DIY Fireplace Transformation Under $50

When we moved into our house last summer, grapevines embellished anything possible and this fireplace was no exception. My husband and I made a pact. We could NOT rush into remodel mode with this house. Moving is chaotic enough, and we wanted to soak up the summer with our boys. I also wanted to just live here for a while to get a feel for how we naturally use the space. This room is our family spot. It is where we pile in for a movie. Where we sit with our Saturday coffee as the boys play on the rug. This chair is where I spend time curled up with a good book.

The more we settled into our house, the more this fireplace felt odd and too formal, like wearing a prom dress to a backyard BBQ. We are not formal people by any means! I tried to work around it with curtains, rugs, pictures, and painted the walls. The more I tried to embrace this fireplace as she was, the more she seemed to dance in my face. There was no amount of “jewelry” that could hide the strange tone and formal design. I knew the fastest and most affordable solution was paint. I was not convinced I would like it, but I knew it wouldn’t be worse.

see how she just didn’t fit?….neither did the Halloween pumpkin 😉

I spent just over $30 on this project for paint, I had the other supplies on hand. If you have no supplies you can complete this for under $50! Below is the full list of products I used with links.

Project Supplies:

Waverly Chalk Paint in Elephant (dark grey, looks purple online)-$6 Here

Waverly Wax in Clear-$6 Here

Folk Art Paint Brushes-$4  Here

Painters Tape-$5 Here

Painters Tape with Plastic-$8 Here

Rust-oleum Spray Chalk Paint in Linen White-2 bottles $6.50 Here 

Rust-oleum Spray Chalk Paint Matte Clear-$13 Here 

Step One: Painting the Tile

I started by taping around the tile. I did not sand or even clean this tile prior to painting. This Waverly Chalk paint is my absolute favorite to brush on, especially with these Folk Art brushes. The consistency is perfect and for most colors it takes one good coat, then just one touch up coat for excellent coverage and minimal brush marks!

Taped off for the tile paint

I traced the grout line around one tile at a time, then filed in the tile with paint and a medium brush. For flat tiles, I made sure to paint in the same direction across the whole project.  On those lovely 3D tile, I used more of a stapling technique to get into all of the nooks. Painting the tile only took one evening, with the TV on in the background. The first coat took the longest, after that it was more touching up.  I waited a few full days to let the paint cure before I put the top coat on. ** Note: This is really important. I have noticed on other projects with this paint, if the color is still wet the finish does not dry consistently.  You can see below the clear wax has a milky look when first applied, but it dries clear I promise!

clear wax before it is dry

It took me a few weeks to ponder, before I tackled the mantle. I initially wanted to pry off all of the molding, but the installer had permanence in mind. The “crown” at the top was glued and nailed. I started cracking the frame trying to pry it off. I thought I would try crown molding over it. Luckily, my dad pointed out this would mess with the scale. The mantel shelf is not very thick so it would look odd to have thick molding below it. I settled on living with those grapes. I used some extra putty to fill some of the detail, so it would tone down the ornateness. (Is that a word…..well it is now) At this point it looked hideous between the white putty and the missing embellishment. There was no turning back now sparky!

progress pic

Step Two: Painting the Mantle

I landed on spray painting the mantel for a few reasons. One, with nooks and molding it is VERY difficult to have a smooth finish without messy brush marks. If you haven’t noticed I am a little particular about brush marks. Two, I was planning on white, and white always needs more coats for coverage. Three, in all honesty, I am lazy……..I did NOT want to brush 5 coats of paint!

The most labor intensive part of this step was taping. I used the regular frog tape to go around the edges, then I followed around with tape that has plastic attached. If you paint indoors this tape with the drape is the best! I think I just started their jingle.  I love that it stays in place on vertical surfaces. A roll of this last forever! It is great for clutsy painters like me who tend to drip and cover themselves in paint.  You can see my tape job below, I was so excited I forgot to take a picture BEFORE I painted.

Taped off for spray paint

Spray painting was the fastest part of this project. I did very light coats every 30 minutes, until I had the coverage I wanted. This is the beauty of spray paint! Who cares if it takes 25 coats, when a coat takes 25 seconds. If you are painting over dark wood, especially if you are going white, I would recommend using a primer. This wood was a natural maple, so there was no stain color to bleed through.

If you do not have spray painting experience just be sure to use a sweeping motion with a push stop method on the nozzle. It is better to have light coats than runs. Keep a brush handy if you do have runs, it will save you from having to sand and repaint later. I would also recommend practicing on a small piece of furniture to get a feel for it. It is inevitable that your first projects is covered with runs!

Last step, decide on crisp white or a touch of antiquing. ps according to urban dictionary antiqueing is like cougaring a woman very much your senior….I am not that exciting…it means a cool old object in my book.  I threw a few plants on the mantle and snapped a few comparison pics with my phone. There are some serious shadows since these were snapped at night.  I decided the “antiquing” would match the style of our house and mantle a little more. Plus it helps hide any imperfections.. er crack from prying and draws attention away from the grapes.

Step Three Aging

See what I did there? Urban dictionary may have ruined this word for me.

Here is a little “Aging” tip. You DON’T need fancy wax or sanding to achieve this look. I discovered this method on accident. I knew the light maple underneath would not give the look I was going for if sanded. I didn’t have any wax on hand. So, I dipped my finger lightly in the chalk paint from the tile and just rubbed it on the corners, edges, and any raised details I wanted to highlight. **Note you want to go with the grain like you would with sanding.  Start very light and just keep adding until you have the desired finish. It is like a dry brushing technique with your finger, I felt like I had more control this way. If you get carried away just have a damp towel handy, wipe the excess, and blend in the rest. Once you have the whole piece done spray a few clear top coats over it to seal and protect.

close up…with my iphone wah..wah…waaah

Overall this was such a simple and affordable beginners project!  This fireplace went from something I cringed at, to a beautiful centerpiece. This was done about 7 months ago and it has held up very well. The only nicks on the tiles are from the floors being sanded and refinished. Otherwise there have been no chips or pealing. I just clean both with a damp cloth.

dressed for a simple BBQ

Lesson learned

Sometimes you just need to start, even without every detail planned. I am notorious for over thinking, and I like to have a “vision.” I hate wasting money or time, but sometimes that fear holds me back.  You get zero results from just thinking and planning! I wouldn’t take this approach for a kitchen remodel of course, but for little projects its okay to trust yourself. It may not turn out perfect the first time, but you will get there. This is how you learn and develop those DIY skills to tackle the next project.

That chair next to the fireplace is now my favorite spot in the house! I love to nestled in with a book enjoying the sunshine or a toasty fire. It feels so good because this room reflects us now. It is bright and airy with lots of warm colors and textures. The sofas are big and fluffy. The rug is soft between your toes. The space screams come in and be comfortable, make yourself at home.

The other day our neighbor stopped by, and she hadn’t been in this room since we moved in. I loved seeing the delight in her face. She gasped and said it feels so much bigger and brighter in here. I didn’t realize how much natural light pours in. Multiple times during her visit I could see her eye bounce around the room. It was a true transformation. Mission accomplished. So you can see her vision below is the listing picture of this room before we moved in and another of how it looks today. There is nothing wrong with the before, but it just wasn’t us. I just love how different it looks for $30!