Fireplace Makeover Ideas
When designing a space, if there is a fireplace in the room, it becomes a key, focal feature. Giving a fireplace a new look can be as simple as giving it a mantel redesign, or as complicated as removing drywall and painting the brick. I wanted to shared some real-life fireplace makeover ideas that are in rooms I’ve designed for clients ( and my own faux fireplace too!).
Not every fireplace needs a complete makeover. Sometimes just simplifying and adding some new accessories can make all of the difference in the world!
Such as this recent white painted fireplace makeover with built-ins.
With this fireplace makeover, it was fairly simple. We shopped the client’s home and added a beautiful arched mirror she already had. Adding some grasses clipped from their yard in a white vase they already had, and a pair of candlesticks from another room brought in a rustic touch. Even on the dining room table we snipped some crab tree branches from a tree in their yard and added them to a white vase that was previously on the mantel. I love that natural look of live branches. The only purchased item was the plug in lights on each side which really finished it off.
Paint is such a great transformer, even for fireplaces! This client’s fireplace had a lovely wood surround, but it just didn’t fit into what the client wanted. She was really looking for color and a big change. And honestly, it was just very, very tan and kind of blah.
We went with a fun sage green color on the brick and the wood surround. It really changes the entire look of the fireplace!
I love how not only is the fireplace calming to look at, but I almost notice the detail work on the wood even more so… I just love it! The entire room seems so modern and calm at the same time.
This next fireplace makeovers is one of my favorites. This is a makeover that was done at the House in the Woods project. It was an amazing transformation! It just shows you never know whats hiding under early 2000’s drywall.
When we were faced with the monstrosity of this fireplace, I knew it was going to be a challenge. We actually didn’t know what was underneath the drywall. I am so glad the homeowner was up for the adventure of taking it off and seeing what was underneath. We scored big time on the family room side!
We painted the ugly brick white, what an improvement! It really makes the fireplace look completely different and certainly takes it out of the 2000’s! We found a local craftsman who salvages barnwood and bought several pieces of cured Chestnut barnwood saved from a barn in Indiana. The wood is gorgeous, somewhat rare since American Chestnut trees are extinct, and really makes a statement as the mantel!
This is my own faux mantel that has gone through many changes itself. It’s an antique mantel… which I loved the look, but I really wanted to give it a more natural and rustic look.
We ended up building a really inexpensive box mantel to place over the top, and a faux brick over mantel and it really added so much to upgrade it!
I swapped out the mirror with one my grandma used to have, and I love being able to look at it everyday.
Finally, this client had a fireplace tile surround that just didn’t fit with her style anymore. We looked into ripping out the tile and replacing it, but it was such a messy project and slightly cost prohibitive.
After researching several options, we decided to give painting the old ceramic tile fireplace surround with high temperature paint and paint on a faux overmantel.
It completely transformed the fireplace! Painting the tile made it blend in, and look so much more elegant. The other change I really love is painting the area over the mantel. It no longer seems like the TV is floating or stick out like a sore thumb , and makes it seem so much grander in scale! It really unifies the entire fireplace!
I love how some of these fireplace makeover ideas are really easy to do, and many are just about a few coats of paint! What do you think? Are you a brick purist, or are you OK with changing it up with paint?
