Enhancing a Fireplace

Carolina's Art
by Carolina's Art
5 Materials
$180
2 Days
Easy

This client thought her fireplace was too plain and needed some enhancement to go more with her decor.

This is what it looked like before. Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture all by itself without the decorations.

So I suggested we add wooden appliques to embelish it. I bought several pieces at lowe's.

I painted them white and glazed them to get some darkness inside the grooves.

I then glued them on to the fireplace using a special liquid nails that dries very quickly.

When it was dry, I added a putty on the edges so that there were no gaps between the piece and the fireplace.

I waited until the next day, to glaze the entire fireplace with a metallic paint and glaze, making sure to get enough into the crevices and edges. At this point, I loved how it looked and I personally would have left it like that. (But that's my taste, not hers).

I also forgot to take a picture of the entire fireplace at this stage which I regret because it is when it looked awesome.

Next step was to paint the appliques with the metallic paint. Same one I used for the glazing.

Finally, I added more gold to the surfaces with this Rub'n Buff which is used mostly for picture frames.

Here is the finished fireplace. during the time I was working on the fireplace, they were also painting the walls, so the color of the wall is now darker than it used to be and so is the fireplace after the glazing. Here is the before picture again...


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  • Ardale Ardale on Oct 13, 2019

    Awesome finish, looks so much better then before. I'd like to know what you used to stain the whole piece and did you also have to add a sealer top coat to protect it from soot and make cleaning easier in the future? By the way I loved it before and after the gold was applied to the appliques.

  • Beth Beth on Oct 28, 2019

    You know how they say that before you go out the door, you should look in the mirror and remove one accessory? (Yes, they DO say that!) Well, your fp is, in the opinion of this retired professional interior designer, overdone. If you'd remove the triangle pieces at the top and the pieces at the bottom, it would have enough on it. And if you want to flank it with two vases, fine, but not three. Or preferable, combine all the flowers into one short, squat container and center it in front of the fp opening. Know when to say, "when!"

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  • Migdia Chinea Migdia Chinea on Oct 14, 2020

    I will be doing my fireplace in the near future. I will try something like this and already have the detail wood moldings (like brackets) for the sides and perhaps will support a board. No appliqués on top — also white paint or a little antiquing may be fine for me. This is a historic spanish colonial and don’t wish to go overboard. So No gold. Thanks for letting us see the idea. All in all great.

    • Carolina's Art Carolina's Art on Oct 15, 2020

      Glad I could help. I am sure yours will turn out beautiful. Send pictures!!

  • Wanda Wanda on Oct 15, 2020

    Smart!!!!!!!

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