Should I paint this fireplace?

[Gardening Grandma]

I really don't want any more work than necessary. I'm already exhausted and we are hoping to list this house next week. But I am wondering if I should paint this fireplace and/or the mantle the same white as the trim. (Not a fan of painted fireplaces, but a previous tenant already did that).

Carpet will be installed later this week. The hearth is a warm beigeish marble...

Opinions?

[deantrip]

I think it looks fine, but I am not an interior decorator by any means, but not everything in the room has to match, some contrast especially on a mantle/fireplace that can be the focus of a room is good.

[Deleted]

I think the brick looks fine. The mantle might look better white, and it wouldn't take much effort to paint that.

[Waffle]

I'd paint the brick a beige - the same as or similar to the wall color and paint the mantel the same white as the baseboards.

[Gardening Grandma]

I'm leaning towards just that (painting the brick to match the wall and mantle to match the trim).

Ugh! I'll be glad when we get this house listed. For every job we complete, I see two more that we need to do....

[zibazinski]

I think it needs a POP of color.

[thyme4change]

I would NOT paint the brick the same color as the wall. Currently, fireplaces are a contrasting color and stick out. Blending in would look weird (in terms of current trends.)

[Deleted]

I like the dark mantle - you will always have the black hole in the middle of fireplace. If everything around it was light, your eye would probably go right to the dark. I think you want to draw the eye to the fireplace as a whole and the mantle in particular, so they need to be able to visually balance the hole.

[Gardening Grandma]

Does it matter that the mantle is painted brown and the screen is black?

[Gardening Grandma]

This was the photo that gave me the idea. (zib, I know it needs some pop of color, but this is about listing the house, so keeping things neutral)....

[Gardening Grandma]

Also, I don't know if I'll be able to remove the soot that is showing above the screen. Ugh.

[zibazinski]

Paint the inside. It'll cover the soot.

[zibazinski]

Maybe paint the mantle black?

[Gardening Grandma]

Jul 24, 2012 12:22:14 GMT -5 @missmargarita said:

I would paint the brick and the mantle white to match the trim. the tile, current color of the brick and the dark mantle make the fireplace look like an afterthought. A fireplace should be a highlight to the room. I would then put a couple of decorative accessories on the mantle and either a large framed decorative mirror or piece of artwork above the fireplace. The black screen is fine. You could also put something etiher decorative on the hearth or get a black/iron set of fireplace tools.

I do have a framed piece of art I plan to hang over the fireplace, some candles to put on the mantle, a vase with dried flowers to set on the hearth. I agree - right now, it all looks like an afterthought. One tenant painted the brick, another added the mantle. <sighing>

[Gardening Grandma]

I'd be pissed that the tenants painted the brick.

I'd be happy if that's ALL they did......

[Gardening Grandma]

Yah, it was pretty bad, but not as bad as debthaven's story.... The good news is that they had a $1000 security deposit and paid the last month's rent twice (first when they moved in and then again when they gave notice) so that pretty much covered the cost of repairs.... We were going to recarpet anyway....

Definitely time to retire from the LL'ing business...

[kent]

Jul 24, 2012 12:10:24 GMT -5 Gardening Grandma said:

This was the photo that gave me the idea. (zib, I know it needs some pop of color, but this is about listing the house, so keeping things neutral)....

My vote for what it's worth - clean and simple seldom fails.

[nogooddeed]

Jul 24, 2012 13:15:01 GMT -5 kent said:

Jul 24, 2012 12:10:24 GMT -5 Gardening Grandma said:

This was the photo that gave me the idea. (zib, I know it needs some pop of color, but this is about listing the house, so keeping things neutral)....

My vote for what it's worth - clean and simple seldom fails.

This gets my vote too. As for the soot, try a foam bathroom cleaner like Scrubbing Bubbles and then use a brush to scrub it off. Worked on the tile around my fireplace.

[Deleted]

I like the all white fireplace for selling purposes. If you are going to live in it, it will get black with soot again in no time - but that's for the buyers to sort out.

[Epiphany]

I like the idea of painting the brick white. The current color isn't quite right with the wall color or the hearth and comes off looking a bit drab. If you are keeping the black grate (not sure what it's called) then don't paint the interior and keep the dark mantel for balance. Make sure your artwork above it is of good scale and something to draw your eye with color.

If you paint the bricks the wall color it will blend into the wall to completely and you need some contrast. There are a few reasons why the picture you posted worked well, one is the scale of the fireplace projecting from adjacent walls. You don't have that so you need to work harder to make it "pop." the other is that the interior, grate and everything is white, nothing dark, so the contrast of the wall is enough. If you include a dark element you need to balance that dark spot with another hence keeping your mantel dark. Hope this makes sense.

[zibazinski]

Try spray paint for the inside.

[Tiny]

If it's a real working fireplace, I'd be careful what kind of paint I put on the inside bricks... who knows what kind of toxic off gas you might get when the paint starts to burn if you don't put the right kind in there...

[Deleted]

I'm not great with colors, but I don't think the fireplace should blend in. Have you considered painting it brick red? I am serious.

[GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl]

Jul 25, 2012 12:34:17 GMT -5 Tiny said:

If it's a real working fireplace, I'd be careful what kind of paint I put on the inside bricks... who knows what kind of toxic off gas you might get when the paint starts to burn if you don't put the right kind in there...

You NEED to use fireplace paint inside the firebox.

[Plain Old Petunia]

I'd paint the brick the same color as the trim, not the color of the wall.

[Gardening Grandma]

Jul 26, 2012 20:47:35 GMT -5 @southernsusana said:

I'm not great with colors, but I don't think the fireplace should blend in. Have you considered painting it brick red? I am serious.

Well I photoshopped it as a reddish brown. It looked OK, but getting the right shade would involve some experimentation - which would take more time than I have. Still undecided, but if I run out of time, nothing will get painted. I've set a target of next Friday (a week from tomorrow) for the photographer to come.

[Formerly SK]

Jul 25, 2012 9:45:41 GMT -5 Epiphany said:

I like the idea of painting the brick white. The current color isn't quite right with the wall color or the hearth and comes off looking a bit drab. If you are keeping the black grate (not sure what it's called) then don't paint the interior and keep the dark mantel for balance. Make sure your artwork above it is of good scale and something to draw your eye with color.

If you paint the bricks the wall color it will blend into the wall to completely and you need some contrast. There are a few reasons why the picture you posted worked well, one is the scale of the fireplace projecting from adjacent walls. You don't have that so you need to work harder to make it "pop." the other is that the interior, grate and everything is white, nothing dark, so the contrast of the wall is enough. If you include a dark element you need to balance that dark spot with another hence keeping your mantel dark. Hope this makes sense.

This. I painted one of our fireplaces this past winter. Yes, I know...never paint brick. Whatever. It was that trendy 80s pink brick, not classic red brick. Anyway, I did the brick in a light cream color and the mantle in a dark brown color. The walls are green. It looks SO much better if I say so myself. The black of the grate makes fabulous contrast with the cream, which contrasts with the mantle. Then I put some (black) framed art above the fireplace. It all looks very coordinated together. If I wasn't so lazy I'd figure out how to take a pic and post it.

If you do end up painting, make sure you give yourself enough drying time on the mantle before you need to show the house. The paint was tacky for me for at least a week it seemed so I didn't put any decorations up for quite a while.