Thursday, April 16, 2015

White Wash Brick Fireplace Makeover

Decided to breakdown and try a paint wash on the fireplace brick. The brick has a vintage/rustic feel to it.. like the used reclaimed brick, and the mantel was bespoke made local. Here is a "before" photo, it shows the fireplace insert before I gave it a paint makeover. You can see that HERE.

The orange finish on the fur mantel combined with the dirty brownness of the brick was not doing much for me. I had to think long and hard about putting paint on the brick, as you really can't go back once it is done. I decided to use some of my Country Chic chalk paint in "French Linen" It's a very light gray.. I diluted it to about 40/60 paint and water. Chalk paint dries fast, and I wanted it to go on light.

I painted the wash on with a regular paint brush, then used  an old damp towel to blot the excess off. Work in sections and if you take too much off, just put more on and dab again.


Now you can really see some progress.. all that is left is the right side, and the bottom hearth. It really brightend up the brick, but it still looks like brick.


The last step was to put on a few coats of glossy trim paint on the mantel.. and it sure looks like a different fireplace. The gray cast to the brick has more of a "stone" look. You can still see some of the rustic tones of the brick though it.

The room feels lighter and brighter already with just this small change.