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We just bought a new home in Colorado (yea!) but want to change the fireplace. It is in the family/living room. We'd like it to be more traditional and neutral. My furniture comes from an English style Land House (from Europe) so is modern traditional.
I'd love some ideas or even how to think about it.
Attached is a photo of the brick fireplace to change (with brown furniture of the seller. )
Also attached is a picture of my furniture that will go next to the redone fireplace.
The simplest way to get close to your style would be to paint the fireplace white and change out the mantel. I don't know if I would really do that, but it would bring you closer to the aesthetic you like, and it wouldn't require dismantling the fireplace.
If you hate the fireplace, which is a style that was current from the 1960s through the 1980s, and you don't want to paint it, then I think you would have to have it restyled. That is the brick would be taken out and a new mantle and hearth would be installed. This would not be cheap.
Or you might be able to build a unit around the fireplace to cover the upper brick, perhaps incorporating shelving on either side of the fireplace. You could style the lower part however you wanted to. I suppose you would have to change out the hearth. I'd find a designer to design something, and then get the estimate. I imagine it would be pricey, but not as expensive as having the thing rebuilt.
The cheapest and easiest thing to do would be to paint the fireplace white, I think. Perhaps you could change out the hearth from the used brick to slate or tile as well.
I am interesting in knowing about your furniture. Did you refer to a style or brand? I like it!
Just as an example these are before an after pictures of a fireplace my parents recently whitewashed and put a new mantle on (in a house they were flipping). Whitewashing is pretty easy to do and I think the effect is pretty dramatic.
I second the "whitewashing" effect. It makes a HUGE difference but retains the texture of the brick, which would give that room some much-needed character.
I just saw a technique on TV, similar to whitewashing, called German Mortar Smear. Same idea as whitewashing, but it is with mortar, rather than watered down paint or limestone. Apparently, it is more opaque, so you control the amount of coverage.
Just as an example these are before an after pictures of a fireplace my parents recently whitewashed and put a new mantle on (in a house they were flipping). Whitewashing is pretty easy to do and I think the effect is pretty dramatic.
Nice change to a really unique fireplace. Thanks for sharing!
In addition to the changes suggested about the overall color of the brick, you might want to consider some casework / cabinetry to make the whole room feel a bit more traditional. Lots of examples of that from skilled finish carpenters who are proud to showcase their work on the web.
The nice thing about having things built out with woodtrim / cabinetry is if you do that right away you can really can lots of nice storage / places for things like audio system for what is often a very fair price.
I found this YouTube video for a technique that is like German Mortar Smear. I've never heard of this. I like it!
I do wonder if that is the aesthetic the OP has in mind, but I know I like it a lot.
Yes, me too. The gang from Fixer Upper did it to a brick house a few episodes ago.
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