Asked on May 14, 2016

What to do about my eyesore of my stone fireplace?

Sarah
by Sarah
It sits in the middle of the room with big ugly redwood color stones. It is just ugly! What can I do with it that wont bust the bank?
Bought this condo in Jan & don't know what to do with the fireplace
  19 answers
  • Loretta Loretta on May 15, 2016
    have you thought about painting it ? You could do each stone individually with slightly different shades of what ever color you want to decorate with. Paint the grout lines too... maybe do them first.
  • Kim cox Kim cox on May 15, 2016
    Stucco or plaster over the stones,
  • Leanne G Leanne G on May 15, 2016
    Maybe white wash the stone? Make a mantle with stained wood and wrought iron brackets. Fresh paint on walls. Bright rug, once room is furnished...brilliant!
  • Janet Pizaro Janet Pizaro on May 15, 2016
    Are you planning on painting the other walls? If so I would paint the fireplace the same color and maybe it will not be an eyesore for you.
  • Emi Harr Emi Harr on May 15, 2016
    Whitewash everything, stones and mortar. (Simply water down some acrylic paint, and apply.) It will gently blend in with your walls.
  • Nancy Flemming Nancy Flemming on May 15, 2016
    We had a fireplace that looked similar, but brick. I had a wood mantel and built in shelving up to the height of mantle on each side, which I stained, painted the walls a modern but complimentary colour and hung 2 new pictures and it broke the expanse of the brick and created a great looking feature wall.
  • Debbie Spilsbury Debbie Spilsbury on May 15, 2016
    What about framing it in and use crown molding to begin a mantle (put it up on the ceiling, too!), a chunky (or whatever your choice...) wood mantle to stain or paint the walls. Just a thought.....oh, and take into consideration the fire gcodes IF it is a wood burning fireplace. I couldn't tell from the pic if it was or was an ornamental fireplace. LOOVE all of the possibilities!
  • Nancy Flemming Nancy Flemming on May 15, 2016
    Oops forgot I also hung a wreath above the fireplace which I changed with the seasons. We sold this house a couple of years ago and my memory is not that good any more!
  • Yvonne Day Aka Miss Ruby Yvonne Day Aka Miss Ruby on May 15, 2016
    I would paint the same color of the walls and put a mantle on it. It will not be such an elephant in the room... it will look good so let us see pics when you are done!
  • Marilyn Zaruba Marilyn Zaruba on May 15, 2016
    These look like a stone veneer to me and it certainly is an eyesore. If you are the more ambitious type, why not remove the stone? Grab a crowbar and go from there. Then you can us a stacked stone or even put up sheetrock and a mantle for a more traditional look. If you are not feeling very ambitious, do like Miss Ruby suggested...paint it.
  • Debi53 Debi53 on May 15, 2016
    I agree with Yvonne Day. We had a hideous orange brick eyesore sticking out into our living room. We first stained it a dark charcoal--at least the color was better, but it was still HUGE and took over the room. Then we painted it white which just made it look bigger! Finally we painted it the same color as our walls and my husband built a simple surround. (I do not care for mantels.) We restained the inside of the firebox a dark charcoal to freshen it up and stained a small area around the opening the same charcoal. Finally, the elephant in the room is at least camouflaged and your eye goes to the surround and firebox area minimizing the overall size. I have included a couple of pics so you can see the difference. I suggest you skip all of my 'before' attempts and go straight to matching it to your wall color! LOL Hope this will help.
  • G B G B on May 15, 2016
    Paint it the color of your wall so that it blends in.
  • Laura Williams-May Laura Williams-May on May 15, 2016
    I agree it is pretty hideous. But I don't suggest painting. I suggest "washing" with a latex paint watered down to give a new tone. You would have to experiment in an inconspicuous spot to find the right wash to change the color to something you like. . Painting will eliminate the "stone" look and stone is a lovely material, it is just the color you need to tone wawn.
  • Kathy Bitzan Kathy Bitzan on May 15, 2016
    I would take it out if possible. If not debi53 showed some great ideas. Good luck.
  • Ros4649124 Ros4649124 on May 15, 2016
    I personally don't think is bad. Work around it, build some book shelves or just shelves, incorporate the stone fireplace to make it look like it belongs.
  • Karen Reinhardt Karen Reinhardt on May 16, 2016
    I love the fireplace. If you put some wallpaper on the walls to either side ( in the stacked wood ) http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/97710-Stacked-Logs-Natural-Wood-Rustic-Wallpaper-/331758616603?hash=item4d3e5ac01b:g:mFgAAOSwX~dWn4Qc. Then some looselay vinyl ( from Karndean) tiles in an aged wood pattern on the floor with your comfy furniture and bright cushions, would look great.
  • Jackie Prim Jackie Prim on May 18, 2016
    It could be a show case.Look up on the net" show me fire places" I can think of 100 things you could do with it .Good luck I think you will find what you need to do.You may surprise yourself:)
  • J J on May 19, 2016
    I white washed mine. I couldn't afford to take it out or reface it. Still not in love with it. (I'd rather have french doors ; ) I realized after the last pic the hearth was still to dark so i lighten it a little more. Still don't know what to do with the mantel yet.
  • Sarah Sarah on Jun 07, 2016
    Finally the eyesore is gone.