The Long Overdue Fireplace Makeover
After much procrastination I finally tackled the updating of my ugly old fireplace. I hope you love this fireplace makeover as much as I do!
Why did I name this post “The Long Overdue Fireplace Makeover?” Because that is exactly what it is! This project is loong overdue.
I had been thinking of doing this since last winter when I had shown you the wash tub that had been repurposed for wood storage. I kept on looking at that awful fireplace and thinking maybe it was time to get rid of that dark ugly color.
But I did nothing till November, when I lit the fireplace and remembered why I hated it.
After a whole winter’s worth of research and much procrastination I found inspiration from Melissa of Dancing Dog Cabin. I absolutely loved the look of her fireplace makeover and decided to recreate it. I started with 2 coats of chalk paint.
And then set to work drawing the shapes to make it look like a stone fireplace. And not very well at that!
But there was no turning back. I used different colors of acrylic paint, mixing many together as I went along.
I added highlights and shadows as best as I could.
This actually took me a couple of days because I’m indecisive.
And I’m done! I’ll wait a week to let the paint cure and then I will seal it with varnish. This way if it gets dirty, which it will, I won’t have to worry about rubbing off the color when I clean it.
I’ll upload pictures with the varnish a bit later, but I just couldn’t wait to share this with you!! (Here is part two of the makeover.)
A quick look at the before:
The pictures do not do it justice, it has lots of depth and nuance. I’ve got to work on those photography skills.
There is a part two to this fireplace makeover here.
When I showed this photo to my son he said “you should have done this years ago!” Well, better late than never for my long overdue fireplace makeover. Do you ever have a project in mind and then just procrastinate forever, like I did?
Amazing Mary! I can see why you put it off…that was a-l-o-t of work…great job!!!
It was more a matter of deciding what I wanted to do with it. Once I found Melissa’s post I knew that was the look I wanted. MIchelle, I don’t mind the work, its all the steps before that drive me crazy.
Love the colours!! You did a stunning job. I can just imagine how your back must have felt <3
Yep MIchlele and I’m not what you would call skinny. You can just see me on top of the ladder ready to topple over. I had the kids hold on to the ladder for deal life.
This looks awesome Mary – much brighter and more eye catching.
Sally @ Life Loving
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I still cannot get over the transfomation Sally!
Mary, I absolutely love this. You did such a great job, I remember we were talking about this during the Christmas season, and I forgot all about it. It’s amazing.
I love the colors, shapes, depth, texture and interest. I cannot believe the difference between the before and the after. The room is so much lighter and brighter. And much more cozy. I bet you absolutely love it. Great job.
I really love it Nikki. I walk into the room and stop and stare. I just finished it and will post the second part of it next month. I added varnish and it feels so nice and smooth. And the room has been completely transformed.
Mary – You out did yourself! I LOVE how this turned out! Good job my friend. I’m featuring it on this Sundays DIY Showcase 🙂
Thank you so much Wendi. I think the more I hang out on the blogshere, the more ideas I get. Is that a good thing? I’ll transform the whole house.
Now that is a big makeover project! Great job!! Love the colors, even from the pictures you can see how it must brighten up the overall room. Great work!
It was a big job but well worth it. It totally transformed the room. I am so glad I finally got it done. Thank you Mistie for your sweet comment.
I love that you hand painted the fireplace. You did such a great job and the it looks beautiful! What a difference it makes in your room. Thanks for sharing at The Creative Circle. 🙂
Thank you Kathy, I should have tackled this ages ago.
WOW!!! You can’t tell that it’s paint! AMAZING JOB!!! I need to do a fireplace in our new house. I will definitely keep this technique in mind!
Thank you Debi! I’ll have the second part next month, I added a bit more detail to the stones to make them look real and finished them with varnish
This fireplace reminds me of a Kiva fireplace we used to have when we lived in New Mexico. So surprised to see one in New York. LOL Thanks for linking up at our Celebrate Your Story.
Kari I wish I had this one in New York. It was from when we were still living in Greece a few years ago.
What a fun new look! It reminds me of a storybook cottage. I do the same thing by procrastinating a project and then once I’ve finished wondering what I was waiting for! Especially painting, because I’m not very good at it and it’s so messy! Nice work!
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Thank you so much Hillary, it totally changed the look of the room.
This came out really nice and I love the color that the stones add to it. Very modern.
Thank you so much Alice. I really liked the colors on the post I found as inspiration and wanted to replicate that.
What a transformation! It is so light and airy now, a real statement piece.
Janet it made a huge difference to the whole room!
What a transformation, Mary! I can’t believe you did all of that painting yourself. You must have had a tall ladder, and a lot of courage to get up on it! 🙂 It looks fantastic!
Thanks so much Amy. It was a lot of work, with lots of stretching too but it needed to be done. The before was very sad!
I love the color you picked and the final result! So original and fancy! #EsmeSalon
Thank you so much Silvia, it really changed the whole look of the room.