What happened between the second and third pictures? It looks much better!

We used a sponge the same shape/size as the bricks. Dipped the sponge in a contrasting paint color, and pressed onto the brick that was painted slightly off-white. Best part is that we purchased both paints from our local Habitat store for $5.

we sheetrocked over our corner brick fireplace....so very pleased with how it turned out!

another view of before

Timely topic for me...just going to start painting this morning. I told the hardware store people I was going to do a wash with latex paint and water mix, and was told by 3 of them No Way, can't mix water and paint as they don't blend properly. So....they talked me into a good primer, then paint. Sorry to take away from the main topic, but I wonder if I'm doing the right thing?

...yes I am about to paint my fireplace.

@rileyspal You're doing the right thing, you're just not going to arrive at the effect I believe you are wanting to achieve. Try milk paint or thin chalk paint. Neither of which take a primer and will give you the look you are likely seeking.

@rileyspal You can make your own chalk paint by adding plaster of Paris or non-sanded grout to your latex paint, WITH a tad bit of WATER. Mix it well by hand.

Thanks Erin. Hmmm, will put the project on hold and investigate milk paint.

That's pretty hideous brick. Have you looked at covering it with thin, genuine handmade brick - see www.handmadebrick.com. It would give a totally elegant and sophisticated look.

I have a "see through" fireplace in my kitchen & dining room. It is made of the same brick. A decorator talked me into painting it white and she was absolutely right. It looks fantastic.

I think the sheet rock and a classic mantle with a surround of limestone would look nice and add value when selling your home.

Traci, we tired of the raw brick look on our fireplace so I applied pre-mixed stucco myself using a hand trowel. We left it as applied, meaning a troweled texture. The stucco has aged to a beautiful off-white fireplace with lots of character. It looks great against our medium-yellow walls. Totally takes away that brick look This was such an easy project. I can take a picture if you would like to see how good it looks.

i love the curved shape. whatever you do, keep that! i would go with white washing first to see if you like it lighter. you can always paint later if you do. if you don't you can then take it off or cover it up with a surround.

Paint it! We painted our outdated brick white and it did wonders. I had a friend that painted her's chocolate brown and that worked well in her space. Choose a neutral color that fits your decor and the light in your space.

My name is Danielle & i work for Architectural Metals Inc. We fabricate all kinds of things with metal, copper etc. We have made things for fire plaes as well, you can customize it however you want. if you want it painted a certain color or shape or even design. maybe even words engraved in it? Here are some examples. Just give me a call at 602-269-1400

I really like what erinmwilliams did! That looks great. I have painted a brick fireplace white before and it looked so much better. It took me a year to get the courage to do it because I was concerned about how it would turn out, but I wouldn't hesitate to do it again now. Definitely tone down those red walls Tracy. I'd go with a muted green rather than bright.

I think the brick is beautiful but not with those red walls. I would get a carpenter and let him think of a way to make a mantel. I have brick like that in my den and I took the brick color into consideration when painting the walls. I matched it to the cement which is a taupe color and it looks great.

I actually have done just that........sort of whitewashed the fireplace and then wrote an article about it: http://wirewoman.hubpages.com/hub/Painters-and-Decorators-Paint-an-Ugly-Fireplace as well as: http://wirewoman.hubpages.com/hub/Painters-and-Decorators-When-NOT-To-Paint-Your-Own-Ugly-Fireplace

Hope it helps, best of luck!

Love the curve! Keep it!!! No one has mentioned re-cycled granite. We have a place here near Indianapolis that cuts granite counter tops leftovers into 1/4" thin pieces that are about 1" x 4-8" in size. Many colors to chose from and you can lay it horizontal or vertical. The place is called Natural Valley Recycle in Brownsburg, Indiana. We did ours with this and it looks great! (NaturalValleyRecycledGranite.com). It was so easy to do and I think the vertical look would work nicely with your curve and the price is considerably low compared to the high end look you get. Check it out!

I think I'm totally outnumbered. I like the brick "brick" because there's no going back once they are painted. But the walls? Yes. Change. And easy to redo as trends come and go.
It's like a trend right now to paint a brick fireplace. Twenty years ago they were putting in fireplaces surrounded by all marble. My house, twelve years old, has a tile surround. But brick? It's been timeless...

not sure what your style is but the fireplace and beams remind me of the southwest style. I think you should paint the fireplace an off white and paint the beams a wood color. also move the furniture away from the fireplace this would give you a more spaceous feel to your room. also get rid of some of the little stuff that seem to be tightly around the fireplace. Above the firebox take your large round artifact and paint it a bright color. the red walls need to be toned down or changed to a color you like or can live with. good luck on your room.

