As some of you may have watched, last summer we moved into a home that needed a lot of work. Everything had to go. From some of the walls to the floors. Although there were some things we needed to pay contractors for, other projects could be taken on by ourselves.
In this case, I made the fireplace one of my jobs since it was the first thing I saw (beyond the shag carpeting, retro 70’s kitchen and yellow walls). I wanted this fireplace to stand out – but for the right reasons. Our entire theme behind renovating this house was to make it more bright and open. There aren’t many windows so I decided the lighter we go, the brighter and airy the house will feel. So I decided to paint the fireplace white!
The process of painting a fireplace can be very messy (esp. if you have a wood-burning fireplace like ours) but the only messy part was the cleaning. The painting was very easy and quite fun actually!
Once I got the first coat on – it was as if the entire room was transformed. It made such a huge difference and modernized the space. It also made it cozier and inviting.
There were some additional things we chose to do to this fireplace. For example, we removed the protective gate since we didn’t plan on building any fires in there for a while. We also sanded down the mantle and used chalk paint to cover up the dark wood making it look rustic (I’ll write another blog post about working with Chalk Paint soon).
So as promised, here are your three easy steps to painting your fireplace!
What you’ll need:
- Sponge or rag
- Bristle brush to really clean the brick and in between the cracks
- Spray bottle mix with warm water and vinegar (you can also use another cleaning agent of your choice)
- 2 wide angled paint brushes (3″ or larger)
- Kilz Primer
- Behr’s White Brick Paint
Step 1: Clean!
All steps are important (since there are only 3) but cleaning the fireplace will ensure the paint goes on smooth and sticks properly. All you need is some warm water and vinegar in a spray bottle and spritz away. I used a sponge to wipe away cobwebs, soot and dust. Since we plan on using the fireplace one day, I only cleaned the inside with a vacuum and didn’t bother to clean it with my cleaning solution. If you plan on painting the inside, I was told a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser does a great job in removing the dirt from the inside of the fireplace.
After you’ve finished cleaning, give it an hour or two until the brick dries completely to begin painting.
Step. 2: Prime Time!
This step will make the painting process faster if you prime your fireplace well. We used Kilz Primer to block out any odour and since it goes on thick, one coat was enough to cover the entire brick. This step took a little bit of time because I took my time getting into all the nooks and crannies. I really wanted my last step to be fast so I made sure I covered everything.
3. Paint!
Using Behr’s Brick Paint, only one coat was needed to cover the fireplace. If you choose to do two coats (an additional coat may be required if you’re painting over red or a darker brick) wait for an hour or two then go ahead and cover with a second coat.
In a few hours, you’ll have a brand new beautiful fireplace ready for entertaining!
If you have a fireplace that you want to paint but been putting it off, now’s the time to do it! It’s so easy and can be done under $80!
