Fireplace facelift

6 years ago

I would like to update this fireplace a little. I have already sprayed the brass areas of the gas insert with high heat black paint (shown). The brick is extremely rough and would probably not paint very easily. The trim is all solid oak. I am thinking about painting the wood a charcoal color and then painting the wall behind it as an accent wall while leaving the brick as is. White isn't really an option because the entire house has natural wood everywhere (including a wood-look vinyl on all the windows). I am having two 2x2' windows installed above the fireplace and off to the sides, roughly centered on the two pieces of tape on the wall, to bring in more natural light.

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Beth H. :

6 years ago

you could do what they've done here and do the wall in the same color

you could also get some oak shelving, stained dark, and do like they've done here

(just on the walls. not across the front of the brick)

don't forget what you place in front of the FP or near it, will also have an effect. this turquoise chair against that dark wall is striking.

in this photo they went w/a pale sage tone for the walls, and the second one they did a soft gray..

maybe a chair, a potted plant on either side of FP. You don't have a lot of room on the sides, so the FP will be the focal point. Do you have a nice art piece you can hang above the mantle?

and painting it dark will allow you to leave that dark slate heath as is. don't paint that.

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Comments (15)

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Beth H. :
6 years ago
leave the oak. paint the brick in the charcoal. yes it will take paint. use thick paint brush and 'stab' at it w/the paint. the oak is very nice,,better than the brick!

example of dark wall, light brick. (use a primer first. white if going white, and gray primer if going dark color)

Paint the baseboards white while your at it.

yours would look like this if you did black (or dark gray) left your oak as is, and painted the wall white or some other light color (BM Pale Oak is a nice tone)

if you'd rather do a whitewash
Nick
Original Author
6 years ago
Beth, thank you for your feedback. If I was to go the route of painting the brick charcoal as you suggested and leaving the wood as is, what would you think about the wall behind it? I really don't want it to be white as right now every single wall in the house is white - I want to make it interesting and draw attention to it.
Nick
Original Author
6 years ago
I like the contrast between the wall and the brick in the last picture with the soft gray and I think seeing the charcoal with the natural wood in the first pic is reassuring (thanks!). This room is pretty barren right now (two couches is it) so I will look for something nice to go over the mantle. I am planning to build some side tables and will likely get a chair to put near it like in the third picture. As you mentioned there isn't a lot of space either side (room is about 12' wide with only around 2-3'either side of the fireplace). Hopefully the addition of the windows will bring in enough natural light to allow plants to grow. An addition to the house made this room have no windows at all.
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Beth H. :
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
oh yes. a window would be perfect. then I would just do a nice, tall plant in one corner, and a cool chair like that blue one, over on the other side. If your little tables fit in the spots, great. a great art piece above the mantle and you should be set. don't over crowd or feel every little spot needs something. take a look at pics of small brick fireplaces, and grab some ideas from those.

also, art is very personal, but a simple canvas painting or photography, would look great over that spot.
Nick
Original Author
6 years ago
Thanks once again. Any suggestions on a tall plant? I'd prefer it to be real, but the windows will be about five feet off the ground so anything small will not benefit much from the light.
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Beth H. :
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
which way does the window face? if it's west or south, you should get a fair amount.

you could do a snake plant...they're tall enough, but still need decent light. maybe set it up on something to be equal w/the window

you could also put up a few of those wood shelves and set some small potted plants on those.

succulents do well next to a window.

for instance, if you hung this from the ceiling in that corner, would be perfect

pothos, spider plant (you can hang these from the ceiling so they will be closer to window).
Nick thanked Beth H. :
Nick
Original Author
6 years ago
There will be two windows but they are small (2x2') due to the wall space and the chimney chase on the outside of the house. The wall faces south, however, and there is nothing out there to shade it besides being fairly close to the soffits. I like the idea of putting something raised up as you suggested. Lots of good ideas here.
PRO
Chic Carpentry Co
5 years ago
Nick, I believe installing two windows (one on each side) will be better then one window if you have room,
For the brick wall , if you like it , you can install marble or granite slab over the bricks , leave the wood work as it is and paint the wall light gray , it will be sick nice. But at the end it will be about what do you like the most and that’s the only thing is matter.
Have a wonderful time
Nick
Original Author
5 years ago

Hi everyone. I meant to post this a while back, but here is how it turned out. As you can see I still need to add a chair or something to the right of the fireplace. Overall I'm very pleased with the look. Thanks for all your input!
mimimomy
5 years ago
Wow, that's beautiful! Love the windows!
PRO
Beth H. :
5 years ago
nice Nick. that right corner is a perfect spot for a nice, taller plant.
btydrvn
5 years ago
The first plant (snake plant)....is the best house plant for many reasons.....needs only occasional watering...only indirect light... never needs re-potting ....and seriously filters and cleans the air in the space...always looks striking and dramatic without spreading or shedding...
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Beth H. :
5 years ago
and they reproduce like crazy if they're happy. my yard is full of them.
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Chic Carpentry Co
5 years ago
Very helpful comments
Thanks to all