Wednesday, July 8, 2009

To Paint...or not to paint...

So im planning on doing ALOT of painting when we move in to our place and I REALLY want to paint the fireplace..now, before you think im crazy here me out :0) I think all of the brick in the living room makes the room feel darker and by painting the fireplace i think it will really lighten up the room and make it a little more modern...ive attached some pictures of painted fireplaces...tell me what you think! Have you had any good/bad experiences painting brick? Here is the fireplace i want to attack with paint...Am a crazy or do the white fireplaces look MUCH nicer?!

Painted fireplaces:



11 comments:

  1. Hmm....tough decision. Once you do it it's difficult to undo it. I think eventually my mom regretted painting their real brick fireplace. Since yours is a real brick fireplace I would hesitate to paint over it. It's "brick" like MY UGLY fireplace that even paint won't help!!! AND, I hate the fireplace insert in my fireplace. If you don't like the insert on your fireplace, perhaps get a new one, clean the brick really well and hang something light and bright over the fireplace. It's gonna look really different when you get rid of the old dark wood trim and replace or paint the trim a light color. Spotlights over the fireplace to divert attention to a nice painting or picture would take away some focus on the brick. Do you plan to keep the living room floor in tile or do you want to carpet it? Perhaps it's the tile that looks out of place with the fireplace??? I don't know - I haven't seen it in person, so it's hard, but you can paint the brick after you do other work on the room if you still want to do it! Dad took one look at the fireplace and said an emphatic "NO! DON'T PAINT IT!!" But, the final decision is up to you two!! Just make sure you use specific heat proof paint. For inserts check out www.Zoobler.com Also, what color do you want to paint the living room? If you tell me the colors, etc. I can draw a fairly good rendering of what the room will look like with the changes.

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  2. WOW! I just looked at a close-up picture of the fireplace - they added the wood mantle after they put a different kind of brick above the original mantle. If you tear down the non-matching brick at the top of the fireplace and paint that area, it will look completely different. I didn't see this when I was just looking at the smaller pic.

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  3. ya i would agree with Gee... i think a completely new wood molding one would look really good, or rip out the brick and put in new rock or something...just dont paint it, the white painted brick is what all the walls were inside the last place i worked, where i took care of mentally disabled or mentally insane people, so basically, now white brick reminds me of crazys! BUT...do what you want, you are super talented and creative, and you always seem to make things look really good! so whatever you want im sure will look amazing! the end...love crust

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  4. ps...i just looked at what gee said about the brick behind the front part, it looks A LOT nicer than the front. the front main brick looks like the color of my house, and my fireplace! now i pretty much need to change mine too! haha! and i think that carpet or wood would really change the look of the fireplace as well.

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  5. thank you for the honest imput :0) i will take all of that into consideration!i think its a good idea to at least wait until the new carpet/paint is in and then make the decision :0)

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  6. I would paint it, but red brick is just too much for me and wouldn't go with my style. I think that it could look really nice depending on the other elements in the room. Waiting on the carpet/ paint is a good idea.

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  7. I also live in a very old home, built in 1924. I have actually chosen to paint our fireplace & the bookcases surrounding it a sage green. I know you're thinking CRAZY!!! But we have old wood floors in here & I have LOVED the contrast that it has brought. So Very cute! It was not hard to paint over it for me, we did prime it first. Good Luck with what ever you choose to do!

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  8. I think white would look good. It would make it more modern and more you. Just don't paint the walls white so that it still makes a statement. Who knows maybe chocolate brown would work too. Congratulations on your new house that is so awesome! See you in a couple of weeks.

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  9. I say paint it! Our fireplace is a lot like yours and I agree with you...painting it would make it feel more modern. Can't wait to see pictures of the completed project!

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  10. You could easily cover the brick with a light marble tile. I really don't like painted brick!

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  11. I would paint the walls a lighter and brighter color, white trim (use 4 1/2 inch baseboard), sheetrock over top of the fireplace and paint it the color of the walls and marble the lower half of the fireplace to go with walls and wood floors. Hang a nice painting and get rid of any popcorn ceiling.

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