FIVE- ALARM FIREPLACE MAKEOVER

I have fallen out of love. Sigh.

Not with my house, just a part of it. Specifically, the brick fireplace. It is big. And, well, just not very interesting. I have even stopped decorating it. Clearly a red flag. 

Brick is nice. I like brick. It looks great on the outside of my house, I just don’t like it on the inside of my house. And I certainly don’t like it smack in the middle of my family room, and twenty feet of it!

If you don’t care for painted brick, now is your opportunity to look away. You are not going to like what I did one little bit.

If you up for a project that will add years of happiness to your life, then this one is for you.

So here it is...Yep, not much to look at.

Here is what you will need to paint your fireplace-

Latex Primer

Interior Latex Flat Wall Paint

Paint Brush-2 ½”

Roller Handle

Nappy Rollers-3/4”
Extension Rod

Paint Tray

Paint Bucket Handle (optional)

Small Paint Bucket (optional)

Extension Ladder

Painter’s Tape

Drop Cloths

Plastic Wrap

My fireplace was used only one season for burning wood before I had it converted to gas logs (very happy) so the brick above the interior was soot free and clean. You may have to clean your brick before painting, if needed.

Start by wrapping your mantel with plastic wrap and securing it with painter’s tape to protect it from splatter and drips.

Tape off the interior of the fireplace with painter’s tape.

Place drop clothes. Everywhere. Now you are ready to paint.

Here is the best advice I can give you- have your primer mixed the same color as your paint color. This will save you so much painting time and allow your second coat to be very light and quick. Because premixed paint and primer bases are slightly different colors, once tinted, they will look like two different colors when applied. Thus, giving a slight two tone dimension, rather than a flat, painted look. Very subtle. More of a natural look stone.

Start painting by cutting in around the mantle and interior of the fireplace with primer and your brush.

Now you are ready to roll the primer on. I started at just above, sides and underneath the mantle with my roller. I used the roller to cover most of the brick in that area I could reach, leaving just bits of exposed brick. You may need to follow with your brush to get the primer on the mortar between the bricks and dimples.

It was good for me to start at the bottom and ease my way up the brick wall.

I was surprised how comfortable I was on the ladder.

As you make your way up the fireplace, you can put your roller handle on an extension rod to roll the rest of the paint. Just be mindful, the roller gets very heavy when it has paint on it. Too heavy for me. So by hand, I brushed the primer on all of the remaining brick. I used my paint bucket handle to attach a small bucket of paint to my ladder and up I went. I found this to be the easiest way to paint for me.

One nice coat, little bits of exposed brick. This took me about 4 to 5 hours, which included prep time and clean up. Not bad, very manageable. Let dry overnight.

Day two, by brush, I applied all of the second coat. I used a technique called dry brush painting, just a fancy name for painting with very little paint on the brush. I dipped my brush in paint, wiped most of the excess off on the inside of the bucket then swiped the brush over the brick. Up, down back and forth. Just slightly adding a little paint. Blotchy, random. Nice. And quick. The brush went right into the trash when I was done. The second day of painting was less than 90 minutes. This time I started at the top and worked my way down the fireplace wall.

This is how much paint was left in the paint can from the second day of painting.

To sum up, use a brush to apply primer to cut in. Use a roller to paint the brick, as far as you can reach, then switch over to a brush. Dry brush technique to apply the second (and very light) coat of paint. Now I am totally happy with the new look. You could say, yes, I am in love again.

Yep. love.