Thursday, June 13, 2013

Fireplace Redo

 A while back I posted the question of to whether to paint or not to paint our fireplace. I hemmed and hawed and finally decided to go for it. My husband was a little ambivalent reminding me that "...if you do it its not reversible..." but left the final decision up to me (Love that Man).  So I decided to go for it and love the results.



 


We first pulled off the mantel as it needed to be stripped and stained.  


Needless to say the mantel was a mess. 
The paint literally peeled off by hand. 
The positive was that I got to try out a new product; spray stripper.


 I loved the spray stripper and recommend it for narrow areas. It comes out like a foam so dripping is less of a concern. I will definitely use it again.

 I used my favorite stain; Dark Walnut by Varathane (3 coats) followed by  Minwax Polycrylic.  
 Minwax 1 Gallon Satin Polycrylic Protective Finishes 13333  (Set of 2)Product Image



BEHR 1-Gal. Satin Masonry, Stucco and Brick Paint 
As for the fireplace, I used a masonry stucco & brick paint by Behr (Home Depot).

 I bought the white base paint thinking it would work fine but it turned out to be way too white. To warm it up a bit I mixed a tiny amount of the paint left over from the walls and this worked well. It took about 3 good coats to cover the brick completely. 



  
 





Thanks for visiting,

4 comments:

  1. Your fireplace turned out really nice and bright. I love the new mantel stain too. Good job, Debbie!.....Christine

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  2. I painted my brick fireplace white as well! Your mantle looks so good and was well worth the effort. Thanks for sharing~

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  3. Painting my fireplace is on my list!! It is over 7 feet wide, 8 feet tall, and 24 inches deep. I think it belongs in a castle, not my living room. Yours looks so wonderful and confirms my decision! Maybe it will look more like a wall after paint. I guess someone was in love with the idea of a massive brick monster in the house. Great work! Thanks for sharing.♥♫

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  4. Debbie, I never tire of reading how wonderful people feel after they allow themselves to go for it and paint that old fireplace. My husband doubted it would be the thing to do; however, he is crazy over the new look and prefers our family room now over our gameroom. Thanks for sharing it...hope it gives more readers the courage to go for it. Helen

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