Ever since I was little my mother has been plotting a makeover for the giant floor to ceiling brick fireplace in their living room. She doesn't want to paint it or cover it up. So when I came across this interesting staining technique it seemed like a great alternative. I know many deal with the same issue and this might be a great alternative for you as well!
We checked in over at Ask Anna Moseley and she's been painting her brick. A can of concrete stain and a paint brush is all that's needed.
She uses the brush to paint the tops of the bricks so as to not stain the mortar between them. The result toned done a crazy brick wall into something much more sophisticated. It could be a great way to "grey down" some bricks for a more modern look, turn them a little more traditional red or even go with a whole new color all together. You can check out more on this process over at Ask Anna Moseley.
Image: Ask Anna Moseley
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Comments (26)
I like both the before AND the after!
I vote for the before. Much more character.
This is a great idea for people who like a more polished brick look.
I would like to know more about how she made over the child into the bookcase.
@comicgeek-- see the movie "When a Stranger Calls Back" with Carol Kane. It came pretty close to that idea...
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I like this, but I think it could handle a bigger bookcase. The brick stain is a great way to chase the last of the 1970s out of your living room.
Prefer the before brick.
Whether you like the before or the after is inconsequential, this is an excellent idea and technique for changing the look of brick without using paint.
A charcoal or black stain would have been very nice.
Am I the only one that can't see the fireplace? What's the point of the brick? Was there a wood burning stove there before? Either way - nice technique.
This could be a great treatment for us! The previous owners of our home drywalled the brick above our fireplace, covering up all the upper bricks, to the ceiling. Our fear is IF we restore it to the all brick look - the glue from the sheetrock will leave a mark on the previously covered bricks... this technique could save us in getting back to an overall uniform look.
I love the new look. I never really took to the mottled brick look that much. It looked dirty to me or like a fire came through the house. But I LOVE this!
http://munchtalk.blogspot.com/
I wonder that they went through all that trouble staining brick only to stick a random bookcase in the corner. But the brick does look much better!
Great solution to that re-used brick look. (Why that ever caught on is beyond me.) But I tend to agree, if the space isn't going to hold a wood stove, why not just remove it altogether? It wastes a big chunk of space. (It might make a nice niche for a sculpture or something, though.)
The before was much more lovelier.
Nicely done. I'd love to see how the red or gray concrete stain looks on brick. Great idea for an exterior treatment too, if you have brick and don't want to paint it.
I like the after, and recommend a substantial water feature for that corner.
If anyone uses this to do the grey stain on red brick, be sure to post! I'd love to use this to finish off our dining room, but I'd be so nervous it wouldn't dry right!
PS Or, what SherryBinNH wrote. The brick could be a stage that makes some large, 3-D, artistic and beautiful object even more striking if the pairing pleased the eye.
I agree that the bookshelf looks a little off in that space, but I really like the transformation! My parents also have a brick corner where they removed a wood burning stove but kept the brick. It's actually a really nice way to draw interest to the area and looks especially nice around the holidays when they deck it out with greenery and other Christmas decorations. It still retains the nice homey feeling of the stove even without the stove.
Although I wonder if this has to do a little with the fact that we all remember the stove being there. Maybe an "outsider" wouldn't see the same thing.
ElaneB, I think Ask Anna Moselley was referring to a fireplace in her mom's house, and used these photos as a reference.
What I think we are looking at is a brick feature on which a wood burning stove once sat. My parents had a similar one, but it was made of tile.
I'd put a big dieffenbachia, philodendron, alocasia, or canna there in a low-round pot. Softens the hard edges and cleans the air. Lose that pitiful bookcase.
It might be a good place for a smallish Christmas tree.
I also like other commenters' idea of potted plants. The corner calls for something natural and pretty.
Like!
Slightly off topic but I did the same thing to the EXTERIOR of an ugly ranch house. It was blessed with an enormous brick chimmney (like 5' across) made out of bright ornage brick. We stained it a dark gray green and it looked great. We stained the morter the same color as the brick, and it turned it into a super slick modern looking element. You could do this treatment in a cost effective way to the exterior of an entire house that is done in a dated color of brick (or concrete block).
this is a fantastic idea i never would have thought of it! i like aged brick but it has its place, your preference of the look of brick has no bearing on the technique used here. it's an awesome idea and I love it! if i ever need to do this I will for sure. thanks for this post I am always looking for these kinds of ideas being a drywall finisher and interior painter I like to have ideas for my customers.