Fireplace Renovation: From Brass to class!
General — By Shannon Schmid on May 10, 2011 at 7:15 am
Like many houses in our neighborhood built in the early 80′s – our fireplace and most fixtures that came with the house are a very bright brass color. In many decors that color really works. But since our living room is more modern, the brass fireplace fixture tended to look really dated! I thought about buying a new fireplace grate- but in an effort to save some money I thought maybe I’d give painting it a go.
Above is what the fireplace looked like in it’s original brass color. Painting over the metal was relatively easy. You will need:
- Some soap and water to wipe the fireplace really clean of any grease, soot, or smudges.
- A primer for use on metal (We used Kilz)
- A spray enamel in the color you want- made for HIGH HEAT
- Painters tape, some newspaper or a drop cloth to spray on.
- (Optional) A dad that will come and help you!
STEP 1: Use Painters tape to cover up the glass in the fireplace grate, also to cover up any knobs or pulls you want in the original color.
STEP 2: Be sure to use a multi-surface cleaner, or just soap and water to clean the fireplace of any dirt or smudging. Anything left on the surface will become a problem for optimal paint adhesion. Dry the metal surface well. If you can unscrew any knobs or pulls- this is the time to do it if you wantthem to stay in the original color. FYI-My dad saved me from tackling this project on my own! Thank you dad!
STEP 3: Spray on metal primer in a light coat. You can add a second if needed. Be sure to move doors to spray the metal that doesnt show when closed. If they keep shutting you can use a soup can or large rock to prop them open. Our doors stayed where we put them, so we didn’t need to prop them.
STEP 4: After the primer is fully dried (perhaps overnight) you can start to spray the color you chose. I picked matte black because we have a lot of black furniture, including a black hutch and sofa. Screw in any hardware you removed when paint has dried!
FINISHED FIREPLACE!!!! I LOVE it!
I got kinda scared halfway through the project and started to wonder what I had gotten our fireplace into! But as soon as it was done- I could not stop telling my dad and husband how super glad I am that we did it! It cost about $20.00 to do total. And for me- it is SO worth it. The room has totally stopped feeling like it’s stuck in the 80′s!
Special thanks to my dad who basically did the whole thing – even though he was visiting us for a vacation! Gotta love wonderful, handy, fun fathers!
If you are thinking of getting rid of, or replacing your fireplace grate I really recommend you try to restore it yourself!
Related posts:
- Kitchen Renovation- the baby edition!
- Vintage School Desk Makeover!
- Halloween Craft: Make your own Gel Spiders!
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24 Comments
I like it, it really does make a difference on your wall. I never knew that they could be painted, but, it makes sense. Hooray for Dad helping too!
)
(@downbythehearth)
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MilkandCuddles Reply:
May 10th, 2011 at 3:07 pm
@HammockGal (Christine), Ahhhhh! You are the crazy Twitter lady that bakes her own bread and puts hommeade jam on it!
Thanks so much- I really love the way it turned out. Its not like gleaming bright pulling focus anymore!
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LOVE the black Shan!!! Looks awesome with the other colors in the room and goes really nicely with the couch!! Great job!! What a wonderful grandpa:)
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MilkandCuddles Reply:
May 10th, 2011 at 3:02 pm
@Nikki, He is a wonderful grandpa! I agree! I do think it looks much nicer with the couch too- thanks!
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Awesome!! If you really wanted to be daring… you could paint the bricks too!! Now before you say “ewww tacky painted bricks”, check out the pictures of our fireplace in my photo album (I think its called something like ‘Watch and learn Bob Vila’ : ) Our fireplace was nice but way to prominent and 80′s… I used a kit that takes about five different colors and we LOVE it!! Thanks for the posts,.. I love getting creative ideas from you!!
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MilkandCuddles Reply:
May 10th, 2011 at 3:00 pm
@Diana, Diana! That fireplace you painted is unreal! We have talked about painting ours a few times but Michael really likes the original brick look. But I just adore how painting it brightened up your livingroom. So excellent!
