Learn how to whitewash your brick fireplace using this simple method! It’s cost-effective, time-effective, and doesn’t take a lot of skill. You just need some paint, a paint brush, and some time to get painting!
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When my husband and I moved into our home in late 2013, we walked into a home with barely any updates and mostly original fixtures from 1978.
We knew we had a lot of work ahead of us regarding our home’s interior, but the home provided the land, space, and location we wanted so we were willing to put some work into it to make it a home we love.
A few years after moving in and we’ve already completed so many projects including putting in new wood flooring throughout, repainting throughout, doing a complete kitchen renovation, updating our master bathroom and more.
Related: Kitchen Remodel: 5 Mistakes I Made when Designing It
After three years of living in our home, we finally got around to updating our brick fireplace. Ironically, it’s one of the easiest, most cost-effective and simple projects we’ve done so I’m not sure why we waited so long.
I think we were hesitant at first because we weren’t sure if we wanted to cover up the original brick.
I’m so glad we did decide to whitewash our brick and cover up the original brick color because it made our living room so much lighter and brighter.
I love the way the whitewashed brick looks so much that I actually want to paint the exterior of our home now to look similar!
Here’s what the brick wall and fireplace looked like prior to whitewashing:
It was super outdated looking. The brass fireplace also got a makeover soon after our whitewash project, as well as ripping out the white carpet.
We replaced the white carpet with this wood flooring, and I love the way the warm wood tones contrast with out whitewashed brick!
Here’s the rest of what the brick wall used to look like.
It’s the exact same brick that we have on the outside of our home. After seeing the results of whitewashing our brick fireplace, I know that I definitely want to paint the exterior of home too.
Here’s what our home’s exterior looks like right now. Once we paint it, it will match our style (and whitewashed brick fireplace) so much more! Stay tuned for that project and all the other projects we have going on by signing up for my email list.
HERE’S HOW TO WHITEWASH YOUR BRICK FIREPLACE:
Fortunately, whitewashing your brick fireplace is very easy and it doesn’t require a lot of skill or money. The results are pretty drastic though, and whitewashing your brick fireplace can really give new life to a room.
SUPPLIES YOU’LL NEED:
- White paint
- Paint brush
- Water
- Potentially another color paint (read on to see if it’s applicable for your situation)
STEP 1: CREATE YOUR WHITEWASH MIXTURE
To whitewash your brick fireplace, you’ll first need to create a whitewash mixture. Don’t worry! It’s super easy. All you need to do is mix water and paint together. This allows your paint to thin down and create that whitewashed look.
Typically, to create just a whitewashed look you need to combine 1 part water with 1 part paint. To put it simply, use a half-filled gallon of white paint and put water into that can until it reaches the top. Then, blend the water with a paint stick until it creates a thinner consistency.
Instead of using the typical 1/2 water and 1/2 white paint combo, I decided to add in gray paint into the mixture.
My whitewash mixture ended up being 1/4 gray paint, 1/4 white paint, and 1/2 water.
For the gray paint, I used the paint color that we have on our living room walls so that the walls and brick fireplace would play off each other.
I wouldn’t advise adding your room’s paint color unless it’s on the lighter side. If your surrounding walls are in the light gray/beige tones, then I’d say you’re safe to mix it into your whitewash mixture.
Feel free to play around with your whitewash mixture. It you want your walls more on the opaque side, add more paint. If you want your paint more transparent looking, add more water.
STEP 2: APPLY WHITEWASH MIXTURE TO YOUR BRICK FIREPLACE USING A PAINT BRUSH
I think it’s better to use a paint brush rather than a paint roller for this project because you can control exactly how much paint goes on each brick.
Of course, this method takes way longer than it would to use a roller, but I think it’s worth it if you’re trying to create a whitewashed look.
Once you apply the whitewash mixture to each brick and the mortar in between each brick, let it dry completely.
STEP 3: APPLY SECOND COAT OF WHITEWASH MIXTURE TO RANDOM BRICKS
To give your brick fireplace that whitewashed look, it helps to have some inconsistency in your bricks.
To achieve this look, paint random bricks with a second coat of your whitewash mixture.
You can see below that some bricks are darker than others. That’s because of the technique I used to go in for a second coat on only certain bricks.
I love how it creates a really natural whitewashed look.
That’s it! You’re done! I told you this was an easy project. 🙂
It’s really all about making the whitewash mixture and then having the time to actually paint the brick.
This project took me a weekend to do because I let the first coat of paint dry overnight before I got started on the second coat the next day. It was such a huge payoff for the amount of time it took.
Note: You may think you have overpainted, but the bricks will soak up the paint. Let the bricks dry completely to see the results.
Here’s what it looked like after we were done.
As you can see in the above photo, we put our fireplace doors back in. We left the doors brass, just as they had originally been. Once we put it all together, we realized we weren’t quite happy with the look. We didn’t have any other brass fixtures in that room. That’s when we decided to paint the fireplace doors black.
Jason took off the fireplace doors and spray painted them with a high temperature black paint to make it look more modern.
Update: Our living room looks completely different now, just a few short years later. We got new wood floors, a new fabric sectional, a new area rug and lots of new decor.
HERE ARE SOME OF MY FAVORITE LOOKS I’VE DONE WITH OUR BRICK FIREPLACE SINCE WE WHITEWASHED IT:
(click on the image if you want to see more about that look)
PIN IT FOR LATER:
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Hi Marly, I want to whitewash my brick fireplace, however the previous owner painted it with a very glossy paint. What can i do to achieve the whitewash look?
Thank you, Lisa in Texas.
Hey Lisa! What color paint did the previous owner use? Have you tried to whitewash over it? If need be, there are ways to strip paint from brick. If you do that, you could try whitewashing after you strip the paint. I hope this helps!
I have a floor to ceiling dark brown fireplace, with gray-brown mortar. We have vaulted ceilings in our bedroom, and even though the fireplace in on a side wall, it is still a tall wall. There is no mantle, and the hearth is made of stones….it is not raised. I would love to change the color. I don’t like the white washed look, but I don’t want painted bricks either. Is it possible tho whitewash a dark brown fireplace, and then stain the brick in shades offered?
What was the paint color you used for the fireplace? It’s beautiful
Thank you so much! I did a white wash combination. I used 1/4 white paint, 1/4 gray paint and 1/2 water. I actually have a tutorial about it if you’re interested: https://marlydice.com2017/02/whitewash-brick-fireplace/.
Best,
Marly