In past posts I discussed the fireplace in the Living Room. (The thorn in our side.) The fireplace is the first thing you see when you enter the front door. It appears the Keebler Elves made all the bricks; as they are all exactly the same color-Brick Red.
I posted about our idea to have a carpenter build a new surround overtop the brick. It was a beautiful idea, and his drawing was gorgeous; but, the price was outrageous $8.750.00 and not in our budget. So, we scratched that idea and started to brainstorm other options.
Other Options:
#1-Removing the Brick We could remove the brick. Honestly, this idea haunted me. I didn’t want to deal with the mess of removing the bricks. The thought kept me up at night. #2-Cover the Brick We could cover the brick with stone, granite, or tile. All wonderful options; however, the gas insert is already deep-set and I didn’t think I would like the look of a heavy stone overtop. I was also concerned about the weight on the floor. The faux stone option; while nice in some situations was just not my cup of tea. The granite idea worked well in our last house; however, it seemed too contemporary in this application. Upon searching, I did not find a tile that I thought kept with the integrity of the house. #3-Revising the Brick Honestly, I just was resigned from day 1 to make the brick work. I have always liked the look of a brick fireplace and I thought it went well with the style of the house.
Notice (in the before picture above ^) the grapevine above the arched windows left from the former owners. Oh grapevine, you are not my friend. I am still trying to pull grapevine from the trees and shrubs on the acre surrounding the house.
Just a reminder when we moved in the walls were a pale pink to match the carpet. We selected to paint both the walls and the ceiling with Valspar: Malted Milk. There is a cathedral ceiling in the room and I wanted the walls and the ceiling to blend seamlessly. In our last house I had cathedral ceiling and I had a rich color on the walls and a tinted ceiling. I hated it. My eye would always travel to the ceiling and I would cringe. I also had a bright white ceiling with the rich color on the walls and that didn’t work for me either. So this time round, I went with a cream color for the walls, trim and ceiling.
I wanted to add dimension to the bricks. I didn’t want to whitewash; as I thought it wouldn’t give the fireplace enough depth and dimension. So, we decided to go with my Brother-in-law, Vid’s advice and give mastic and stain a shot. We had nothing to lose and everything to gain.
Step 1: REMOVE UNWANTED ITEMS a. We remove the brass accents on the gas insert and spray painted them black. b. Then, we remove the mantel shelf. Goodbye 1980 mantel shelf. You are no longer welcome here.
Step 2: COVER BRICKS EVENLY WITH MASTIC a. Michael and Vid applied a coat of mastic over the red bricks. Note: I would suggest that only one person does this job; as some people are more heavy-handed than others and the technique is varied throughout. If one person does the job the results are a more uniform look. Live and learn. b. Use a wet sponge to even out. c. Let it dry. d. Sand where needed. e. Vacuum up dust.
Step 3: DETERMINE STAIN COLOR We tried several stains to determine which one was best. I would advise doing this on a practice board. Our intention was to build a hearth therefore we did it on the lower portion. The only problem was that later we determined that we did not want a hearth. So, we have sanded and reapplied the stain to try and match several times and it is not an exact match. Our pick for color was: Minwax Natural. Note: Do not use the one with polyurethane.
Step 4: BRUSH ON STAIN We applied the stain to the brick with a foam brush. We let it dry then continued coats of stain until we found our desired color. In our case 2 coats did the trick. If some areas are datker than others; sand and reapply. ie: the bottom area under the fireplace unit appeared more yellow than the rest because again we did not stick with just one person applying. Best rule of thumb: Only have one person apply the stain as everyone has a different technique.
Step 5: PURCHASE THE MANTEL SHELF We decided on the width/depth/length of the mantel shelf. We wanted it to be the exact length of the brick and the depth and width to be the same 8″. We felt this size would allow us to make a focal statement. I was determined to locate an option in TIN rather than wood. We shopped on the Internet for a Tin-Wrapped Mantel Shelf. We found a local company that carried the line. We were able to special order it in our exact size preference.
Step 6: SELECT YOUR COLOR By shopping local we were able to bring the sample colors home. Double check the color in daylight and evening light. It will look different, I swear. We made our selection and placed our special ordered it to our desired size….it should be here in 3 weeks! I’ll post the picture when it’s installed. 
design609 