Have I ever told you all how much I hate my fireplace? No, well I do!
I hate the brick, I hate the height of the hearth, and
I hate my fireplace doors/screens.
Since I still (after 20 years) am not ready to do anything with the brick, I decided to paint the dated brass doors.
So I threw an old sheet down on the driveway, grabbed some newspaper and that blue painters tape and went to work covering all the glass.
Then I spray painted it with a hammered black. I had not spray painted in years and actually had fun doing this!
The before.....
And after...
Here's the finished look. (took all of one hour of my time) I'm still not loving it, but everyone says it looks better.
Its really hard to get a good photo of this.
At night it's just darker, but in the day time I am just getting way too much glare.
I would love any ideas anyone has for the brick. Right now I'm leaning towards doing a form of white washing, like shown in this blog tutorial at All Things Heart and Home
instead of blue using a sage green with a cream. This would take a lot of guts on my part as I've always been afraid to paint brick as it's just so permanent. Another thought it to just paint it a soft beige sort of like this....
originally posted it, be sure to pipe up in the comments section! :)
I would love to gather some different ideas from all of you, anything....just feel free to throw it out there. I'm even wondering if I should repaint the doors something a little lighter. I would actually get rid of them altogether if not for the very hot heat that comes out of this gas fireplace. I think if I did remove the doors, I would have to get some sort of "heat" block installed below the mantel and I'm not sure if I'm diggen on that idea either.
I hope everyone is having a wonderful week!
I had my interview/meeting with the head of the school that I recently enrolled Jack in, and I expect to hear back from them pretty soon.
His big screening day is next week! You think I can get away with bringing a camera? ;)
Hi Sheree,
ReplyDeleteI think the fire screen looks great! It's definitely an improvement over that brassy gold. You did a great job! I can't seem to find the perfect fire screen for my fireplace either. Right now I'm just using an old garden gate, more for decoration than anything else (for the summer), but I'll need to find a real one for when we're using it in the winter.
I think a light beige would look good with your wall color, maybe try a lighter shade of the same color. I painted my brick and mantel all white.
I LOVE that photo of the all white room. I think it came from Country Living or Country Home (can't remember which). I have it saved in my idea book, too. I just LOVE it!!
Have a wonderful day!
~ Jo :)
Love it! MUCH better than before. And I say "Paint the Brick!!!!"....the soft shades would look lovely on yours!
ReplyDeleteLet me know what happens with the interview...can't wait to hear:) (you can email me)
hugs,
dawn
That's a good idea to keep in mind Jo. Using a lighter shade of the color on the wall would give it the proper undertones, or if I decided to go the three color whitewash technique, it cold be one of the colors. Thanks for that, I hadn't thought of it!
ReplyDeleteDawn, I wish I had you and your sister here! Yep, I bet you guys have the guts to just paint that brick already! :)
ReplyDeleteI'll be sure to let you know when I know what's up with the school. I really enjoyed my meeting with this person and really do look forward to working with her over the coming years! I just love positive, uplifting people, and she was one of those!
Great job!!! Looks so much better, dont be afraid to paint the brick!! It will be fine... Cant wait to see the finished project...
ReplyDeleteSheree,
ReplyDeleteYour fireplace door looks awesome...I love it!
I'm looking forward to more great posts from you :)
Have a great day!
Lisa
I too hate my fireplace. At least you have a mantel! I don't-I have what is most like a brick shelf! I will be posting pics of mine on my blog soon - hoping to get ideas from the web world on how to transform the ugly brick thing. LOL. Yours turned out quite sharp with just the spray painting. Mine needs more.
ReplyDeleteI signed up as a follower looking forward to spending some time reading your blog.
http://day2dayfinds.blogspot.com/
Alisa
Hi Sheree, I like what you did with this and will copy, if you don't mind, for our back porch fireplace. We've thought about removing the glass doors and use just the screen, but we may paint the frame and keep the glass doors, instead.
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of a sort of white wash for your brick in a creamy color. I believe the small area of exposed brick lends itself well for painting. Love that inspiration photo!
We have an all brick fireplace in our hearth room and the back porch. It works for the look I want, which is older historic home with brick walls...a girl can dream, I guess.:-)
Copy away Pat!
ReplyDeleteYou know, I should have been more clear in my post about that brick. I actually like my brick, and brick fireplaces. Just not in my family room with the other decor I have going on. Originally all of my house trim was stained walnut(from back in the 80's). When the fireplace surround was dark, the brick looked fine, as would an all brick fireplace. I think it has to do with the stark contrast and maybe even the plaid drapes so near by. Not sure, just know it hurts my eyes! lol!
Can't wait to see the photos of your made over fireplace doors!