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I love the black! Your dad did a great job!
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I will attest – they are all brass. And I too were thinking either to pull it out and buy a new screen OR paint it. I love that you tried it out first. I just love that we can close it from our little ones, so I’m scared just to add a screen, so this is a perfect option. THANKS! – Now just tell me what color I should do mine?
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MilkandCuddles Reply:
May 10th, 2011 at 9:16 pm
@Autumn, Autumn! I bet yours would be great in an earth tone- maybe dark chocolate? Isnt it cra-azy how much brass they put in these houses. I mean for real!
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Oh man! How long is your dad in town? I have a fireplace EXACTLY like that one and yours look fabo now!
We also have a bright brass ceiling fan. The people in our house sure liked gold. I just do not love.
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MilkandCuddles Reply:
May 10th, 2011 at 9:21 pm
@Angelia Sims Hardy, Haha! He left a few weeks ago Angela. But I’ll put you on the list for his next visit;)
lol.
I SO hear ya on the brass ceiling fans too. We have several of those, brass door knobs, and brass lighting fixtures. It’s a brass house apparently;)
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We have brass on our fireplace too which I have considered painting several times. I hate the brass and we have a plethora of it! I ended up just putting a decorative screen in front of it but it still bothers me. I’m not sure how to take it out though. It is one of those curtain style with a brass strip at the top and black chain mail looking curtain. I think I have another project for my dad when he comes to visit!
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Beautiful beautiful! and love the Gerry appearances HOLLA UNCLE GERRY!
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Wow! What a difference that makes. The room looks absolutely elegant!
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WOW what a big diff that makes! I’m going to send this link to my rbother. He has this wicked 80′s looking fireplace and this looks really good!
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As a former Dallasite and a fellow friend of Mary Lauren on My 3 Little Birds, I had to hop over and check out your blog. Congratulations on the Captchouli win!
We are in the thick of home renovations, so I love to see before and afters like this
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what a difference! NICE JOB!
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What a difference a little paint makes! Looks great!
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I have the exact same one! I just painted mine as well. I painted it with non-high heat paint, which may be a a mistake. IF we ever use it, which we don’t often, and it doesn’t work well, then I’ll get a screen and junk these door deals. No biggie. My question for you is, when you painted that little strip at the top and inside, do your doors drag a little? Mine do, so I had to leave that bit unpainted, but really wish they were ORB, not BRASS:) Yikes. Maybe you painted yours and they work? Looks great!
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Looks amazing! We did the exact same thing to ours. Next up – I’m going to tackle painting the brick part white… Wish me luck!
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That made a huge difference! It really modernized the look of the fireplace. Great idea! I have a party going on over at my blog if you want to join! I’d love to have you! Check it out under the “Stache Party” page on my blog: mylilpumpkinpatch.blogspot.com
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Thank you so much for posting this tutorial! We just replaced the tile around our fireplace and the brass looks so ugly. We didn’t know what to do and didn’t want the expense of buying something new- this is just what I was looking for! Awesome!
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I tried to do this tonight (found your site afterwards) and it didn’t work very well. You mention to have used a primer beforehand, but, according to the instructions on the High Heat paint I bought (in brush form, not spray), it says NOT to use a primer. So, I’m confused….and frustrated. I did sand the brass a bit, as the instructions on the paint can say to do, but it just streaked. Suggestions?
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MilkandCuddles Reply:
June 29th, 2012 at 2:37 pm
@Jason, Hey Jason- what a pain! I cant comment on exactly what went wrong with what you did, but I can tell you that when we did ours we did not encounter streaking – and I definitely believe that was due to using primer. Some suggestions for where you are now…perhaps sand again. Then find a finishing coat that is matte and also allows you to use Primer in conjunction with it. Make sure to let the primer fully dry before putting on the finishing coat. Also…be sure to spray lightly. If you hold the spray can too close that can cause running. Better to spray from a distance and then do a second coat if needed.
Hope that helps some! Good luck!
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