-with-Timers) …but check out all of the different offerings they have one qvc. I am telling you, they’re great. They even make them for outdoors…so nice on a patio.

    Reply

  43. Melissa says

    I am so excited to see fireplace in progress. We started our fireplace renovation but so far it has only been demo. Our fireplace is already painted white but I bet a fresh coat would do a world of good. I have a fantasy of built-in shelving and pretty mantle and nice tile. For now I have missing baseboard and cracked plaster from where the extra bricks were removed.

    Reply

  44. Tonya says

    First of all, GREAT job! Your fireplace looks absolutely amazing! Secondly, while you current fireplace is beautiful, I am IN LOVE with the fire place in your first home! It looks so MODERN! O…M..GEEE. I hate I didn’t find this sooner. My FI had our brick fireplace covered in tile…had I seen this post I would have definitely encouraged him to paint the bricks instead.

    Reply

  45. beth johnson says

    I love the look of the fireplace all aglow with the candles. Do you have a good source for those big chunky white candles? I love them, but sometimes they are so pricey.

    Reply

  46. beth johnson says

    Thanks so much. I’m in colorado and we have a new Ikea opening next month. I’m soooo excited. Before that the nearest Ikea was over 6 hours away!

    Reply

  47. Mallory Davis says

    Sherry,

    I just found your website and have been reading past posts and about came out of my chair with this post! I have that EXACT wood burning stove that you pulled out of your fireplace! Ours sits in our front hallway as a centerpiece when you walk into the house. My husband and I live in the house that I grew up in and it’s always been there. But prior to me being born, my parents also had it inside of the actual fireplace in the living room.

    Love what you did to spruce up your fireplaces. I definitely will be taking some tips from you to do the same to ours!

    Reply

  48. Julie says

    I have been considering painting our brick fireplace but after seeing yours I am DEFINITELY going for it! I just wondered, did you paint your baseboards, or just replace them? I love the light, open look but all of our trim is a golden oak. I’m just wondering what to do with it. I’d appreciate any suggestions! Thanks!!

    Reply

  49. Emily says

    I just used this tutorial to do my own fireplace and crap I forgot to get the water-based poly you mentioned and got oil-based instead. I now have a nasty yellow brick fireplace. Waaaa!!!

    Reply

  50. Ernie says

    This is Great.I have been losing lots of sleep in last few days because my wife and I are preparing to have our living room and dining room updated (starting next week) and I wake up in the middle of the night with color charts on my mind. We have a “semi-ugly” red brick fireplace and red tile hearth(very much like yours was). I have been wanting to change it…just needed the courage to make a decision whether to paint or not.I woke up around 2am with this on my mind. Came back to my office,got on the computer and your information was the first I found. It is now 4:16 am and I have been looking and reading your postings since 2:10am. This is some of the best infomation on DIY that I have ever seen. You all do a great job and it is refreshing to see that you reply when someone ask questions. Keep up the good work.Love your writing style—fun.
    I am now ready—well not right now—to take on the fireplace and hearth. Right now I am going back to bed.
    Thanks.

    Reply

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