Brick & Brass Fireplace Makeover In A Day

This quick update is a one day commitment and can cost $30 or less, depending on what you have on hand.

A friend recently asked for help in her home. She and her husband work and have two daughters. Time is a commodity and her home has not had much updating since she moved in. She wants something light and fresh, maybe with touch of coastal/beach. (Insert; me happy dancing!) Her oldest is graduating college and her youngest is graduating high school in June. There will be parties and visitors and the clock is ticking. While she would like to do the kitchen, dining and living room we have decided to focus on the living room for time and budget sake.

My first hurdle was one wall in the living room. It is covered with faux bricks and an off-centered fireplace with a dated brassy-gold metal surround.

                                              *Sorry for the bad photo. I used my phone.

The family cleared the living room and took off to visit colleges leaving the room for me to work in for two days. First up was that brass surround. I tried to remove it-that was plan A, but no luck. It wouldn't budge. Okay...I am not deterred. Plan B- I taped of the glass on the fireplace screen and taped paper around the brick to protect from over spray. I put a paper inside the fireplace in case any paint made it through the cracks. I put down drop cloths (-everywhere!!) and grabbed my high heat Rustoleum spray paint. ($7) I used black.

This took 3 coats. If you are attempting this here are my pointers: Open windows between coats (to prevent the paint from blowing around). Follow the directions and allow each coat to dry. Three thin coats are much better than a thick coat that may run and ruin your project. Start spraying on the paper then in a back and forth motion spray your frame, being sure to keep the appropriate distance. Take your time.

Now to tackle the rest of the wall. There were bricks that had come dislodged. I reapplied them with Liquid Nails and taped it in place to dry. Some of the bricks were cracked. I used spackle (I had this on hand) and a small putty knife to fill the cracks. I was not too concerned about smooth surfaces. Once the cracks were spackled over I grabbed my white and off white chalk paints.

I used Folk Art Home Decor Chalk paint; purchased at A.C. Moore. They were on sale and I picked up three colors for $21. While it did take all the white I purchased, I used very little of the off white and taupe/gray color.


                                     

I poured some of both whites onto a paper plate. Using the same putty knife I dragged the paint onto random bricks. After the paint and spackle were dry I used a sanding block to knock down and edges or marks not consistent with the look of the bricks.

Using a 1:3 ratio I mixed white chalk paint with water. That is 1 part chalk paint to 3 parts water. Stir, stir, stir and then stir some more. you will need to continue to stir as you are applying as the paint tends to want to settle. Now the messy part. I used a chip brush, nothing expensive, and worked in about three foot square sections. Brushing on the paint is messy and drippy. The bricks are porous and take the paint quickly. The grout was a little more resistant but I got the hang of it. I used a rag to dab and rub to my liking. There is no right or wrong way to this.

Standing back, I like the look, I think. I will keep going to get one coat on everything. At this point I realized I should have protected the fireplace surround I had just painted so I had to stop and cover it. (I just get so excited when I get something done that I like to look at it but now was not the time.)

I liked this look but we were going for something different based on photos my friend/client had found on Pinterest. While this dried I got a coat of new paint color on the walls.

The brick was dry. I grabbed another chalk paint in a tan color mixed in the same 1:3 ratio. I brushed this on random bricks. And, that did it. That was the look we were after. I used the sanding block and sanded through some of the paint wash to see a bit of the brick color in some spots but ever so lightly. Depending on the look you're after you can sand more. the chalk paint is easy to sand through.

The colored bricks on top need a little white wash and a sanding to match the bottom ones.

I removed that paper and tape from the fireplace. This part of the project took only a few hours but I did paint the walls and got a coat of paint on the trim the same day. I'll come back the next day to give the walls and trim a second coat but the fireplace is done... Now it needs a mantel ....

Stay tuned.... 

and yes, I am still working on my own house!

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Paint and Stain Test Lab

Warning! This is not one of those easy projects that make Pinterest look good. This was grueling and not for the faint of heart and as a result- this is a long post.

Now that my living room wall is planked it is ready for some color. This wall was a bit of a splurge for me so I want to make sure I don't mess it up. I want an aged, beach wood or barn wood sort of look but not really sure what I am after. Mister thought we should try a whitewash first.

Not quite what I was looking for. A trip outside to talk to a tree guy about taking down some dying trees sparked inspiration. Looking at the decaying maple tree in our yard has given me some idea of what we are after.

