I love the distressed look of white wash. In Bachelorette Pad Flip #1, the fireplace was super dark (and dirty), and I opted to paint it a pristine white. In this house I’ve chosen more distressed elements, and I knew a pristine painted fireplace wouldn’t complement the distressed floors. So I chose to do a white wash on the brick fireplace.
In this photo from Bachelorette Pad Flip #1, pristine white matched all the white trim and lighter elements. Painting a fireplace a pristine white is a very easy process. Whitewashing a fireplace is even easier!
When painting a fireplace a pristine white, you need to prime and paint (several) coats. Fortunately, when whitewashing it’s not near as labor intensive. I chose a latex white. In particular, I chose this paint:
I have a rather large fireplace and hearth, and it did not take the entire gallon. I suggest buying an empty paint can that they sell at Lowe’s that way you can store your excess whitewash. To create the white wash mixture, mix approximate 3:1 paint and water. It’s not an exact science, but it is important to have more paint than water in the mixture. To apply the whitewash mixture, I suggest NOT using a sponge roller (even a sponge designed for brick). Instead, use a heavy-duty bristle brush. The first coat will hardly make an impact; however, I painted two coats and reached the desired results.
In order to contrast the whitewash and the wood grains in the floor, I am keeping the mantel the same color (I just haven’t hung it back up yet). Since the walls have now been painted a High Noon blue, the fireplace stands out even more. I love it!
The entire process took a little over two hours. I could have done a third coat to further mask the creamish bricks, but I liked the color showing through. It mimicked the floors well.
Much better!
Great job and a super improvement!
My fireplace is wood burning and has red brick but has burnt looking brick from the smoke, how do you clean it off before painting it? I love what you did on he whitewash.
Hi Carol! I used a steel grill brush and some soapy water to thoroughly clean. It took several different attempts to get mine pretty clean!
Thank you for your response
I have an off-white brick fireplace. The bricks are not flat, they are dimensional. Do you have any suggestions on how I can clean them? The whole wall is brick.
The best method I’ve found is to use some soapy water and a wire grill brush to scrub. It might also help to use some spray cleaner directly on the bricks while srubbing.
THANKS A LOT…..I FEEL REVVVED-UP TO START MY DARK AND DRAB FIREPLACE…
YOU DID A PROFESSIONAL JOB INDEED!!!
Yay! Glad it helped. Good luck on your project!
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