A Fireplace Makeover
Our fireplace makeover is my favorite update so far! When we first moved into Tanglewood the fireplace was an okay, ho-hum boring space. Now we love it! I’m so excited to show you how we updated our fireplace and gave it a huge facelift!
When we moved into the Tanglewood house this is what our fireplace looked like…
A nice fireplace but nothing special! An itty-bitty mantel, no hearth, and been-there-done-that dental work crown molding! The color of the fireplace was the color of the entire house! YIKES!
After we painted the ENTIRE house the mantel was the next home project we checked off our list!
And here’s the new fireplace…
Let me say right off, this was a job we did not tackle ourselves. My great construction guys, Cliff and John listened to what we wanted and worked their magic!
They were able to completely makeover and update the fireplace in two days! And that included a lot of glue drying time.
The fireplace was painted Simply White by Benjamin Moore like the rest of our home. It’s a nice soft white! The brick is a brighter white.
These guys are so so neat! They laid tarps and a faux oriental runner down in front of the fireplace to keep the dust and debris down to a minimum!
First things first! Demolition. There was not a whole lot of demolition! Off came the itty-bitty mantel and the dental work and the pilasters and the u-g-l-y tile!
I’ve never seen the guts of a fireplace, have you?
I chose a white painted brick to create the hearth and the surround of the mantel.
Cliff tried something new with our fireplace. He prebuilt a lot of the fireplace and painted it in his shop to save a lot of mess in our home. Brilliant idea!
So he brought everything in pieces! The hearth was something he constructed in his shop and it was a HEAVY piece to bring in!
There are my neat and creative guys! Fox Construction.
Next came the facing header and legs. I call this the “surround”. He put them together in his shop too!
And when the facing header and legs were glued to the fireplace they were supported in place by a couple boards nailed into the drywall until they dried.
The fluted mantel legs and the plinths were also constructed in Cliff’s shop and he sat one in place for me to see while the surround was drying.
Once the surround was secure the sides (fluted legs and plinths) were glued and nailed into place. And they nice guys put the mantel on the fireplace so I could see how it would look. And of course, take a picture for you!
Thanks, guys!
Lastly, they worked their magic and got the mantel on, caulked all the gaps and spaces and put the electrical socket on the mantel!
Really, the fireplace is even better than I had hoped!
Our little stone “house mouse” has found a home once again on this mantel. We found the little mouse on the mantel of our first home and he has made himself at home on every mantel since!
Here are a few things we wanted to include in our fireplace makeover..
We wanted a mantel that was lower and wider than the one at StoneGable. Our old one was very narrow and a bit too high. So we placed the mantel at about eye level.
One feature we loved on our mantel at StoneGable was an electrical outlet. And the Tanglewood fireplace had one too!
One thing I wish we would have done was to add an outlet on the other side of our mantel too. If you have thoughts of a fireplace makeover an electrical outlet on BOTH sides of the mantel would be smart.
We couldn’t be happier! Our fireplace is the focal point for the whole open area of our great room! It makes a big difference in making Tanglewood feel like home!
You might like to check out our new home Tanglewood HERE.
Hi, I love your new fireplace, but can you talk a little more about the necessity of an electrical outlet? We are designing a new home and I’m considering adding one or two outlets after reading this post. Where did you locate the one you have? Where would two ideally be located? And lastly, please share reasons for needing them! Thanks Elaine! So enjoy meeting you every morning!
I’m so glad you asked as these are my questions too. Just beautiful!
In our StoneGable home and here the outlet was laying flat in the center of our mantel towards the back. I found this very inconvenient when I ran Christmas lights. And when I had lamps on my mantel I was always trying to hide the cords. ln our Tanglewood home the outlet is now on the right side of the mantel laying flat. Again towards the back. It works so much better there. However, it would be nice to have an outlet on the other side too! Hope this helps.
I truly love your posts, I look forward to them always!
As I sit in my own home, I see so many “personal” items – photos, antique keepsakes etc. I don’t see anything personal in your home. As much as I love your home photos I would love to see you using some personal things. I understand if you don’t want to put photos of your family on your feeds, but I just feel that we ALL have these things and would probably enjoy seeing how you would incorporate them into your own home. Just a thought!!!
Hi Cindy, Yes I know what you mean. I’m sitting in my office and you should see all the photos of our family in here. We also have family pictures on our nightstands and in the sunroom. My children don’t want images of their children online so I don’t show any pictures. And I can so understand their desire to keep their children protected to the best of their ability. Believe me I do have pictures etc but they are not for the blog.
As far as antiques. They are not my jam. However, I have been blessed with my great grandmother’s jelly cupboard and will put it in the loft. When that area is decorated I’ll be excited to share it with you.
Love the fireplace redo! I too have narrow depth top of the mantel…what’s the new depth (wall to outer edge) ? Appreciate your response!
Thanks
Hi Marlene. Our fireplace is 12 inches from the wall to the edge. Hope this helps.
Although dentil molding is classic, it didn’t look right on your original fireplace. Your changes make it look so much better.
Dental molding is classic. But it was tiny and prefabricated. Not our look!
