Have you ever thought about doing a Fireplace makeover? What a great way to update a room
When Doug and I took over Mom’s house the previous tenant had painted the white block red with black grout. Needless to say we were shocked when we walked in for the pre-move out inspection.
What were we going to do with this monstrosity now?? We thought about tearing it out, painting it, bricking or rock over it and finally came up with what I think was the best solution for our situation.
Build over it…Yep!
I started researching looking for Fireplaces with Mill work since that was the look in our kitchen. This is what we came up with.
We first built a frame to attach the MD F. You can’t attach MD F to existing block because it’s uneven and you will hate the results. This makes it level so when you do finish it out it will look seamless and smooth and even! ( Sorry for the blurry picture) Obviously Doug didn’t take it!
It was then covered with with MDF (Multi Density Fiberboard) covering the whole thing. Yeah, no more ugly red block!!
This was pre Fixer Upper days so if I was doing it now I may have changed the design a bit with ship lap on the top half , but I really love how it came out. ( We could always do ship lap later!! Don’t tell Doug!) We already had Mill work done on the kitchen posts and copied the same design to give it a bit more interest. Then we sanded and painted it out with several coats of Satin paint to match the crown molding. We also continued with crown molding on the top to finish it out.
So with the mill work done, Doug then went to work building the hearth and veneer around the firebox with the same brick we used in the kitchen.
He was able to raise the hearth a bit so now it’s nice to sit on when a fire is lit. I didn’t get a picture when Doug finished…you get the idea!
Now, putting the TV over the fireplace was not my first choice, and we had tried every lay out to make it work otherwise. But as you see, that’s where it is. I lost that battle but live to fight another day!!
If you can in any way place the TV on any other wall I would. I personally think the focal point should be just on the fireplace if at all possible. But sometimes available space and layout make you compromise. So, we made the call and moved on…I did make sure at the end you could not see any wires or cords.
We added an industrial fire screen to tie in with the rest of our house.
This is my spring/summer decor, but at Christmas I really do it up.
My days of hanging a wreath over the Fireplace at Christmas are over. LOL.!!! But even with a TV, you can still do some really nice Christmas decor.
When researching my blog I came up with several designs, including some that have a real industrial feel. I Love the look of the two below…the contemporary industrial design really pulls at me, but I know the direction I went was the best for us and the design of our home.
The distressed wood is killer…you know me 🙂
And then there’s Ship Lap!! Well, you decide, but I love it. Mill work on the lower half…nice! The Book Shelves are pretty great too!! Yes I know, there’s a TV above the Fireplace. Seems to be more the norm…I need to get over it!!
I saw this picture and realized this is my fireplace with ship lap!!!! The Mill work and brick is exactly like ours only with the ship lap on the upper half…I can see it now!!
If you already have a rock fireplace and want to add ship lap to the top…you can. This may take some demo of the existing rock on the top. Maybe you have a stucco fireplace and love the look of rock…this is an idea for you!
So, If you hate your fireplace, you are not stuck…I hope this gives you some ideas and if you’ve already completed a fireplace makeover, send me pictures…
I would love to see what you’ve done!!