One of the projects I couldn’t wait to makeover was this fireplace area. I had painted the paneling and doors earlier on. I held off a bit on the brick till I decided exactly what I wanted to do. We took out the insert that wasn’t really doing much. It could be a wood burning fireplace, but we were not sure we wanted to deal with the mess and money to get it inspected. So we decided to put in an electric wood insert that does put off some heat and resembles a fire.
Before of the Fireplace Makeover
I made the decision that I wanted to paint the brick white. I didn’t love the original brick color and it was so stained with soot. Now I just had to find the time to do it. We left over Thanksgiving to visit family in North Carolina. While we were gone, I got the best surprise from my mom. She came and painted the brick for me. I was so ecstatic, by this point I was running out of steam and just wanted this done. It was an eyesore at the end of the room. She started by trying to clean all the black soot off the sides and then used Kilz to paint over the stains.
The brick soaked up the pain pretty good, so it took a few coats of white paint. The picture below show the difference from the white on top to the tan below. She sent this picture to me while we were gone. And I loved it so much.
Last Year’s Christmas Decor
When I got home I couldn’t wait to hang our stockings!
Once the Holidays were over, I tackled the mantle. It needed to be a bit darker to match the hearth and the floor a bit more. I used some gel like stains that I mixed and put over the lighter wood. So happy how it turned out. I have crown moulding I want to add to the top of the paneling at the ceiling but other then that this project is a wrap.
Here is the everyday look for my fireplace makeover. I love changing it up for the holidays. This is one of our favorite spots to sit and drink our coffee’s.
After the Fireplace Makeover
