Our Fireplace Makeover!

Our Weekend project this past weekend was to paint the fireplace.  This has been on my mind since I bought the house 9 years ago.  I was stunned at the size of the fireplace when I moved in, in relation to the small living room.  It was huge with a huge hearth.  So, it had to be transformed from its drab orangy-brown to a nice crisp off-white.  I was hesitant to do it at first because there's no going back but I knew it would brighten up the room So much.  So here's the before photo so you can see just how enormous it is.....

 

We started by cleaning the brick with a wire brush to get all the loose particles off.  We lightly brushed over the brick and vacuumed it well with the Shop Vac.  Then we mixed part water with part TSP cleaner to get the surface really clean before painting(used a sponge to apply).  Once that was clean we applied a coat of Oil based primer which is suggested for painting fireplaces.  You definitely need good ventilation, It has an extreme amount of fumes.  It took about 24 hrs for the fumes to dissipate.  After our primer was dry, we applied our first coat of Masonry paint in off-white.  We quickly realized you have to be heavy handed with the paint to fill in all the cracks and holes of the bricks.  It soaks it up pretty well so there wasn't much problem with dripping. We applied this really thick and let it dry for several hours.  We applied the 2nd coat of paint, again very thick to fill in holes which seemed to almost finish the job.  I went over some of the edges with some extra paint after the 2nd coat was dry.  We left the mantle in the oak color it was for some contrast and to have an older feel.  We love our pieces to feel a bit collected and aged as well.  Here is the picture of the first coat of primer....

 

The only thing left to replace on this fireplace this fall is the brass insert.  It will be bronze or black with a blower to help heat our house.  Much more attractive then the old brass.  Here is the finished product......

For us, it added so much brightness to the room and loved how it popped with the other accessories. The mantle really grounds all that white and blends well with the other oak and painted pieces we have. It's definitely more Coastal Cottage style now which fits in much better with the décor and design of our home.  We are very happy we decided to paint it white!