I finally did it. I finally took the plunge and painted the fireplace! I’ve been putting it off for a year and a half because, well, it’s just so permanent. What if I hated it? Once you paint brick, it is really hard to un-paint it. It’s a scary plunge! But I finally just dove in head first and did it. I mean, how can I hate the brick any more than I already do? Peach brick is really not my thing, and I just couldn’t stare at that huge peach wall for one more day. Check out the before and after pics, and get all the deets about painting brick…
Here’s where we started:
We have a nice big wall of brick in our living room. Some day I’d love to tear it all out and totally pimp this space, but like Shawty, it’s very low low low low on our priority list.
Deep breath. Here goes nothing!
This will obviously need more than one coat.
Second coat is looking a lot more fly.
Only the hearth left! I am already digging it so much. Whew!
Aaaaand the afters! Oh my word, what a huge difference!
It’s just so clean and fresh looking!
Okay, so how did I do it? Honestly, I’ve never painted brick before. I read a bunch of tutorials online and so many of them made it seem like a lot of hard work with unnecessary steps.
I purchased some ProClassic trim & door paint from Sherwin Williams. I got a satin finish because I didn’t want my fireplace shiny and glowing at me. The color I used is my staple trim color – Alabaster.
I used a roller for 98% of the fireplace. I purchased this Purdy Roller Frame and these Purdy Mini Rollers. I chose not to use a big roller you’d use on your wall because I thought it might splatter more. (affiliate links)
Some tutorials said to prime the brick first, some said to wash the brick, some said to paint all the brick with a brush, and some even said to use basic wall paint. I didn’t do any of that!
I dusted off some dust, used the ProClassic Trim paint, and the mini roller and just started painting. When I was done rolling two to three coats of paint, there were some areas of grout that needed additional paint. For those smaller areas I went back with my favorite paint brush, the Angular Trim Purdy Paint Brush. If I ever paint with a paint brush, 99.9% of the time I use this angled brush. (affiliate link)
And that’s it! It was so easy. Painting brick seemed so intimidating, but in the end it was almost just as easy as painting your basic textured walls in your home.
You guys know by now I am just such a huge sucker for before and after comparisons:
Can you believe this transformation? I am blown away.
Products used for this project:
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Have a great day!
It looks awesome! Great job!
I read recently someone had painted their brick and had used milk paint. Why dd you choose to use standard paint over milk paint? Only curious. Your fireplace looks great!
What an awesome after. Well worth the time and effort! ❤️ It
Looks great! I admire you bravery! I put up with an ugly hearth for 6 years before we moved to escape it! Your shelves would look super cute with colorful wallpaper on the back.
I agree! Wallpaper or paint is my next step!
We have two fireplaces that I’d love to cover (it rarely gets cold enough here to justify the trouble. We’ve used one only a couple times and the other – we’ve never used in 22 years.) I could better arrange furniture with the wallspace, but since getting rid of them would mean replacing flooring, etc. it’s probably not an option at this time. I have considered painting the brick, but like you, I don’t want a glossy finish like I’ve seen done before. I like the look of flat paint, but not always the best and most reasonable option.
Are you pleased with the finish of the satin on your brick? I’m assuming you use your fireplace, so will the satin clean well? I wonder if flat would be an option for us since we don’t have fires (?)
That looks so much better! Fresher and cleaner. Glad to see you posting again!
Several years ago I painted my black mortared, orange used brick wall around the fireplace and adjoining wall harboring the wood bin and hearth. I used a creamy soft white very similar to what you used. I love mine, and like you I didn’t do any of the things advised and my painted brick is as beautiful as when I first painted it. Good job! Looks really pretty.
LOVE it!!!!
We are super happy with our painted brick fireplace, we used a shinier paint, as we wanted to be able to wipe it off better (we used the same paint for our brick backsplash!). One thing we went a step further with, is we painted the brass and black parts of the actual fireplace insert! My painter helped us with a can of black spray paint designed for high heat (grills and fireplaces). It immediately changed the 80’s look to a totally updated feature! No more brass. He just masked it all off and sprayed it in place. we’ve had several fires now and no issues. I think you will be really happy with it!
Very impressive transformation! I am always screaming from the rooftops about the power of paint and your project is a perfect example of it. I can’t believe just how much brighter the area looks.
Thank you! I was so nervous to do it! What if I hated it? You can’t easily unpaint brick. But I love it and it has brightened the entire space!
Love it!! This inspires me to take on my fireplace!!
I love the look of the painted fireplace! This is just stunning!!!!
Your fireplace is awesome! Beautiful work as usual!