Need help with redesigning a brick fireplace

14 years ago

We are renovating a house built in the late 70's and I'm struggling with the fireplace. Do I drywall the top half, add a chunky reclaimed wood mantel & tile the bottom with a ledger tile....or drywall with just painting the brick on the bottom off white....whether to get rid of the hearth or keep it...or just paint all of it & add the chunky stained wood mantel.

It's the one thing about the renovation I can't seem to wrap my head around. The new color of the room is the one closest to the fireplace and the room gets a lot of light.

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Charmean Neithart Interiors

14 years ago

Consider painting the brick white, I really do like the look of painted brick. I am not a big fan of a raised hearth. I think it reduces furniture layout options. The abundant sunshine will look nice with the painted brick. Hope that helps. Charmean Neithart

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Comments (12)

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karen paul interiors
14 years ago
Charmean is correct. Remove the hearth and paint the brick. I don't recommend going creamy off-white. The standard white that goes with any white out there is Dunn Edwards' Swiss Coffee. It looks like a bright white but it isn't. It blends with absolutely anything and everything. Also, go with a sheen one step down from a semi-gloss. Good luck!
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Manon Floreat
14 years ago
I, too, think painting the brick white is a good idea. I actually like the raised hearth and would even consider extending it all the way to the left wall. You can add a chunky reclaimed wood mantel that extends to the left as well. The nice thing about raised hearths is that they provide casual seating for large gatherings. I also find them more convenient for stoking a fire.

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houssaon
14 years ago
last modified: 14 years ago
If you knock out the brick hearth, you might not have brick behind there. And I think you might still need to have a flush to floor hearth for a wood burning fireplace to meet code. So you need to consider that if you take out the hearth.

You could just paint the brick and put a nice chunky piece of wood for the mantle. Here is a nice painted brick fireplace similar to yours with a wood mantle:
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katesink
14 years ago
You could cover the brick, go to teilbuilthomes.com and check out their blog. She covered her brick fireplace and it is charming.
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User
14 years ago
This is what I have done in the past. Plaster-weld the brick, then one coat of imperial basecoat plaster( to make a flat surface), and after that for a smooth finish "Diamond Finish veneer".(all USG products) If you where close to NY I could do this in a day. But since it's small you could give it a go. Good luck.
James Smith
14 years ago
You can use white and slow yellow color for this work. These are light supporting color. When you use these type of color you get your room more lightly . For batter color combination you can use color wheel to select the best.
Deb
14 years ago
for a quick and easy fix tile over it there are all kinds of great tiles just give the brick a good scrub so it is nice and clean first. Then depending on the tile you pick a rectangular box made of mirror would be sharp for a mantle. The nice thing about the tile is you are not changing the structure so in years down the road should you decide to go back to the original style you can.
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FireplaceMall.com
14 years ago
I'd stay away from white if you use the fireplace. It'll get sooty and require a lot of cleaning to keep from looking dirty.
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COASTROAD Hearth & Patio
14 years ago
I agree with FireMall IF the fireplace isn't drawing properly. The area above the fireplace opening will get messy, and require regular repainting. However, if the fireplace is drawing properly, you shouldn't have any soot on the face.

The top surface of the hearth, either raised or flush, is what will take a beating (unless you convert to gas), so I suggest a smooth, non-porous, non-combustible material like granite or Quartzite to keep it relatively low maintenance.
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COASTROAD Hearth & Patio
14 years ago
P.S. semigloss latex paint over block-filler primer wears best around a fireplace. Oil-based paints tend to discolor in the heat, in my experience.
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Susan Mills Design
14 years ago
Because of the window to the right, I really like Manon's idea of the wood mantle extending to the left, you then could use the space under if for wood storage and place a flatscreen tv just above it. This would create a nice balance visually. I would also make sure that the window treatment visually balanced the tv.

Susan Mills