Adding Color to a Painted Fireplace

One of the easiest ways to update a living room is by adding color to a painted fireplace. Have you noticed color making a comeback in trends? It seems like nothing is off limits for color…and that includes a fireplace!

When we first moved into our home, the fireplace was in desperate need of a makeover. After removing the vents and creating faux stone, I was able to give it a fresh look with some leftover paint. It was a great solution, but after painting the walls the same color, the same tone all over has gotten a little boring.

That’s when I started brainstorming…

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FIREPLACE IDEAS

The first thought was to add color and create a focal wall in our living room. The black wall in our library is an unexpected pop, but that didn’t seem like a solution in the living room. A fun color was the next thought and I considered each of the walls.

The fireplace wall seemed like the natural solution. But, I realized that by painting the wall around the fireplace a color and leaving the stone white, it would draw one’s eye downward. That would create the look of a “stumpy” stone fireplace. This is because the stone, even though it stands at least five feet tall, would look small and short in the room with a lighter color on it and the walls a darker color.

Drawing the eye upwards was needed. {and on a budget!} This happens naturally when a fireplace has the stone or brick treatment from floor to ceiling. But adding stone above the mantel was not an option. Another idea would be to add something like shiplap or some type of wood accent. Those are great ideas, but not in the $10-$20 budget I had in mind.

What if I created a faux border and painted the wall above the fireplace as well as the stone a fun color? That would definitely draw the eye up and create a more finished look to the room.

ADDING COLOR TO A PAINTED FIREPLACE

The next decision was to choose a color for the fireplace. Since green has become an accent throughout our house, it was a natural choice. But which one? The darker green on our staircase? Or the lighter green on our kitchen cabinets?

In the end, I chose the lighter green. Well, sort of. I found a quart of a lighter green with a discounted price on it in my basement. In trying to figure out where it came from, I think the story goes like this: I attempted to have our kitchen cabinet color-matched and it was slightly off. Thus, the discount on it. Next time, I should leave myself a note, but I believe I used this color on our back porch floor, even though it wasn’t exactly right. Either way, I liked it. I also knew that the kitchen cabinet color would look different in our living room due to the amount of sun each room gets. Our kitchen faces north and gets limited sun and the living room has many windows that face south.

PAINTING THE STONE

Since our stone was already painted, it was very simple to cover-up the light color as the stone was already sealed in with paint. But whether the stone is painted or not, it’s quite a simple process. No expertise is needed as most of the effort is spent on slopping paint on and into all the nooks and crannies.

ADDING COLOR TO THE WALL

There are two small windows on either side of our fireplace that create a natural border…except at the top. In wanting to keep the budget low, I added two small pieces of trim on the inside of each window frame. Any local hardware/lumber store will have different widths. I chose a 1/2 inch piece and cut it in the store since the cost was per foot.

By adding a piece of trim, this gives the focal wall above the fireplace a border. It makes sense for the green to be on the wall when contained by a “frame.”

GREEN PAINTED FIREPLACE

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When the fireplace was white, I opted to paint the inside (firebox) black and the hearth white. With the green, I chose not to paint the hearth the same color and opted for the black instead. That means the firebox and hearth got a fresh coat of paint as well.

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It’s been fun to see people’s reactions to this change. My family had no idea what I was up to and I thoroughly enjoyed watching them come in here for the first time. Everyone loves it though…after the initial shock wore off!

BEHIND THE SCENES

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The black of the light fixtures, tv stand, and candlesticks pull nicely together with the fireplace firebox.

To be honest, I was almost tired of this vintage round mirror above our fireplace. But now with the green, it really pops and makes a statement on this wall.

Paint. It’s an amazing {and budget-friendly} solution to giving a whole new look to a space. And the great thing about paint is that it can always be painted over. That was my mindset going into this: if I don’t like it, I can just paint back over it. So far, that’s not even a thought. It feels fresh and fun as we head into the summer!

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