Ohhh the power of paint! I’ve said it before, but so much good can be done in a room with can of paint and some elbow grease. This time, I decided to use paint to transform our stone fireplace and I’m so glad I finally took the plunge!
This was our fireplace a couple of weeks ago. It’s not bad, in fact I really liked it for the first couple of years we lived here, but over time the stained hearth and blah-ness of it started to wear on me. I wanted to add a little more contrast to the space and since I’m really crushing on modern concrete fireplaces right now gray seemed like the perfect choice.
I hesitate to call this a tutorial because, like most of our projects, I like to keep it simple. We have two little ones, businesses, work, church commitments…life is crazy, just like yours I’m guessing, and I love a project I can compete in a day or a weekend!
My main concerns were:
- Will the paint adhere to the stone well or be splotchy?
- Will I be able to paint the fireplace smoothly since it’s so porous?
- Will the gray be too much/too dark? (I’m a light a bright girl all the way, and it’s not just a preference…dark, permanent spaces in our home genuinely affect my mood.)
- Can you paint a fireplace with regular paint? Will the heat affect it?
Turns out all of those concerns were non issues!
- The paint went on beautifully, it wasn’t splotchy at all, and I think the main reason for this was because I used a high quality paint – Loft by Magnolia Home Paint. This is the same paint I’ve used on our interior doors and board and batten wall in our bedroom and it’s the best paint I’ve ever used!
- Yes! I had to use a lot of paint, but I loaded up my brush and worked my brush into all the crevices. The main reason I was successful here is because I primed first with Kilz. You also have to use an extremely high quality brush or your bristles will start to fall out – this amazing brush is the only I use and held up very well.
- It was an adjustment…for about 5 minutes, and then I loved it! Thankfully the rest of the room is bright enough that it wasn’t too much of a change and this Loft color has such a luminous, cool quality to it so it doesn’t feel dark all. I also styled the mantel with bright white pieces to bring some of the white back in.
- This concern was quickly squashed by my smart husband. Turns out fireplaces are insulated pretty well😉
Okay! Step by step this is what I did:
- Cleaned the painting surface with warm water and Thieves household cleaner.
- Taped off the fireplace with painter’s tape.
- Primed with Kilz Primer. Apply thickly, but smoothly, and get in as many of the deep crevices as you can. Don’t be afraid to work your brush and go in different directions with your strokes.
- Painted with high quality latex paint. Again, this is going to take a lot of paint, but go slowly and even if you have to use multiple stroke directions make sure you smooth it out so that it dries evenly and with minimal brush strokes.
- That’s it! Pull off that painter’s tape and enjoy!
Can you believe what a difference it makes? I was just happy to erase those soot stains, but the gray/concrete look takes it to another level to me and really brings the room together.
I say if you want to paint your fireplace go for it! If your set-up isn’t stone there are a ton of other tutorials on Pinterest for brick and tile fireplaces. Hope you guys like it – have a great weekend!
xoxo,
Hayley
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