fireplace make over

Over the weekend Christopher and I tackled our first renovation project (that we are doing ourselves) in our new home.  The family room (living room? I never know) has a large brick fireplace.  I'm not opposed to a fireplace, or brick, but that thing was a big bright red/orange eye sore in my opinion.  I didn't want to paint it because I wanted to keep more of the character.  And totally redoing it just isn't in the budget.  So I started researching other options and came across white washing.  I came across this image on pinterest and fell in love:

 

via Better Homes and Gardens

I read through several tutorials I found on pinterest and decided white washing was a project we could tackle.  Most said that it was a pretty easy idiot proof thing to do, and I loved that we could preserve the character of the brick while still toning down the red/orange factor.  If you want to white wash your own brick you'll need to gather the following:

- white paint (we used our trim paint in an eggshell finish, but any white paint will do)

- a paint brush

- some rags

- a bucket

- water

While browsing the tutorials I compared the images to the paint ratios.  I knew I didn't want a lot of coverage but didn't want to screw anything up.  The least amount of paint we saw used was 1 part paint to 3 parts water, so that is what we went with.  We taped off around the fireplace and covered the mantle with paper towels, and then while Chris mixed up the paint I used a rag to brush excess dust and crap off the brick.  And then we got to work.  Chris put the paint on the brick and I went along behind him and rubbed it off.  We hoped it would be a quick project, but it took us a couple of hours.  After we were all done though, it was worth it.  We started with this...

A couple of progress shots...

And we ended with this...

I love it.  While we were working I was worried the change wouldn't be that noticeable, but when all was said and done and I stepped back, I was amazed.  It truly leaves the character, but tones down the intensity of the brick.  I definitely rubbed most of the paint back off.  Some of the smoother bricks we had to go back and do a second coat because they still stood out quite a bit, but mostly this is just one coat rubbed on and back off.

It is a messy job.  The watered down paint runs and splatters pretty easily so be sure to take that in to account in your prep.  And make sure if there is a big run that you rub it off right away.  We have a few streaks and splatters that kind of show up because I didn't get to them when they happened.  But it isn't a huge deal.

I'm not exactly sure what I'm going to do with the mantle.  It got accidentally painted when all the trim was being done.  At first I was pissed because I think we'll all agree that in that first picture, the damn thing is hideous.  It just sticks out.  But once the brick was white washed it didn't look so bad.  I think we're going to leave it until the walls are painted and the floors are stained before I make a final decision.  And picking the perfect gray for this room is going to kill me.  So many options.  I want the room to be light and bright, but I definitely want some contrast between the trim as well.  The entry is being painted revere pewter, and while I love the color, I'm not sure I want to run that throughout the entire main floor.  Eventually I'll figure it out, I think I'm currently at 11 different samples of gray paint in the house.  Haha.

And for a little more fun, what the room looked like when we bought the house...

And a side by side of the brick revamp...

That wasn't much of a tutorial, so if you have any questions feel free to ask.  It really is a simple project that you can get done in an afternoon.  And I love the results!