#WordlessWednesday: To paint or not to paint.

by 22 Comments

We recently moved into a new home that had many of the items on our dream home checklist. One of those items was a large fireplace. Check.

When scrolling through Pinterest to get ideas on how to decorate the mantel, I quickly realized that almost all brick fireplaces posted online had been painted out. This got us thinking…

We know we would eventually love to reface it with stone and put in a gas insert (wood fireplace unfortunately does not pass inspection and cannot be used), but that is a few years out. In the meantime, I am battling with the idea to paint it.

So I am putting the fireplace’s fate in your hands.

Below I have a photo comparison using a quick and dirty photoshop job to make it look painted(ish). To paint or not to paint, that is the question. Please cast your vote in the comments below. My indecisive brain thanks you in advance.

If we follow through with this idea, this is the tutorial I am using from the incredibly talented DIY couple Young House Love. They have a fantastic example of a floor-to-ceiling brick fireplace that they painted out to white. Their picture does the paint job far more justice than my photoshop skills…

home decor, fireplace, brick fireplace, paint brick fireplace, DIY fireplace,
Try to imagine around my poor photoshop skills ;)

You may also like:

#WordlessWednesday: Oh, Christmas Tree! DIY Leather Wrapped Painted Canvas The #PinterestHouseProject #PinterestHouseProject: The Study

Comments

  2. Shona says

    Paint! I love painted brick way more then original. But my decor tastes are more modern anyway. You could put a DIY screen in front of actual wood burning part for now until you get the electric one. That will hide the oldness of that part! lol

    • says

      Thanks Shona! I am definitely thinking of a screen either way. I don’t mind natural brick, but the rest of the house has much more modern finishes. Maybe I wouldn’t be debating this is the rest of the house had older character as well.

  4. says

    I am going with paint. I personally do not like the look of the natural brick in a modern looking room. This fireplace looks like it belongs in the 70’s. If it’s not too much work, you could paint the walls a darker color so it doesn’t blend in too much. Or instead of the black and white accent pieces on the mantle, you could spruce it up with brighter pieces and flowers.

  8. says

    I’m going to be a voice of dissension in the ranks and say that I like it better painted as it makes the room brighter. Right now that fireplace is breaking up the room into three pieces, one on either side and the fireplace itself. I also agree with the comment above that raw brick in a living area sort of belongs to another era.

    When I first saw your picture, I thought it was some type of interesting art installation with two rooms on top of each other with a missing fourth wall — that would also be a neat thing to do with your living area ;).

Leave a Reply