Best Way To Whitewash Brick Fireplace – If you’re looking for the easiest and cheapest way to update your fireplace, lay down the tiles and pick up a brush. i
Trust me, the biggest impact you can make on your living space is a clean and bright brick fireplace (see proof below!). Bonus – making and applying chalk paint is a simple and inexpensive DIY project that can be completed in a few hours!
Best Way To Whitewash Brick Fireplace
This simple tutorial explains how to paint your fireplace. We’ve done this twice already, and it’s one of the easiest, cheapest, and fastest DIYs you can do. A painted brick fireplace makes a HUGE difference, especially if you feel like your living room is too dark and depressing. This quick change will get an instant “wow” from your visiting friends.
How To Paint Your Brick Fireplace Black And Never Look Back
When starting a brick painting project, the first thing you want to do is get rid of all the dust and debris.
If you’ve been thinking about changing your fireplace, now is a great time to go ahead, just like we did with our new DIY fireplace.
Use your vacuum and remove as much dust as possible, then clean it with a microfiber cloth or use these dust rags like we did (affiliate link) to remove any remaining dust so you don’t damage your brick fireplace that has been painted.
It’s time to make the white paint. I always make white by making a simple mixture of 50% latex paint and 50% water. If you search “how to make lime paint” online, you’ll find all kinds of recipes, from using acid to lime-washed brick fireplaces (yes, with real lime!), but I do it the easy way! This method has worked for two of our fireplaces, so I have full confidence that it will work.
My Painted Brick Fireplace
Dip 1/3 of the brush into the paint mixture and gently scrape it against the edge of the pan, allowing it to drip before applying. I work in 1 x 1 foot segments to better control color consistency. It’s best to fall off as the paint will tend to drip (stay on top of that fake paint!).
Once you’ve completed your first section from top to bottom, work your way across until you’ve completed the first layer. It is important to go between the bricks so that the mortar gets a lot of color, otherwise the plaster bricks will look incomplete.
You may also want to apply a second coat of paint to your new fireplace, but that is entirely up to you. We painted it in two coats and I think it looks great! ๐
I finally got around to putting some of my books in the hearth of the mantel โ all sorted by color of course! ๐
How To Whitewash Your Brick Fireplace ยท How To Make A Fireplace ยท Home + Diy On Cut Out + Keep
I am so proud of how bright and clean the whole room looks now…much improved! ๐ Here’s a nice before/after shot so we can take a walk down memory lane. Much better!
An easy way to make white paint is to mix 50% latex paint with 50% water and use a standard brush to apply it.
You can have your fireplace completely painted for under $50 (or even FREE if you have it on hand!). Of course, this depends on the size of your fireplace, but a standard fireplace that is 5 feet wide from floor to ceiling will only need one gallon of paint and all the brushes you need to buy.
Yes, you can mix any paint with water to put on a brick fireplace. However, white seems to be the most popular color, with gray brickwork a close second. Thanks for visiting our little corner of Blog Land. This post is older and has been slightly updated for clarity.
Diy Fireplace Makeover Using Mortar โ Rebecca & Genevieve
Let me just say that I know this post is probably going to be a little controversial. My mom has been using the “Don’t paint the bricks” command since I first mentioned it. My friend Erin has been behind my painting plan from the beginning. That said, here’s a comparison shot to give you my take. I’d love to hear your comments at the end after you check out how to whiten bricks in an easy and (maybe even) free way!
It all started with a rash decision to finally bite the bullet and paint my mantle white, something I’ve wanted to do since we moved in but hadn’t committed to.
But since we’re in the middle of fall in January (the time of year when it’s too cold to paint anything outside or in the garage), I was itching to make progress, and since we have white paint and a mantle anyway. already bald after taking down the Christmas decorations, I thought I might as well jump in with both feet.
, which we buy from Home Depot and use on everything that is already finished. This allows the paint to adhere without the need for much sanding or deglossing. You can also download it from Amazon, HERE.
How To Whitewash Brick: 13 Cool Tutorials
And before I started, I went over the wood with sandpaper to sand it down a bit. Although sanding isn’t necessary with the Zinsser, I wanted to go over it at least a little because the wood is pretty shiny with a few coats of varnish.
At that point, I asked White if he was reconsidering it, and he said, “No, but I wish you’d started working in the basement . . .”
This is after two coats of primer so it wasn’t done, even as nice as it was I knew I wasn’t done. And Wyatt was actually the one who said it first.
As nice as the white trim looked (we’re slowly moving away from the orange wood tone that filled our entire house when we moved in), the dark brick now stood out so much that the contrast was a little too much.
Diy Whitewashed Brick Fireplace: Step By Step Tutorial
We originally thought of painting the brick white, which is what John and Sherry did in their old house. (Check it out if you’re not a fan of painted brick and it will change your mind!) But he wasn’t ready to fully commit to it just yet. And I agree, it’s a big step, because once you start with paint, there’s no going back to the natural brick look.
After a quick internet search, I came up with the idea of โโpossibly bleaching the brick, and when I showed Wyatt this image from East Coast Creative, he was intrigued. Check out her post for more inspiration on how to whitewash brick and transform the look of an entire room.
He wasn’t sure about the white coat since it was dark gray in the example above, but after a little persuasion he was ready to give me a brush and get to work. As for the brush, this is my favorite.
You can also purchase it at your favorite home improvement store. It’s the Wooster Pro 1.5″ Angled Brush and I buy a few of these to keep on hand and well protected. I clean them thoroughly after every job and they usually last about a year. Wyatt prefers the 2-inch size, and this pack of three of the best sizes is perfect for starting some DIY projects.
How To Whitewash A Brick Fireplace (for Under $50)
I originally mixed the paint in a Chinese takeout container (Egg Drop Soup anyone?), but it would have been nice to use a real paint cup with a handle. We love them because they fit into our favorite color bucket.
It’s under $10 and well worth it for the convenience. It has a magnet inside that holds the brush upright, which is great because you’ll need to free up both hands to wipe up drips during this white wash project. Anything that involves mess is a win in my book. It also has these clear liners that you can buy with it that make bleaching a lot easier because you can easily see if your paint/water mixture is well mixed. And if you use one of these, there’s no need to clean the bucket. #It’s worth it
Then mix, mix, mix. Seriously, you have to mix it up really well. And often. When you think you’ve mixed it well enough, keep stirring. We’ve found that stirring every few minutes while applying the bleach also helps a lot to ensure even coverage. Again, this is where the clear liners come in handy.
While I was doing that, Wyatt put the protection on the mat. (edit: this was before parquet – see this transformation HERE.)
How To: Whitewashing A Brick Fireplace
We’re not too worried about it because we hope to replace this floor soon… but we don’t want to live with stained carpet until it arrives. Luckily, we keep our newspapers for recycling and they do a great job of protecting things from my messy painting.
Before we started, we also wiped down the entire fireplace to make sure it was gone
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