From Drab to Fab!

by Reiner MacPhail

6 Materials

$64

9 Hours

Medium

How to transform your dated fireplace, it's easier then you may think! But it does take time and patience to get the coverage you desire. Let me walk you through the steps I took, to turning my old drab fireplace into the focal point of your room.

Start by collecting your materials, a large drop cloth to catch any paint that drips, gloves, a paint brush, measuring cup, rags (lots) and I used BEHR interior ceiling paint. I don't know about you, but when I got married I received a number of measuring cups. So I always use this one for any painting projects, I filled it half way up with water and the other half with the interior ceiling paint. Then I just mixed it with my paint brush.

I tested my paint mixture, to ensure it was the right consistency under the mantel. Perfectly mixed icon

now for the fun part! Make sure you cover anything, you don't want to splash paint on! As this can get very messy.

The only thing I needed to cover was my fireplace insert itself. So I found an old sheet and just tapped it on. You could also use a large piece of plastic or a table cloth. The brick really soaks up the paint, so expect to replenish half paint half water 💦 mixture often. So far I am very happy with how the top of the fireplace has turned out!

About 8-9 hours later and I'm all done! Yes it took me pretty much all day, but I did stop for lunch and snuck in a 😴 nap! We all need a little break right?

After letting the paint dry for at least 24 hours we added our artwork, we had our first 🔥 fire! Since taking on this project, we have gotten many nice compliments about how much brighter our living room looks. It really goes to show, that a little hard work does pay off. Like some people I was nervous to tackle such a big project! But then I thought....I can't make it look any worse then it does already. Be confident in yourself, do some research ask questions after all that's what Hometalk is here for!

Enjoyed the project?

You can do it! Saved to your projects

Measuring cup (Wedding gift)
Paint (Kent Building Supplies)
Paint brush (Kent)
Rags (Old shirt)
Sheet to cover insert (Old sheet from closet)
Drop cloth (Old sheet from closet)

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Frequently asked questions

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3 of 29 questions

Sha23002870 on Aug 08, 2017

What do you do if there is some kind of sealer on the brick ?

2
Victoria Dungfelder on Aug 16, 2017

Years ago, I spray painted my red brick fireplace, blue. Can I still paint over this or do I need to somehow get rid of the blue spray paint first and if so, how do I do this. I appreciate hearing from you because I love what you've done with your fireplace and I want to do the same. I love the lighter color for my living room as you've done. Please send me any information you can on how I can do this. Thank you. My e-mail address is:
morninggloryvictoria@gmail.com
With Sincere Appreciation,
Victoria

1
Tanya on Aug 23, 2017

This might be a stupid question but why did you mix your paint with water instead of just painting it with just the paint?

1

Comments

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2 of 38 comments

Ana Bacallao on Aug 18, 2017

I think it looks wonderful! Congrats.

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Carol on Sep 09, 2017

I love the job you did and I'm glad you watered your paint. You can see more demmintion this way. Really good job. Makes me wish I had a fireplace.

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