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A roaring fire on cold winter nights, deep, comfortable seating and the company of loved ones (four-legged sweethearts included) make life in a country cottage infinitely sweeter. A fireplace is a wonderful thing to have in a home and when it’s in the right spot, it often becomes the focal point of a room’s entire decorating scheme.
Our cottage is blessed with a beautiful wood-burning fireplace that is the architectural highlight of our living room. I am very thankful that we have it but, since day one, I’ve been on a mission to tweak it and rescale it in a way that better reflects the style of our home, and the small scale of our rooms.
Slowly (very, very slowly) over the last four years, I’ve redesigned the mantel and replaced the dentil moldings with simple cove details that are reminiscent of Early American homes. The process has been fun and has led me down the rabbit hole of early colonial architecture, with which I’ve become totally obsessed – clean lines, minimal ornamentation and an emphasis on simplicity and function – what’s there not to love?
After stripping all the decorative elements of the existing mantel, we DIY-ed the new design with scraps of wood we had in our garage – leftovers from other projects supplemented with Home Depot lumber.
I had some help, and this was the finished mantel (before paint):
The last bit of change with the fireplace happened last week, and that’s what I really want to show you. Painting the brick has been something I’ve been thinking about for years, and some of you have even suggested it in your comments, but I hesitated on moral grounds. A part of me thinks painting brick is a sacrilege, but after living with ours for so long, I was tired of turning a blind eye to its shortcomings. I do like the texture and color of old brick but the one used for our fireplace looked brand-new, and lacked that soft patina that comes only with age, which I love. (It also cast a very harsh red tint on everything in the room, clashing with most of my decorative schemes. )
So, finally, last week I ordered a can of heat-resistant paint and started painting over the bricks. Here’s how far I got before I almost passed out from the fumes – the heat-resistant paint has a very strong odor and needs to be handled with care, within a well-ventilated area. But I do love the matte black finish and I’m happy with how it’s looking so far. In case you’re interested, here’s the paint I used:
The brick needs at least a couple more layers of paint, but once that’s finished, the bulk of our living room redesign is done and I’m ready to take a long break.
What do you think? Have you ever painted brick? Would you? 🙂
Wishing you a great rest of your week, wherever you are!
Wow I love what you have done to this room: new french doors, new mantel, two new windows and looks like a treatment for the walls too! All were such good ideas for a small room! I am sure you are loving it !
Author
Thank you so much, Sharon!!!
xo, Eva
I think your fireplace looks amazing and yes, I’d not hesitate to paint the brick especially if it enhances the mantle and the room. I personally have not painted any brick but my daughter painted her fireplace a soft white and left the mantle to it’s light scrubbed antique pine. The painted brick literally transformed the fireplace from ho hum to a Wow. I even love painted brick houses.
Author
Thank you, Jamie! Happy weekend!
xo, Eva
Wow, that looks awesome!!! What a difference from the original!
Author
Thank you, Diana!!!
xo, Eva
That is beautiful, Eva! It settles so nicely into your room. I painted our brick black in our last house after having that wall paneled the way very early New England rooms were before mantles.
Author
Thank you so much!!! I’m glad to hear you like the new look!
xo, Eva
I love projects like this, where it’s more vision and imagination and resourcefulness than resources – and such a huge difference! It all looks amazing, Eva, and I really love the color you chose for the paneled walls.
Author
Thank you so much, Linda! Wishing you a great weekend!
xo, Eva
I love the paint. If the brick doesn’t work for you, I say paint it. We painted our brick white in our home that we were in for 35 years, and I never regretted doing it.
It looks great, your room is really coming together. Great job.
Karen B.
Author
Thank you so much, Karen!
Really pretty!!
Author
Thank you, Ellen! Glad you like it!