Q: I'm in need of advice on what to do with the brick fireplace / black metal woodburning stove insert in my family room. This combo came with the house I recently purchased, and I'm not at all into the current look. I think my problem is that the proportions seem off. The thin little mantle/shelf top seems too flimsy, and the large black rectangle of the insert seems too much of a contrast with the brick, plus not very attractive on it's own. It would be outside of my budget to remove the insert, and the fact is that it works very well as a heat source, so it must stay...
Sent by Dee
The entire room will be getting a makeover -- the fake wood paneling has to come down (it's damaged & warped), so there will be new walls that will definitely be painted in a different, as yet unidentified color. I have little furniture for this room, and what I do have will ultimately be switched out or replaced, so the look of the room can go in any direction. I've considered painting the bricks, painting the black metal backing of the insert, even putting up a whole new facade (which would have to be budget-DIY), but I just have no idea what would actually look good while remaining functional. Please help!
Editor: Dee- We agree that the proportions seem off; the brick extends very high for such a small mantle. Definitely try to beef that up, or paint the entire fireplace the same color so the mantle just blends into the piece. A glossy black could be fabulous; it depends on the other colors in the room. Readers, any advice or suggestions for Dee?
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Comments (21)
i would paint the brick black or a dark charcoal - matte though!!! what is the style you are going for with the rest of your room?
I'd paint the brick white (and paint the walls gray) or gray (and paint the walls white) and replace the skinny little mantel with a bigger/thicker one, painted black. Painting the brick black might be overkill in this case, since the facade is so big.
I would paint the brick and wood mantle white..maybe subway tiles on the black part. Take a look at this blog, this women has done such a great job with her home on the cheap. I think you could do something to you fireplace like these.
http://www.inthefunlane.com/2009/03/i-now-have-95-of-fireplace-complete.html
http://www.inthefunlane.com/2009/02/bless-this-mess.html
http://www.inthefunlane.com/2009_04_01_archive.html
http://www.inthefunlane.com/search?q=fireplace
to me, part of what makes the black insert such a problem is the washed-out yellow wall color. A stronger wall color to balance the black might make the insert brick AOK as is. Agree that the mantel is too visually light...what if you went with a black-painted "LACK-shelf" kind of shape for it (to complement the insert)?
Easy. Layla's solution: http://www.theletteredcottage.net/2009/04/my-82-fireplace-makeover.html
Although you should probably hire a fireplace consultant to make sure that whatever you do isn't a fire hazard. Layla's fireplace is not functional.
Could you just put a screen in front of it to hide the black thing, then replace the mantle? That seems like the least expensive option.
I agree with the first poster on painting the brick and mantel a charcoal. I think it would make a nice contrast with the black insert. I would do semi-gloss or eggshell, though, rather than either gloss or matte. It would be very simple to attach a larger piece of wood on top of that mantle (a well-sanded 2x10, say) and then just paint the whole thing. You might do the mantle in black, to balance the insert.
If you get into laying tile, you get into $$, and painting it white is likely to be a maintenance problem. I think people who paint their fireplaces white must never use them.
Much as I am loathe to paint brink, probably painting the brick black and moving the mantle down towards the top of the metal section would help things. And consider bulking up the mantle.
Or painting the rectangle part of the insert heat resistance brick red, or copper. And moving the mantle down.
Painting the room walls a color less in contrast to the brick and black would also help.
I agree- paint the brick black. Another thing you could do is replace the mantle with a chunky piece of wood that you could maybe stain.
I vote for painting the brick white. We have a cool old fireplace in our house with white brick and the white acts as one of the focal points of the room. Instead of a dark recess fading back into the wall, which I don't find very attractive, the white makes the fireplace pop but without being overwhelming. I agree on beefing up the mantle - and I'd paint that white as well. I know it's a little predictable, but there's a reason why some things are often done - they work well.