Looks very nice. Thanks for sharing the work in progress pictures. It helps me imagine what’s involved to do a similar update. I can now see that most of what’s there now can be stripped away and start from a bare wall.
Hi Bonnie, you are right! I should have added that if only the surround needs replaced that is such an easy fix. We replaced our surround on the fireplace at our StoneGable home. All we did was add a veneer brick. Hope this helps you!
What a stunning makeover!!! You may have just inspired me to give mine a makeover once I get back to my Corner House!!! My mantel could be bigger for sure!! Yours is gorgeous!!! I love too that you recognized what you could improve upon based on Stonegables. Great job!
Thanks Marion. A fireplace is one of the biggest focal points in our homes. So I wanted to update this area to reflect our style.
Stunning!
Hi Colleen, thank you!
Your fireplace looks beautiful and the contractors did a great job.
Hi Doreen, he is AMAZING!
Fireplace looks great! I’m never quite sure where to put the plugin. Yours is hidden well – may I ask where it exactly is? Love your blog….thanks!
Hi Susan, it is flat on the mantel on the right side towards the back. Hope this helps.
Gorgeous! Love this fireplace.
The makeover turned out great. I have been wanting a new mantel forever. I will keep in mind your suggestion for outlets on both sides instead of just one side. Right now I don’t have any, just a fairly well concealed extension cord, lol!
Source please for the container on the coffee table holding the beautiful orchid.
Thank you!
Hi Mildred, I found it at a local shop. You can see it here: https://cocalicocreek.com/
Beautiful fireplace…beautiful work. Hope you enjoying it on these chillier days and nights.
Love the new fireplace! How tall is it? I am wanting to redo mine and want it lower. Is the depth of 12″ adequate do you think or do you wish you would have made it a little deeper? Thanks so much!
Yvonne,
Thank you for such a great post! My husband and I are building a fireplace in our Master bedroom, and these photos and tips are SO helpful! I have been collecting ideas on a Pinterest board for a year, and by far your post is the most helpful. Thank you so much! Enjoy your beautiful new fireplace makeover!
Blessings,
Beth
Enjoyed seeing the steps taken to redo your fireplace. I can now really tell the difference in the before and after. I really like your style and how easy you make it look. Thanks for all your tips! Blessings.
I love the new look. I had my red brick fireplace refaced so it’s very similar to yours. I was so tired of 9 feet of red brick and having only a 7″ deep brick mantel! My new look was created in place by adding 2×4’s to the brick to create side-pillars and a deeper mantel. My carpenter used masonite and several different moldings to finish the project. I was going to paint the brick face and hearth but when the wood was up and painted bright white I noticed that the grout on the hearth was about an inch wide! I’d looked at it for 30 years and never noticed! I ended up cladding all the brick in a marble-looking porcelain tile. The firebox was off-center so when he build out the new facade, he created a niche on the longer side. The mantle is now 7 feet wide and 20 inches deep. The mantle is notched back to 12 inches over the niche. The whole project cost about $1100 and it was worth every penny!
Love this….Looks so nice. This is what I hope to do one day in my living room. I have one big wall and would like the looks of a fireplace and put candles all around. The TV would go above the fireplace and shelves on each side. I know you are so proud of your new living room look.
I love the new fireplace! My husband is a bricklayer and was impressed with how they did it!
I have been dreaming of painting my brick fireplace but so scared. It is a real fireplace (or was until I put in a beautiful set of faux gas logs) so it goes all the way up the wall to a vaulted ceiling. How would painting that much brick white look? I would love to hear from others who have painted brick too! Great post!
Hi Yvonne,
I appreciate and enjoy your blog so much!
I have been thinking of painting my entire house white—- thank you fo giving me permission and inspiration. I think you said yours is painted BM Simply White. What sheen did you use—- I don’t want my walls to look like I only primed them?
Lou
Great question Lou. I’ll be doing a post soon about the different sheens of paint. We used flat paint on the walls and semi-gloss on the woodwork. If we get a mark or a scuff on the walls it can be touched up. If you get a mark or scuff on any other finish the whole wall needs to be painted over. So we love flat paint on our walls for that reason.
We had lots of little ones here over Christmas and little hands made a few marks on the walls. So we just touched them up and voila, new looking wall! Hope this helps Lou.
Did you use a general contractor to do this work or was it someone with a specialty, ie carpenter, mason, etc?
Hi Carol. You can read about my construction guy in the post. He is amazing!
Hi Yvonne,
I love that below you said your front door is always open to friends old and new… I’m so delighted to be one of those new friends. Your graciousness is much appreciated. And your new fireplace is fabulous!
Liberty
Loved your fireplace makeover. Just moved into a very modern condo … with a very modern fireplace . Trying to make it my own . You gave me some great ideas . Thank you ❤️
Congrats on your new home Twyla!
The fireplace is beautiful but where did you purchase the mirror? I’m sure it’s no longer available…ha ha.
Thanks, Pam C.
Hi Pam I found this mirror at HomeGoods. But look at sites like Wayfair and Birch Lane they probably carry one similar.