UncategorizedOur Fireplace Before & After November 26, 2014This is a sponsored post by Ridgid Tools. All opinions are 100% my own. Like I said in yesterday’s Holiday Style Challenge reveal post, our fireplace makeover is one of my favorite projects we’ve ever done! It made such a huge impact, but was super easy and only $50! With just a few pieces of trim and a gallon of black paint, our fireplace went from oh so plain and sad to dramatic and glam in just a weekend! Here’s how we did it. When we moved in, the fireplace was just lovely. This technically isn’t even the before. It was much dingier and we initially painted it the same white as the walls until we decided what to do with it. As you can see, the opening is closed up – super sad! I would’ve loved to open it up, but apparently, they ran some ducts behind it and it wouldn’t be the easiest of jobs. This fall, we were looking for a quick weekend makeover to better it cosmetically, not a huge project like opening it up. In planning our redo, I wanted to achieve a couple of things. I really wanted to make the fireplace the focal point of the room. The white blending in with the wall didn’t achieve that and I wasn’t liking how it stopped short. I had a vision to paint it a contrasting color and make the trim go all the way to the ceiling, making the ceilings feel taller. To give the illusion that the fireplace went to the ceiling, we decided to add some simple board and batten trim. We measured and cut all of the pieces using our new Ridgid Sliding Compound Miter Saw with Adjustable Laser. My husband is in love with this saw. Like to the point that I’m slightly concerned. I’ve got to admit, it really is that awesome, though. We had another brand of this saw for the last couple of years, but the quality can’t be compared! We didn’t even use it that much, but it broke recently. This saw is heavy-duty and durable. It has a laser guide and easier sliding capabilities. I think Chris might start thinking up more projects just to use this more often. For our trim pieces, we decided to use 1×4″ pieces of MDF. Obviously, this is purely cosmetic and is no way weight bearing. And MDF is so smooth and creates a smoother, painted finish. We started by creating the outside frame. We attached them with a nailer. In attaching the interior pieces, we had to use Liquid Nails and glue them because we discovered there’s brick behind the wall. In hindsight, we would glue the entire thing because it removes so much work with filling the little nail holes. Plus, it looks much better after painting when you don’t have patched holes. Once we filled in all the trim and nail holes, it was time to paint! It took several coats, but ended up looking better and richer than I had imagined! The color is Behr Black Suede from Home Depot. I wish I had a picture of Chris’ face when I told him I wanted to paint it black. He thought it would look awful. But in the end, he agreed it was the right choice. I love how it contrasts against the white and how rich it looks against the beams. Once it dried, we were ready to style it! I’ll be sharing the tutorial for these simple sconces soon. I planned the trim pattern around having some sconces fit right in between and I love how these turned out! I wanted to find a way to camouflage the fact that we weren’t opening up the fireplace. I couldn’t stand how it looked all bricked up. I knew a firescreen was the right choice, but I didn’t want a typical one. I had a vision for this marble and gold beauty and it turned out so much better than I ever expected! It’s my favorite part of this whole redo! Tutorial on this one coming soon! You’ll be shocked how easy and inexpensive it is! *** Don’t forget about the free eBook giveaway when you sign up for Young Living Oils! More information here! Check out our most popular topics: Subscribe to our daily feed to make sure you don’t miss any Daily Doses of Style!
Julia@Cuckoo4Design says November 26, 2014 at 8:53 am Love it so much! I’ve been thinking about painting mine black for a while now too. Happy Thanksgiving Reply
Kristin @ Bliss at Home says November 26, 2014 at 9:03 am It looks so good! The details you added make it more of a focal point 🙂 Happy Thanksgiving! xoxo Reply
Judy says November 26, 2014 at 9:48 am i’ve been a little bit deer obsessed lately and love your deer print…would you mind sharing where it came from? i love the black painted fireplace….so dramatic! we painted ours a couple of years ago (not black) and i’ve never been sorry we did…i loved painted brick! Reply
Lisa@2PerfectionDecor says November 26, 2014 at 3:17 pm I normally love white.. BUT your Fireplace mantel looks incredible black.. Its stunning!! Reply
Corinna - For My Love Of says November 26, 2014 at 5:26 pm I’m anxious to see the tutorial for the fireplace screen. And, I don’t even have a fireplace. Haha. The black is beautiful and I love the trim above the fireplace. Reply
Deonna at the Child at Heart blog says November 28, 2014 at 4:15 pm That is SOOO pretty! I painted our mantle black and my husband was also not sure about it 🙂 They just have to trust us with the style and we will trust them with everything else! Reply
Erica says January 20, 2016 at 5:12 pm I am loving the black fireplace and plan to paint mine this weekend. What sheen of paint did you use? Reply