Brick fireplaces are functional, decorative and timeless. If your brick fireplace feels outdated, or just isn't matching your personal style, there are many ways to update the look of your brick fireplace without harming the brick or devaluating your home. Before you reach for the paint can, consider the permanent color solution of masonry staining.
What's the difference between staining my brick fireplace and painting it?
Many DIY sites will tell you to paint your brick, but this is a dangerous narrative that could end up costing you thousands of dollars. Brick is made from organic materials from the earth. Although brick is not made from living organisms, it has pores and still needs to breathe to thrive.
When you paint a brick fireplace, you're essentially suffocating the brick. This leads to chipped paint, and although brick is naturally durable for endless an endless amount of time, painting bricks can often times destroy the brick itself. When the brick is ruined by paint, the only solution is to remove the brick and replace it, which is very costly.
When you stain a brick fireplace with a proven permanent brick staining product, the brick stain absorbs into the pore structure of the brick, and chemically bonds to the bricks. The proof that the Masonry Cosmetics masonry staining system is permanent is shown by over 400 brick staining projects lasting 15, 20, 20+ years in the field.
If you're now considering staining your brick fireplace, let's take a look at some brick fireplace makeover inspirations from Masonry Cosmetics DIY kit users!
1. Vibrant Fireplace Makeover with multiple colors
These homeowners found their fireplace to be dingy and outdated, and in desperate need of a makeover. By purchasing a Masonry Cosmetics DIY kit, homeowner Holly got creative with different brick stain colors to completely transform the look of her brick fireplace.
"Wow!! I am so happy with this product! I had the ugliest hearth bricks before using this product and now I love my hearth. It is a lot like painting with watercolors but it works great...I would and likely will buy this product again. I have exterior brick that is the same ugly color and I can't wait to change it too!"
2. The Eco-Friendly Way to Whitewash a Fireplace
Painting your brick fireplace to achieve a whitewash look seems like the obvious solution, but there are many downsides to painting brick, including fumes that can be dangerous and lowering resale value. These homeowners researched other options, and that's when they found the Masonry Cosmetics permanent brick staining DIY kits that are VOC-free and will not harm the brick.
3. Drab to Fab Fireplace Makeover
Homeowner Todd wasn't happy with the look of his fireplace, and wanted a more pop of color on his brick fireplace to match his personal style. By staining the bricks red on the fireplace, and lightening the mortar color, Todd now has the cozy, rustic brick fireplace of his dreams.
4. Modernizing a Stone Fireplace
Homeowner Kelly was unhappy with the newly purchased and laid stone on her fireplace. After researching the best way to change the color of a masonry fireplace, she came across the Masonry Cosmetics DIY kits. Kelly used four masonry staining color recipes for her fireplace, for a modern transformation to her living room.
"I just wanted to say how thankful I am that I found your product! I hated the color of the stone we purchased for our fireplace renovation... I came up with recipes that totally transformed the look of our fireplace. I absolutely love the end result! Thank you so much for all your help and for creating such a fabulous product!"
5. Sleek Dark Fireplace Makeover
These homeowners did not like the "Dalmation" grey and white stone fireplace look. Masonry Cosmetics created a grey brick stain color recipe for the homeowners. By only staining the white areas in the stone fireplace, they now have a sleek dark grey stone fireplace.
Other Ways to Transform Your Living Room and Brick Fireplace
Coordinate and Contrast Paint Colors
The color of your living room walls can make a significant difference to the look of your living room. Study the undertone colors of your brick fireplace to find a good paint color, or find a paint color that flows with the mortar color on your brick fireplace.
Add Textures to Bring Your Living Room to Life
Make your brick fireplace more of a focal point to your living room by using other textures to surround the fireplace. From painted wood paneling to a shiplap surround, adding a sleek architectural feature creates an elegant look to your living room.
Add Built-Ins Around Your Fireplace
Adding built-ins around an existing fireplace enhances the look of your living room space while adding extra storage and acting as a design element. The options and looks for built-in fireplace cabinets are endless to match your personal taste as well as your DIY skills.
Update the Fireplace Mantel
A new fireplace mantel can be a simple way to update the look of your brick fireplace while still making a big difference to your living room. Add a warm, rustic element with a wood beam floating mantel, or modernize with a clean, traditional shaker-style fireplace mantel.
About Masonry Cosmetics
Masonry Cosmetics is the developer and manufacturer of a brick staining and renewal process that permanently bonds with any porous masonry product including brick, block, mortar, natural and manufactured stone. Masonry Cosmetics provides brick staining services and also offers a full line of masonry staining kits sold throughout the United States and have now gone international.
Masonry Cosmetics offers the best masonry stains on the market. Because they are translucent and completely absorbed, our brick stains preserve the natural variation in tone as well as the natural texture of the pre-existing masonry. They never produce an unnatural shine. Our permanent brick stain comes in any color, with custom recipes created for each brick stain project.
Comments