White Washed Fireplace
I am hardheaded. Maybe it's because I am my father's daughter, maybe it's because I'm Irish, or maybe it's because I'm a redhead. Who knows. Either way I know this project took me waaaaaaay longer than it should have if I had just listened to what the directions said.
About a year ago I was inspired by the white wash fireplace tutorial over at The Yellow Cape Cod. She said that she used Sherwin Williams Latex Cashmere Paint~Medium Lustre. I decided cheap latex paint would be the way to go. Clearly it wasn't. I don't know what kind of mutant hungry brick our fireplace is made of, but after about six coats it soaked up this paint to the point where it looked like I had done NOTHING. It was so bad that I was no longer white washing and wiping with a rag, but instead painting non-watered-down latex paint directly on it and it STILL soaked it up. We found out from contractors who were working on the rest of our house at the same time that we had very porous masonry brick AKA the cheapest brick ever.
I finally gave up and decided to stop being stubborn and try out the Sherwin Williams Cashmere paint. Of course I couldn't find anything smaller than a gallon and of course since this paint was much thicker it actually needed to be thinned out with water. So, a year later I'm stuck with three-quarters of a gallon of paint and a strong desire to white wash every one's fireplace.
After I got the right paint I was finally able to white wash this stupid paint eating brick. Here's what I did:
The tools:
1. A Purdy paintbrush (you don't have to use Purdy, but I have heard great things about this brush)
2. Water
3. A mixing container ( I used a HANDy bucket pail with plastic inserts)
4. Sherwin Williams Cashmere paint in a white color
5. A rag
I kept our mantle on mostly because I would have died had I tried to take it off.
Mix one part water and one part paint. Brush the paint on one or two bricks at a time and immediately wipe it down with a rag. I used more of a blotting technique which also kept the texture of the brick.
That's it! More coats can be added depending on the coverage you want.
Once I finally got my act together and used the correct paint the whole thing only took me about three hours! So, please don't be like me...get the right paint from the beginning and save your neck and back from the frustration from being a hard head.
Here are the two side by side! I hope I can save you some anger and hatred toward brick by sharing my experience! I also hope that you don't have this cheap paint sucking masonry brick...but, if you do, get a thicker latex paint!
About a year ago I was inspired by the white wash fireplace tutorial over at The Yellow Cape Cod. She said that she used Sherwin Williams Latex Cashmere Paint~Medium Lustre. I decided cheap latex paint would be the way to go. Clearly it wasn't. I don't know what kind of mutant hungry brick our fireplace is made of, but after about six coats it soaked up this paint to the point where it looked like I had done NOTHING. It was so bad that I was no longer white washing and wiping with a rag, but instead painting non-watered-down latex paint directly on it and it STILL soaked it up. We found out from contractors who were working on the rest of our house at the same time that we had very porous masonry brick AKA the cheapest brick ever.
 |
| BEFORE with the ugly red brick that was a hideous focal point |
I finally gave up and decided to stop being stubborn and try out the Sherwin Williams Cashmere paint. Of course I couldn't find anything smaller than a gallon and of course since this paint was much thicker it actually needed to be thinned out with water. So, a year later I'm stuck with three-quarters of a gallon of paint and a strong desire to white wash every one's fireplace.
After I got the right paint I was finally able to white wash this stupid paint eating brick. Here's what I did:
The tools:
1. A Purdy paintbrush (you don't have to use Purdy, but I have heard great things about this brush)
2. Water
3. A mixing container ( I used a HANDy bucket pail with plastic inserts)
4. Sherwin Williams Cashmere paint in a white color
5. A rag
I kept our mantle on mostly because I would have died had I tried to take it off.
Mix one part water and one part paint. Brush the paint on one or two bricks at a time and immediately wipe it down with a rag. I used more of a blotting technique which also kept the texture of the brick.
That's it! More coats can be added depending on the coverage you want.
 |
| AFTER with a nicer neutral white wash |
Once I finally got my act together and used the correct paint the whole thing only took me about three hours! So, please don't be like me...get the right paint from the beginning and save your neck and back from the frustration from being a hard head.
Here are the two side by side! I hope I can save you some anger and hatred toward brick by sharing my experience! I also hope that you don't have this cheap paint sucking masonry brick...but, if you do, get a thicker latex paint!
Good luck! If you have any questions or concerns ask away! Also, don't be concerned if you suddenly have the urge to white wash every brick you see...it's a common side effect. I almost asked my neighbors if I could white wash their house. Yeah, don't be like me.
Hehe...I LOVE IT!!! Love your writing style and I've always loved your story-telling. More please!! <3
ReplyDeleteI'm hoping to have more time to write and share my insane life ;)
DeleteYou gave it more of an effort than I would have haha
ReplyDeleteonce it was halfway painted with the other paint there was no turning back!
DeleteI hope you get this message I know it's an older post, my question is me fireplace has the dark grout like your's does. Did you paint the grout too? Did you blot the paint off the grout like you did the brick?
ReplyDeleteGood evening Cindy,
DeleteI actually just did my brick fireplace this weekend.I was being nosey and readig peoples comments and this is me chiming in :) I did not stain/paint my grout. I literally painted one brick at a time and wiped off with a rag after. And my fireplace is huge! ;) I have to say it is very time consuming and tedious but to leave the grout the dark color it is (mine is dark) is soooo worth the hard work. I like the dark grout with the whitewash brick. It is a great contrast. Again, I am just a reader chiming in my experience... :)
Hi Cindy!
DeleteI am so sorry I did not see your message earlier (haven't kept up with the blog). I actually did paint the grout, but this particular grout was so porous, along with the brick, that it soaked up what little paint was on there! I would test on a small inconspicuous spot and if the grout soaks it up, try painting the grout and wiping it off. If it doesn't then you know not to paint the grout and just the bricks. It will be more time consuming, but totally worth it. Four years later and the fireplace looks the same and still so pretty!!
I hope you can answer this question. I painted the brick on my fire place and now i want to whitewash it. Is it possible. I painted it a hideous brown.
ReplyDeleteI hope you can answer this question. I painted the brick on my fire place and now i want to whitewash it. Is it possible. I painted it a hideous brown.
ReplyDeleteI don't have experience with paint strippers. You could (very carefully) try a small hidden area to see if it take the paint off. You could paint over the brown, or you could try white washing the brown and see how it looks! It may not be as bad as you thought!
DeleteHow did you keep your grout dark? I have red brick with black grout and I want to keep the grout black.
ReplyDeleteI whitewashed over it, but the grout is so porous it did not readily accept the white wash. It's not as dark as it was, but I still went over it with the wash. I would try to avoid the grout if you don't want it painted. A foam brush may be helpful!
Delete