House Proud “Freshening A Fireplace” (Toronto Sun)
Few things date an otherwise pretty room the way a dingy fireplace can.
This living room has a coat of fresh paint in warm linen, and comfortable and complimentary furnishings in earthy tones of deep greens and browns. A couple of classically framed prints, with deep meaning for their owner, hang on two walls. Stylish groupings of black and white photos decorate the others. Custom cut faux wood blinds add an air of masculinity to the bay window without overwhelming the space with testosterone. The room’s only fault was an ugly, smoky brick fireplace.
With Carte blanch from the owner to work any magic I saw fit, I embarked on a quest for the ideal method to update the blackened blonde bricks. I had every intention of avoiding a paintbrush. Once you paint brick, you can’t un-paint it. I hoped to find a solution with as much attractiveness and a little less permanence.
My old friend Michael, a master decorator from the UK, would have built a false front for this beast. Michael takes scraps of MDF, some leftover trim, a little wood glue and some paint and creates a masterpiece that tickles the heart and tricks the eye. For his own home, he built a perfect fireplace surround that fit snugly around the old bricks, reasoning that he could change it whenever he felt the urge. It was gorgeous and easily passed for real marble. But one end of this fireplace meets the wall and as much as I marvel at Michael’s work, this room required a more casual look.
I briefly considered a thorough cleaning job but predicted I wouldn’t even like it clean. The bland bricks and pine mantle screamed, “dated” next to the contemporary furniture and dark, heavy wood tables. On message boards, others who tried TSP, a stiff wire brush and elbow grease wrote that the results sometimes weren’t worth the trouble. I wasn’t about to fill the house with ashes and dust only to discover I still needed a plan b.
Covering the old brick with new, brick veneer seemed like a possibility until I considered that I might want to attempt my first re-bricking job somewhere less obvious, like the back of a house belonging to someone I don’t really like. When it comes to DIY projects I don’t frighten easily but the thought of working with bricks and mortar and levels on a vertical surface didn’t inspire my inner Mike Holmes.
That realization took me all the way back to where I began: paint.
The paint guy at Home Depot had recently painted his own fireplace bricks. He advised me that any latex paint would do but it’s what’s under it that matters most.
“Like any tough paint job, it’s all about the primer”, he said.
He elicited a sigh of relief when he told me I didn’t need to clean the brick beyond removing anything loose or obvious. I spent a lot of money on primer, a modest amount on warm white paint and I was on my way.
The bricks soaked up the primer like a dry sponge. Three coats later, I was ready for paint, which took another two coats to achieve an even tone. Row by row the paint went on beautifully over the now-sealed bricks and mortar and even the pine mantle.
A friend dropped by mid-job and in a moment of inspiration, he suggested I create a feature with wall colour on the vertical bricks. I had been musing about how to break up the all-white look and his fresh eyes on the project brought me the perfect solution. Another friend decided instantly to paint his fireplace after seeing my results. What I first thought was the wrong approach turned out to be absolutely right after all.
