Transform A Brick Fireplace With A White Wash {Before & After}

I decided to white wash the bricks because I wanted to see some texture and color variations. I was slightly terrified to begin, so I started out with a 2 parts water/1 part paint mixture. You can see how that looked below the mantel. It just made the bricks look dirty. And there was too much pinky-peach coming through. After I did the 2:1 ratio, I went back with a 1:1 ratio and it was much better. I used a little bucket, a cheap paintbrush and a rag. I painted on and wiped the excess off. It is very important to get the paint in the crevices. Doing this makes a big difference. After the second coat was dry, I went back and dry brushed over the bricks with a X brush stroke. This brightened the bricks just a little bit and the X strokes made everything look a bit more random. I'm thrilled with how it turned out! I even made a "tent" out of plastic and spray painted the gas logs insert right in place. The difference is astounding!
An amazing fireplace transformation!
This is the before.
You can see one layer of 2:1 whitewash below the mantel and a second coat of 1:1 above the mantel
This is the tent I made out of plastic for spray painting the gas logs insert.
Didn't it turn out fabulously?!
Myra @ MyBlessedLife.net
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  • Nan Nan on Jun 01, 2021

    I just finished white washing my red brick fireplace too. It looks amazing and I am so happy I did not paint the brick or use the German schmear technique because that is permanent. The lime wash product I used, called Romaino Limewash, can be purchased at Amazon or Home Depot, is somewhat removeable. I thought my brick turned out with too much white covering it so I use a diluted water and muriatic acid solution to remove it where I wanted more red brick to show. It worked like a charm and I could probably have removed ALL the whitewash if I really wanted to. I also did the hearth. I was wondering why you did not do the hearth? It looks unfinished. The part you did looks amazing and I love that you painted the firebox black. The whole wall looks new and bright.

  • Tex21773744 Tex21773744 on Mar 14, 2022

    Would this work on a stone fireplace? The stone is white and become darkened over the years.

  • Diana Diana on Apr 13, 2023

    You did an amazing job. I absolutely love the new look. My fireplace is very similar to yours and I would love to know what type/brand paint you applied. Thank you

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  • Gail Guidance Gail Guidance on Aug 09, 2020

    Looks great!! You have inspired me to white wash my brick fireplaces!! What a difference!!!!

  • Diana Diana on Apr 13, 2023

    Not a question but for all the questions being asked on how to paint brick there is a ton of YouTube videos on how to white wash and more ways to paint the brick and also how to paint the fireplace screen. Just trying to be helpful.

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