I agree with painting the bricks black, preferably matte black, as others have suggested, but I don't think that that solves the proportions issue entirely. My suggestion might be a little unorthadox, but the issue seems to be that the proportions are in a weird grey area relative to the insert... There is the wrong kind of tension, in need of real scale contrast. So I would propose extending the bricks all the way to the ceiling. Matching the new brick colors is a non-issue if you are painting them, and you can choose to keep the mantle or remove it entirely. Personally I would either remove it or replace it with something with a little more heft, something chunky and blocky to balance with the visual "weight" of the bricks.
I would paint the bricks white, add a chunky mantel, also painted white and then paint the wall a charcoal gray. If you can afford it, think about adding built in bookcases (white) on both sides of the fireplace and paint the back portion the same charcoal gray as reco'd for the wall.
I think the insert is actually okay. You need to paint the brick high gloss neutral (maybe a tan or clay color) and then add a chunky mantel. You don't have to do a whole surround, just the top part mounted into the brick on hooks. So easy and such a transformation!! Then paint the walls a color that compliments your brick, add a large, antique mirror the same width as the mantel and you're done! What a fun project. Post after pics pretty please.
Color idea. Try Ralph Lauren Canvas for the walls. It's a neutral clay tone with earthy elements. Should make that wall sing with the right brick color.
If it were my house, I'd cover the brick in mosaic tiles. Such as black irredecent raku clay or glass. Maybe mix it up with different sizes? Paint the wall a dark warm colour and add hologen lighting (pot lights or track lighting) to anchor and show off the fireplace. Definately replace the mantal with something more substantial. Because the brick goes quite high, I'd put something like a single vase of flowers or nice clock on the mantal and put two symetrical large pieces of art on both sides of the fireplace. Try to use the art as the focal point but keep the fireplace for added ambiance.
I agree with enmnm - you should box out the mantle the way that Layla did. This will not only make the mantle more substantial, it will also reduce the amount of visible brick. But I don't think it's necessary (or even desirable, depending on the style of the rest of the room) to do the additional paneling that she did around the insert. Painting the brick would be easier and probably better. Personally, I wouldn't recommend black - with the black insert, it would be way too much black and would end up being this huge black mass. I like the idea of using white and repainting your walls light gray.
I definitely think you should beef up the mantle. I say go for it . . . I'd extend it out a bit, and maybe put columns down, or box it in with wood. Maybe a bit more expensive . . but you'll create such a dramatic piece that the attention will be taken away from the firebox, especially if you paint it all black/charcoal. :) Or, you can do the contrasting look . . paint the brick black/charcoal to match the firebox, and then the new built surround white (similar to the reno shown in the link above). Then no matter what color you paint your walls . . . it'll be beautiful!
I agree, beef up the mantle, and add columns to it, even on either side of the insert. Then, I'd paint the walls whatever color you want, and then build bookshelves in on either side and even, if you wanted, over the top.
A painted brick fireplace may look ok and it's easy enough to test the look.
A couple of houses ago I had an awful brick and slate fireplace. Simply painting the brick would still leave a disjointed looking fireplace.
My cabinetmaker friend came over with some FixAll and paint, mixed them together and spackled it on. With this mixture, you can keep the edges sharp if you like or smooth it over a bit for an adobe look. Several thin layers work better than trying to slab it on.
He then built up a mantle with new wood, but I suppose if you brick is somewhat flush with the wall (hard for me to tell from the pic), then you may be able to just blend the firebox in with the wall and make the fireplace less of an eyecatcher.
You won't be able to easily chip off the FixAll if you go this route, but it would be still be easy enough to frame the whole thing in when finances permit if you hated the look.
Dee here... thanks for all the comments, I'm thrilled to get some advice! I have been leaning heavily toward a medium/light gray color for the walls, so I love that so many comments suggested gray here. I like the idea of painting the brick, but have a hard time committing to do - I needed the AT validation! After hearing all the suggestions, I'm now thinking I'll paint the brick dark gray, beef up the mantle at least on top and paint it either the same gray or black, and go with lighter gray walls.