DIY Fireplace Mantel and Hearth Makeover
I’d like to share our DIY fireplace mantel and hearth makeover with you. This is the evolution of our fireplace. It took us a while, but we finally got there!
To get to where we are now, we:
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Painted the wall over the fireplace
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Painted the brick
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Built a deeper mantel
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Built new frame and installed new hearth tiles
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Painted the accent wall over the fireplace with chalkboard paint
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Painted the fire box
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Installed crown molding
This is a pretty photo heavy post in order to share the process. All the steps are linked at the bottom in one place, so you can find them all there if you want to jump ahead.
Below is a photo of what we started with, the day we closed on the house.
PAINTING THE WALL – We immediately painted the entire house among many other things), and I covered the hunter green mantel with fresh white paint. It took many coats, as the paint was a shelac base and kept bleeding into the white.
DEMO OF THE GREEN TILE – After eagerly (and prematurely) busting out the hunter green tile, I proceeded to cover up the hearth for a few years because I was undecided about what to do next and there were so many other projects that took precedence. Sometimes just picking something is overwhelming. Choices are often hard for me because I like so many styles, it makes it hard to commit.
SPRAY PAINTING THE BRICK – One day, I got so sick of the orange toned, shiny brick… while I awaited a decorating epiphany, that I spray painted it! I didn’t want brush strokes on our slick brick so the spray paint was perfect. It worked like a charm.
- Clean brick. A TSP solution works great.
- Tape off mantel area.
- Cover and protect surfaces from overstay.
- Use spray shield (cardboard works great).
- Properly ventilate the area. I opened my front and sun room doors for a cross breeze.
- Coat slowly and evenly, don’t rush. Build your coverage in multiple coats.
After that, I decided on some pale aqua paint as an accent.
That lasted about a week.
It was replaced with this richer, deeper aqua. I liked that much, much better! It’s funny how “lighter” was not the answer. It was practically glowing, the base was just too white! The deeper aqua lasted over a year, if I recall incorrectly.
Time Lapse (cheater style)
Our next step was to build a deeper mantel.
The previous mantel was so shallow, I could hardly put a thing on it! Not good for decorating at all. So we decided to fatten it up! We doubled the size and it’s perfect now.
We used a table saw and a miter saw on this project. As well as a router to create custom trim. Also used were: clamps, nail gun (or nails, hammer, nail set), measuring tape, wood filler for nail holes and paint.
This is my personal handy man!
It was actually sunny that day {shocker!} so we put up some sun protection to work under.
We needed a big board and I knew I would be painting it white so we went with a Melamine product. It was much less expensive than wood and we were assured it was not warped or flawed. It was the perfect choice for this project.
It needed to be trimmed out though!
Here we are putting the mitered cuts together.
We Jim milled some clear vertical grain Douglas Fir stock pieces into custom trim with this cool tool! A router bit. (because lets face it, they never let you use the tools if they are around! At least my husband and dad don’t.)
Whenever we go anywhere with a tool department, I am happy to let my hubby buy whatever tools he wants 🙂
In fact, I encourage it!
More tools = More awesome projects!
The new hearth piece was installed and attached right on top of the old shallow one. We glued and clamped it down.
This is what was covered up under the hunter green tiles.
A new hearth frame was built and some chunky, fat trim was installed.
Then the boys did the lining and fill to prep for the cement. (At this point, we still thought we were going to use the marble. You can see some sitting there with all the tools, etc…)
We were so excited to have a gorgeous marble hearth! Alas, when we opened the marble up, we discovered we had two completely different lots.
- We loved one. (stunning white & grey)
- The other, not so much… (tan and brown. yuck)
That whole story would practically be another whole post so I’ll fast forward to what we ended up with.
It was neutral, in-stock, and we Jim took it home and installed it the same weekend! Austin helped Jim by running all the cuts out to him, bringing them back in, and putting them where they belonged to be laid.
All set and waiting for grout.
Installed and grouted.
After the boys did all of the above, it was my job to: Prep, Prime & Paint.
If you have any questions about how we did anything in particular that I was not clear on, just ask. We will be happy to answer. Thanks a bunch for checking out how we did our DIY fireplace makeover.
I hope it makes you feel like there is hope for yours! xo, Shannon
Chalkboard Painted Fireplace Wall [read here]
How To Paint A Fireplace Firebox [read here]
Spring Mantel [read here].
Crown Molding Fireplace Trim [read here]
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This is awesome Shannon, so pretty. Doesn’t even look like the same fireplace!!!
XO
Kristin
WoW Shannon…what a transformation indeed! They say good things comes to those who wait and boy did it ever come to you(after all that hard work). Love it, Love it, Love it! Now just think…Christmas is right around the corner but I know you’ll have it decorated for Fall and Thanksgiving first. Have fun with it!
LOVE it Foxy Mama!! You did good!
You did a great job. It looks fantastic. I love the whole thing. If you get tired of it you can always paint the brick hunter green..which, of course, means you would have the paint the turquoise wall above it a cranberry color- just sayin’…..xo Diana
Shannon, this is so beautiful! What a wonderful transformation. I have been considering painting my fireplace…white of course! This may give me the courage! Thanks for sharing this. 🙂
http://www.the-finishing-touches.net
Love it!
Great makeover of your fireplace, Shannon! It definitely looks better bulked up a bit. A true focal point of the room now.
Y’all did a fabulous job bringing that up to date. We are DIYers, too and my husband built our mantel when we built the house. I had him make it deeper a couple of years ago because it was too skinny for me to put much of anything on it. Good thing we have husbands who can build things. Yours looks great.
it looks beautiful! i love the color, as you know, love the crisp painted brick, and love the staging!
It looks terrific, Lilo! Too bad about the marble. I know how much you were looking forward to using it. 🙁 But, I love the tile! It all looks fantastic!!!!! Jim and Austin do GREAT work! 🙂
So you tell me I don’t have to comment on all your post and then you put up THIS ONE!!??? LOL! That looks fantastic! Its so perfect. I know it took a while, but oh man was it worth it. You are gonna have so much fun decorating it for the seasons!
I love it!
Magnificent job young lady…(and you cute little handyman too)
Love ya girl
Hugs,
Karin
http://www.artisbeauty.net
Wow what a transformation! It’s absolutely gorgeous! I love the color and the decor you added looks wonderful. I’m looking to add a fatter mantle to mine also so you have definitely inspired me.
It looks wonderful Shannon. I love the colour of the wall too.
WOW – what a difference!! Your new fireplace is GOR.GEOUS!!
Love your fireplace makeover. The wall color is so pretty. The fireplace itself looks amazing…especially when you look at the before. No offense, but that before was really bad, which must make the after feel all the more awesome. I really like how that clock looks inside that frame. Great job!