After mucho requests for a fireplace tutorial, we’re here to deliver the goods.
As you can see, we’re no strangers to a painted brick fireplace…
…or two.
In fact, painting the fireplace in the living room and the den was one of the first things we did when we moved in. Dingy brick can really suck the life out of a room if you’re not careful. Especially the ugly dark red kind that we had when we moved in- and especially when paired with lighter furnishings and wall colors (which just happen to be things that we adore).
Natural brick certainly has a place in many homes (and also in our hearts, it just didn’t work for our light and airy aesthetic- and our brick was especially maroon). So here’s what we did to bring some soft beauty to both of our brick fireplaces in a flash and on the cheap. Gotta love a makeover you can accomplish in an afternoon (no power tools required).
Step 1- Wipe down your bricks with a moist (not sopping wet!) rag to remove any cobwebs or soot.
Step 2- If your bricks are especially soot stained, you’ll want to prime them with oil based primer to ensure that no soot stains bleed through your paint job. Neither of our fireplaces had this problem so we skipped right to step three.
Step 3- Use a nappy roller meant for textured surfaces to apply two to three coats of flat or semi-gloss latex paint (the finish is up to you). You also may need to rely on a paint brush to get into those deep grout crevices. Brick is an especially porous material (which explains why your fireplace may call for three coats) so be sure to have more paint on hand than you’d usually rely on for such a small surface area (our den fireplace took over a gallon of paint, and the one in our living room took nearly half a gallon).
Step 4- Do the happy dance cause you’re done. Easy, right? If you can paint a wall you can definitely paint a brick fireplace.
Good luck with your big fireplace transformation! Oh and why not take before and after pictures for us while you’re at it? Don’t be surprised if your newly painted fireplace inspires you to continue the makeover with new art above the mantel or a few fresh accessories. Homes are never really finished anyway, are they?
Looking for more ways to spruce up your fireplace? A woven basket full of firewood (we love birch for its crisp look) will add even more inviting ambaince.
Ruthie says
You guys are my heroes! Can you tell me where you got some of your furniture. In particular, the two chairs in the den and the dining room table in the background of the LR pic? Also, can share the color paints that you used? Pretty please?
Thanks!!
YoungHouseLove says
The dining table is from Target a while back, and the chairs in the den are from Target (the closer one) and Ikea (the further one). As for paint colors, the den is Wishes by Glidden and the living room/dining room is Sand White (also Glidden). Hope it helps!
xo
s
cam a cam says
I love your blog and your fabulous taste!
I have a dark brick fireplace which actually looks fine in our house– it’s a reproduction colonial and the fireplace is two-sided and in the center of our home between living room and kitchen. For me, the problem is that the glass doors on it are very dated– a sort of antiqued brass that doesn’t go with anything. We don’t have the $600 to drop on two new sets of doors, nor do I want to add to the landfill. I would like to paint the metal around the glass doors with a matte black paint for a wrought-iron look. Is there a paint that is safe to do this with?
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes I’d use high heat spray paint on it. I have seen that done on TV by experts and it seems to work well. Maybe check amazon.com or Home Depot for it?
xo,
s
cam a cam says
You guys are my heroes! Can you tell me where you got some of your furniture. In particular, the two chairs in the den and the dining room table in the background of the LR pic? Also, can share the color paints that you used? Pretty please
YoungHouseLove says
If you scroll back two comments you can see that info. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Lilliana says
When I originally commented I seem to have clicked on the -Notify me when new comments are added- checkbox and now whenever a comment is added I recieve four emails with the
exact same comment. Perhaps there is an easy method you are able
to remove me from that service? Kudos!
YoungHouseLove says
Hi Lilliana, sorry for that. We had disabled that service on our blog, but I think it probably saved your data from when you subscribed originally. I’ve deleted the files so it shouldn’t happen again, but if you still have trouble please let us know.
Thanks,
John
Amy says
Love your website! We have a dark brick fireplace with a honey maple colored mantel. I’m going white with all the trim and was wondering if you would pain the fireplace and mantel the same color white or different shades. I’m not planning on redoing the rest of the room for a while since I can’t decide exactly on the color scheme but I do know I want the fireplace white!
Thanks!
Jennifer says
Hi…I just recently painted my natural brick fireplace a cream color. I am now worried about any accessories that we put on the brick scratching the paint. Is there any type of sealer that can be put over it to prolong the life of my paint job? Thanks!
YoungHouseLove says
We didn’t use any sealer and never had any issues (we put lots of things on ours). It’s easier to touch up paint that’s not sealed, so I’d just leave it and its really simple to touch it up if anything scratches. Paint’s pretty tough though.
xo,
s
Heather says
Thanks for another useful post. I will refer to it soon to paint my own fireplace. I suppose you could add “or three” now that you have done it again! :)
YoungHouseLove says
Haha!
xo
s
Karen says
What colour did you use for the painted panelling project? We have a dingy basement that need a panelling paint job!
YoungHouseLove says
That’s Wishes by Glidden. Hope it helps!
xo
s
Angie says
This is fabulous. I apologize if you already answered this (I read through a few pages of comments to see if I could find the answer there first)-. Is there a reason you choose not to prime the brick first? I know from reading many of your other posts that you usually do use a primer, so I’m guessing you have a reason and I’m curious to know it. :) thanks for an awesome and inspiring website!
YoungHouseLove says
We just never did in our first house or second house (or current one) so years of painting brick have been ok without it for us. Hope it helps!
xo
s
Susan says
Hi:
Our fireplace is a dirty white with grey grout that was built in the 1960’s. The walls are antique white. It’s at a lake and I want a fresh look. I was thinking of doing several shades of cream, taupe but have never done this before. What are your color suggestions. Furniture is neutral with blue and yellow accents.
Thx!
YoungHouseLove says
I like the idea of shades of cream and taupe. Sounds really pretty! Good luck, Susan!
xo
s
Caitlin says
Hi Sherry and John!
I’m planning to paint our brick fireplace white to brighten up the living room (it’s currently painted beige). The bricks have large grooves in between them, about 1/2 inch wide and 1/2 inch deep. It looks like you might have had similar grooves between your bricks in the top picture. How did you paint in the grooves? Did your roller get in there? I am dreading the thought of having to paint each groove by hand!
I’d love any advice/tips you have. Thanks!
YoungHouseLove says
We did have to do some with a brush I think, but a roller with a nappy roller (made for rough surfaces) can help get some of the cracks. Good luck!
xo
s
Darcy says
Young House Love strikes again! I’m whitewashing the brick fireplace in our LR (following your guidelines) and was contemplating if I should use a polyurethane sealant of some sort for the hearth, since the brick is a different material and gets lots of traffic thanks to my 2 (soon to be 3!) rambunctious boys. I Googled “Polyurethane over painted brick” and voila! I love how this post is over 5 years old…yet still relevant and helpful. After further reflection, I think I’ll wait to poly the hearth until *after* 3.0 baby arrives & things settle around here. The fumes from that stuff can’t be good.
Cheers!
YoungHouseLove says
Good luck Darcy!
xo
s
Melanie C. says
Just wondering if you put any poly on the tall brick hearth after painting it. If so, what did you use exactly? We have a highly used, regular wood burning fireplace. We throw wood on the hearth and keep the fireplace tools, etc. on it. Now that I’ve just painted ours I need to know if I should coat it in something.
So glad I’ve found you guys!
Melanie
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks Melanie! Nope, no poly was used – just the paint!
xo
s