I just saw a brick fireplace painted black and it was stunning. I'm personally not a fan of painted brick, but I did like that black fireplace. Mine is a floor to ceiling red brick, but not the pretty blue red, it's the orange red and I don't care for it with my blue tile floors and soft beige walls. So I've been looking at stone or marble tile. There's also a method of covering a surface with concrete that looks like marble or granite. I've seen it done on countertops and intend to price it out if I ever have some extra money.

I like Rhodalynn's fireplace and shelf above it! Very nice!

@erinmwilliams: looks like you did not take your TV down? I don't know that I'd be brave enough to leave mine up while painting. @zerolotline: I would like to see pictures of your stuccoed fireplace.

Will post pic tomorrow.

Painting it white for a modern look or staining it a dark grey for a more eclectic, subdued look are both affordable options.

IMO, your brick is a timeless classic style -- it's very beautiful with the creams mixed in with the pale reds. I also love the curved shape. It doesn't scream 70's at all to me.

As much as I love the red color on your wall, it is that red that is making the fireplace look awful. I would change the wall color, wash the brick well and paint it with a clear masonry gloss sealer (it deepens the colors and makes it look more finished and polished).

If you do change the brick fireplace, I'd go with plastering. I'm not fond of painted brick.

I looked at last years photos of the fireplace and decided to leave it alone. We (husband) covered the top portion with sheet rock and built a mantle . Painted the new sheet rock the same colour as the room and left the bottom portion as is. I realize I would miss the natural brick if I painted, and my dogs agree! :-)

To get your bricks more uniform in color, you can mix half brick red stencil paint (the kind in the little bottles)
and half water and just paint it on the bricks. Or just use it to "paint" the bricks that are lighter in color. That's what I did. Don't paint that beautiful brick!

@gaylamorris We did keep it up, but our mount extends off the fireplace up to 4 feet. I could walk behind it.

Here is a photo of our fireplace brick overlayed in unpainted synthetic stucco.

Traci, of all the treatments, I think stucco is the way to go--would give it a more modern look, or a look like a kiva fireplace. If your decor isn't Modern, go with Venetian plaster.

I have old red bricks around my fireplace with a gas insert that is black iron. My walls are Silver Lake white. I want to paint my bricks gray but do I need to prep the bricks and mortar or clean them with something special first?

Susancole55 I have been told they have to be cleaned. My painter was investigating on what to use. I am going to paint it white and if I don't like it I will then dry wall it and have a mantle made or surround.

Susan & Traci, I have spent the past 2 days painting my fireplace. I didn't have to clean it as it wasn't dirty, but did see a recipe on google including TSP. I used a good primer called Zinnser 123 (I'm in Canada) and then an eggshell type finish with my oatmeal colour paint. Also primed and painted the grout. I painted because I had pink coloured bricks from the 80's. Well....it looks wonderful now. So pleased! I have a black iron gas insert as well. On it I used black 'heat' paint and also painted out the brass door surround on it.

Rileyspal post a picture.

Traci, I cannot send a photo til next Tues. or Wed. The computer I need for downloading photos is in a shop being repaired. Sorry. But the bricks look real, not painted, which is amazing.

Ok, I really like this surround anyone know of any dealers in Southern California, Los Angeles area I can contact?

That would really transform your fireplace!

I know Nancy I really love this. Need to figure out how expensive and then drywall the rest. The drywall part is easy.

Actually, the drywall on the curve could be a problem. You might think of plastering it.

As dzeipen said, I too love the idea of whitewashing it.

i have done this particular transformation several times. plaster over the brick with several layers of drywall mud. it has to be done in stages to avoid cracking. keep adding layers until you get the look you like: leaving some faint brick lines here and there, or not. sand it down with metal mesh. apply primer. i have always done a color wash effect to give it an adobe fireplace/oven appearance, which worked well in the houses i was re-doing. if you want something more formal, choose a different paint style.

Traci, www.foamdesigncenter.com is located in Bakersfield, and they are able to customize their products. I have not ordered anything yet so I cannot speak to the quality of the product, but I fully intend to order something in the very near future.

Have you made a decision?

Zerolotline I have made a decision, I am going with a precast surround in a Tuscany style and where the surround ends it will be drywall. The bid is $9500 total. It's not the surround itself that is costly it the custom mold they have to make because it is curved. I can't start work until the end of October but I will post pics when it is done, it is going to be spectacular. I love the company I am going with.

I am so happy for you. You being happy is what matters.

Attached is a picture of my kiva fireplace I had installed recently. Complete install with firebox, surround, gas log was around $4000...

cluedin....I like the painted brick fireplace ¥ou posted here. What color is the paint? thankyou