DIY Fireplace Makeover

I have been meaning to do some kind of home tour/home decorating inspiration post for a long time. Decorating your first house/apartment/space is so much more difficult than it seems. Aside from trying to decorate, even move-in ready spaces always have something you want to fix.

For me, I wanted to change up our fireplace. It was painted the same color as the house, which looks great on the outside but inside, it looked green-ish/gray and did not match the look I was going for. So….we painted it!

DIY fireplace makeover
Before

I did a little research on painting a fireplace before we started, but we kind of just decided to wing it. We bought a gallon of Valspar Reserve, since it came with a primer and paint and saved us a step! 

You’re supposed to clean your fireplace beforehand, but ours had not been used in a while and had been recently painted (and scrubbing it wasn’t doing anything other than destroying our sponges) so we gave it a quick wash the night before so that it would have time to dry. We then put a drop cloth all around the floor and on the mantle, and taped up all around the edges to keep it clean. 

DIY fireplace makeover
During

Z deserves full credit for this project, because he did all the prep and painting. Since the paint we used had primer in it, we just started painting! We did one full coat, let it dry completely, and then went over the brick one more time, then filled in any little spots afterwards. 

DIY fireplace makeover
After!

We used a big paint roller that was specifically made for stone (which is good because a regular one probably would have ripped). It made the job so much easier, especially since our fireplace is pretty big. 

DIY fireplace makeover
The finished product.

We also painted two bookshelves (with the same paint!) to complete the look. I had wanted to build bookshelves/cabinets on either side, but this was 1000 times easier. 

DIY fireplace makeover

I absolutely love how it turned out! It makes the room feel bigger, warmer, and more home-y. It was also waaaaay easier than we thought! I had set aside the entire day and it ended up taking just a couple hours, because we were doing other projects at the same time.

If you want to paint your own fireplace or any other brick in your home, I laid out the steps we took in a handy little list!

DIY Fireplace Makeover

  1. Clean your fireplace. If it isn’t used all the time, just give it a little rinse with lukewarm, soapy water. Let it dry, preferably overnight.
  2. Prep your area. Lay down a drop cloth to protect your floor and tape all the edges, especially around your mantle. 
  3. Use interior paint (just the kind you would use for your wall) with a primer included. It’ll save you a step and make it easier and quicker.
  4. Paint! Use a paint roller that is meant for masonry. Paint one coat, let it dry, and then add another lighter coat to fill in the gaps. If there are any gaps or edges still unpainted, use a smaller paint brush to fill them in. 
  5. Let it dry, and you’re good to go! 

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