happy new year, everyone! although i vowed never to paint another inch of wall, trim, or anything... we decided to start 2012 by... painting. you may know that the previous owners of our house painted almost every square inch pink before we moved in. rose/blush/puke pink. now, every girl loves pink and, don't get me wrong, a splash of fuschia or a sparkly rose wine here and there is perfectly ok. but when all of your surroundings are rose/blush/puke pink, it can make you seriously twitchy. we started with the 'Revere Pewter' in the living room, but it still looked sort of boring. so, i took the plunge and painted our very traditional, welcome-to-1989 mantle and surrounds with the leftover 'Sealskin' from the dining room. not only does it feel brazen and sexy, but it's also a nice segue into the other room. the finish is satin instead of semi-gloss or even high-gloss. bricks painted in a slightly matte sheen are pretty cool looking and still wipe clean.
every DIY website will tell you that painting a brick fireplace is "easy" and "takes an hour, maybe two." i'm here to tell you that you need to set aside an entire weekend depending on the size of your fireplace and the color that you're painting. if your fireplace is brick, please note that brick fireplaces have more nooks and crannies than the world's largest english muffin. (i googled "world's largest english muffin" to give you some reference, but alas, no one appears to have attempted to bake a ginormous english muffin! Wolferman's, you need to get on that.) therefore, you will need a large stippling brush, sizeable shoulder muscles, and a kneepad to get all the paint down in those pesky little nooks.
but first, before your knees and butt start cramping, you will need to use Kilz or another primer suitable for masonry on the brick portion. i used a foam roller and and brush and practically had to pour the paint over the hearth to get adequate coverage. after this step, you'll need to remove small children from the area or at least cover their ears, because you may blurt out an expletive.
after three coats of paint and about 10 hours, the fireplace is complete. every muscle aches, but in a good way. i will count these days as a solid workout for 2012.
here are the before, during, and after shots:
i'm drooling over the following rooms and hope our living room turns out just as snazzy (all from Pinterest)! (see people, pink accents are still ok.)
every DIY website will tell you that painting a brick fireplace is "easy" and "takes an hour, maybe two." i'm here to tell you that you need to set aside an entire weekend depending on the size of your fireplace and the color that you're painting. if your fireplace is brick, please note that brick fireplaces have more nooks and crannies than the world's largest english muffin. (i googled "world's largest english muffin" to give you some reference, but alas, no one appears to have attempted to bake a ginormous english muffin! Wolferman's, you need to get on that.) therefore, you will need a large stippling brush, sizeable shoulder muscles, and a kneepad to get all the paint down in those pesky little nooks.
but first, before your knees and butt start cramping, you will need to use Kilz or another primer suitable for masonry on the brick portion. i used a foam roller and and brush and practically had to pour the paint over the hearth to get adequate coverage. after this step, you'll need to remove small children from the area or at least cover their ears, because you may blurt out an expletive.
after three coats of paint and about 10 hours, the fireplace is complete. every muscle aches, but in a good way. i will count these days as a solid workout for 2012.
here are the before, during, and after shots:
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| The fireplace in its original glory. Yes, it's pretty, but the red brick will clash with my orange couch (coming soon)! |
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| This is what the primer looks like. Originally I thought I'd just paint the brick, so that tape job was a total waste of time. It's much easier to just paint all of it! |
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| Here is the final product. I'm thrilled with the results and can't wait to show you the rest of the room! |
i'm drooling over the following rooms and hope our living room turns out just as snazzy (all from Pinterest)! (see people, pink accents are still ok.)
"i googled "world's largest english muffin" to give you some reference, but alas, no one appears to have attempted to bake a ginormous english muffin!"
ReplyDeleteAlas, things haven't improved since January and I ended up at your blog from the same search!