One way to update the look and feel of a room is to turn your attention to the fireplace. Often a focal point, your fireplace can make your room feel fresh and stylish, or totally outdated.
There are 5 ideas we regularly use to update fireplaces – some as simple as a bit of paint, others a complete redo. Keep reading to see some of our faves!
Refinish with tile
Refacing a fireplace with new stone or tile can change the look completely. Depending on the current condition of your fireplace, you can tile right over what’s currently there or clad the current surface with backer board. Tile works in nearly any style so it’ll work in any home. Here we took an old, crumbling brick fireplace and outdated hearth and updated it with modern tile and a touch of rustic with the mantel. That mantel! It’s a 100 year old beam from a warehouse in Portland. Love it.
Update (or add!) a mantel
For many homes, mantel is the finishing touch for a fireplace. Sometimes the material on the facade is neutral and works but the mantel is seriously outdated. Updating (or adding) a mantel can change the look of a fireplace in an instant.Â
Below is a large fireplace where a chunky wood mantel was added to change the feel, correct the scale of the shelvees, and give us a place for decor.
Plaster the facade
Plaster or stucco is a wonderful, sophisticated way to add texture and interest to a mantel while allowing it to flow well with the rest of the room. The plaster on the fireplace update below has a small color variance and a wonderful, velvety texture that fits the glam style of the room without taking over.
Add a wood treatment
This example is from a new build so we don’t have a ‘before’, but here a quartz slab hearth combined with black shiplap creates a fun, modern farmhouse look for this fireplace. Shiplap can be installed directly over the current finish, or replace old material. The best part is that the wood treatment is easily painted so you can update it down the line if you want a new look! When using wood or combustible materials around a fireplace just be sure to follow the local codes for clearance requirements.
And of course... the power of paint
Painting a mantel, fireplace surround, or both can have a big impact on how the space feels. These are two DIY examples from clients who implemented our ideas. First is a fireplace with outdated stone that got a white wash treatment.Â
For this DIY client update, all we changed was the mantel color! It helped the mantel feel more updated and adjusted the feel of the color to a cooler tone. Such a small change, with a good impact.
