HOW TO PAINT A BRICK FIREPLACE

Ever since we moved into our current home eleven years ago, I hated the way our fireplace looked. It was a dull, boring beige color, and had no personality at all. After we painted our walls a pretty color, it looked even more washed out. Our brick fireplace needed an update badly, and I wanted it to really pop. I decided to paint it myself, after looking at a few ideas online.

Supplies:

2″ Paint brush (for base coat)
Sea Sponge
Large Flat Sponges (cut into pieces of various sizes and shapes)
Paint tray lined with foil

Paint colors:

Quart each, eggshell finish:
~Valspar Lariat Tan (#3004-7B)
~Valspar Asiago (#6005-1A)
~Valspar Outlands Subtle Taupe (#6005-1B)
~Valspar Smoked Oyster (#6005-1C)

You can use any colors you like. I would choose at least three but no more than four (not including the white base coat).

Unfortunately I did not take photos of each step, but I have tried to explain it below. It is really easy to do, and you can’t really mess it up, unless you choose horrible colors.

Step One

Clean the bricks. I dampened a towel with warm water and wiped down the bricks and the grout. If your bricks have soot or lots of dirt on them, you might try using a commercial brick cleaner (there are several on the market).

Step Two

Use a flat white paint and using a paintbrush, paint the whole fireplace, including the grout. Make sure you really get in there and dab recessed areas, so no color is showing. Painting the bricks white gives you a base coat for your remaining paint colors. You could use an off-white if you prefer. {Pardon the “stuff” at the base of the fireplace}.

You will be using the colors in order of lightest to darkest. Starting with the lightest paint color (Asiago), pour a bit into a foil lined tray. Dip a sea sponge in the paint, pressing any excess off on the tray. Very gently, dab the sponge on the bricks and even the grout.  Start with just a little paint, until you see the effect. You can always add more as you go. You don’t want the color to be solid, but speckled and random. Add more paint to your sponge and keep dabbing until the whole surface is completely speckled with Asiago paint.

Step Four

Repeat Step Three, using the Oatlands Subtle Taupe.

Step Five

Still using the sea sponge (or the flat sponge) use the Smoked Oyster color, and repeat the process. Since this color is darker, you might want to use more sparingly. It just depends on how dark you want your fireplace.

Using the flat sponge and Lariat Tan paint, dab the very edges of the bricks and in about 1/2 inch, very lightly, just to highlight them a bit. I used this color around each brick edge to divide them up a bit and really make them “pop”.  If you want to dab a little randomly, you can do that too, but work on individual bricks with this color, instead of dabbing all over randomly. You can use any color you want, but make sure it stands out from the other colors you are using.

Walk around the room and look at the fireplace at different angles. Do the colors look evenly distributed? Is it too dark? Lighten it up a bit with the lightest color, to achieve the desired appearance. Is it still to light? Add some of the darker colors. Are the bricks not standing out enough? Go around the edges with a mix of Lariat Tan and even a little Smoked Oyster. Use your own judgment here and touch up until you are satisfied.

If you have always wondered how to paint or makeover a brick fireplace, this is probably the easiest way you to do it.  I think it cost me about $50 total, but depending where you buy the paint for your fireplace, you might be able to update your fireplace even more inexpensively.

I would love to hear about your results and/or see photos!  Feel free to share photos on the Eighty MPH Mom Facebook page, or comment below!

If you enjoyed this DIY brick fireplace makeover I would be thrilled if you would tweet, share on your Facebook page, or of course, pin this – thanks!