Natalie Faulkner

Thinking of changing your dated brick fireplace? Its a low cost project that packs a big punch! Check out the super easy tutorial below!

Last year my husband and I bought a home built in the 90s. Although the previous owners had made some upgrades, I have spent countless hours creating a modern updated space that better reflects our style. I would describe my style as modern farmhouse with some cottagecore here and there!

One of my favorite things about our home is the brick fireplace in the living room. It had already been converted to a gas log fireplace, but the dark brick was something that I knew I wanted to change. The fireplace would be the focal point of the room, and I wanted it to reflect the modern and light vibe that I was working toward.

My father in law spent over 40 years in the brick industry and he and my husband have had a brick staining company as a side hustle for years. I have seen several beautiful stained fireplaces. I debated heavily between staining and painting the brick. When using brick stain the brick absorbs the stain color allowing the texture of the brick to shine through, as well as keeping the existing mortar color. Paint offers more coverage, lays on top of the brick, and covers the mortar color. Ultimately, I decided that I wanted a cleaner more cohesive look so I chose to paint the fireplace.

I chose to use a satin paint in Benjamin Moore White Dove as I had already used this color in both my dining room and kitchen, creating a cohesive flow throughout the main floor living space. 

Supplies

• cleaner/water
• rag
• primer
• painter’s tape
• satin sheen paint
• paint brush
• paint roller

Your first step when painting should always be prep work! You definitely do not want to skip preparing your surface to ensure the look and longevity of the finished product. I began by cleaning the fireplace with some warm soapy water and a rag. I just used a small amount of Dawn dish soap in the water and washed over the entire fireplace making sure to clean it of any dirt or debris. I allowed this to dry overnight.

Next you want to tape off your area with painters tape. I LOVE my wood mantle so I wanted to make sure that I protected it. You could even go as far as covering it with plastic or butcher paper. I just taped off around mine and taped off along the insert. 

Then the fun part begins! Apply your primer! You want to make sure that you choose a high quality primer. I used the KILZ All Purpose primer pictured below. It has great coverage, a fast dry time, and gives the paint an excellent surface to adhere to. I used a paint brush to apply the primer to make sure to get into all of the porous holes of the brick. (You could definitely use a paint sprayer for this project, but that would require covering the walls and floor with plastic for overspray) Once covering all of the brick with primer I allowed it to dry for a few hours before applying the paint. 

I chose to paint the brick with Valspar 2000 in a satin finish mixed in Benjamin Moore’s White Dove. I already had a gallon of this paint from a previous project so it wasn’t an additional purchase. I love the softness to this white without it being too bright. It has a slight warmth to it and pairs well with my wall color, Pale Oak by Benjamin Moore. I wanted to use a satin finish paint so that it was easily cleaned, but did not have as high of a sheen as a semi-gloss. I tried both a paint roller and paint brush for this coat of paint and decided that I preferred the coverage from a paint brush better. There were still pores in the brick that needed to be covered and the paint brush worked best. I let the first coat of paint dry overnight before applying the second coat the next morning.

I absolutely love the finished product! It is bright, modern, sophisticated, and everything I wanted it to be! It makes for the perfect backdrop for seasonal decor, and is the focal point of the room. Not to mention THE MANTLE!!! I absolutely LOVE the way the warm white color makes the wood pop.

We also added some quarter round around the bottom of the fireplace to give it a more finished look!

What do you think? Would you paint your fireplace?