We did not want to use traditional stain due the smell and mess cleaning up. (I am not a neat DIYer.)

I thought I should test this out along with some ideas I have seen on Pinterest. I used all the cut pieces left over from our planked wall to practice on. This wood is pine, nothing extravagant.

I have been dying to try the instant aged technique and had read that you should let the apple cider vinegar sit with a piece of steel wool soaking in it for 24 hours before using it. I read another blogger that said she did not wait but just went right at it and got good results. I am not a patient person so after an hour I proceeded.

It left my pine kinda red-ish; not the look I am going for. Back to Pinterest...I read that if you first brush on a strong black tea that the vinegar mixture will react to the tannins in the tea and age better. , Okay, I gave it a whirl. Well, I still was not happy with that outcome, either.

                                                      Doesn't this look like Sid the Sloth?!

I decided to wait at least 24 hours like some blogs suggested. 24 hours had passed and again,  I tried just the vinegar on 1/2 of one board. Meh.  I tried the tea with the vinegar over it on the other 1/2 of the board. That time I got a darker color but still not what I want so I will press on. 

                The top of this board is just the vinegar, the bottom is tea with vinegar over it.

Mister said it was too much trouble and really wanted to find a one-step product. 

We made it to Home Depot where I found a product called Varathane Weathered Wood Accelerator (VWAA) that claims to age wood instantly without the smell of stain; water clean-up. We'll give it a shot. And, I tried the VWAA and sorta liked how it turned out but... 

thought a bit of white washed in would be the ultimate.

But, while I was at it, I wanted to try some other stuff, too...since I was practicing and all. 

Totally different direction; I grabbed leftover paint from other projects in blues and greens and brushed them onto a piece, blending the colors and mixing in a light touch of the gray. I really liked this look but it's too much for the wall. 

I used 4 tablespoons semi-gloss white paint I had on hand, mixed in 1 tablespoon of plaster of paris and 4 tablespoons room temp water to make a wash.  I brushed it over the stain and I brushed it onto a new, untouched board. Still not satisfied, I will keep going.

I used the same mixture but this time used the dark gray paint we used behind the plank wall. While I liked the outcome of this mixture I think it will be too dark for the room. We want to lighten it up.

So I did it again on another board but then whitewashed the whole thing with my plaster of paris mixture from before and gray-washed some, too. Hmm...

On each board I went back over a small section of it with the vinegar mixture to see how it would look.

I posted a picture on Instagram looking for some direction/affirmation and I got it so I happily sashayed toward my plank wall with paint and stain in hand-quite happy with the decision. (By this time that vinegar mixture I had made was a few days old and was giving me a darker color but still not quite grayish so I decided to ditch that idea and went with the Varathane Weathered Wood Accelerator)  I was all excited to start slapping that stuff up on the wood!

Once it was finished I stood back to survey my handy work and was relishing my good fortune of finding a product that worked right out of the can. Hmm...it seemed to be just a bit off from the wall color on the connecting walls. I wasn't sure if I was seeing what I thought I was seeing and then Mister rounded the corner and asked "Is that lavender?" UGH!!!! Yes!    

           No!  

       Yes, yes, sigh.
(Hanging my head loooow.) It's lavender but maybe it is just the lighting or something. Wait til the sun moves around, turn the overhead light on, do something, tilt your head, squint, anything.... UGH! It's lavender.

I could also see the edges of the wood where we had so carefully made sure to space them. They were still the unfinish pine color. That's NOT going to work. So, now my thinking was that the vinegar stuff will give it all a woodsy color over the lavender gray and it will fix it.

GAH! Nope. My wall was now completely stained in the ironized vinegar concoction and it was blotchy because I worked from the left side of the wall first, then middle, then right side. As it continued to dry it was more obvious and I hated it!

What if I dry brush some white to distract from the blotchy?

Okay, this may work. Wait. What's happening? The vinegar stuff was turning the white a yellow color... it kept bleeding through...and it stinks like... vinegar! The whole point of not using traditional stain was that we didn't want it to smell and while vinegar is not toxic it still stinks. On all my samples why hadn't I noticed this?! Ugh! 

At this point I told Mister, " I am a fraud! I have no business doing this stuff, why would anyone want to read about this?" He listened to me whine then told me that I would figure it out. Okay.

The vinegar stuff does stink. Mister said he didn't smell it but I did and felt like I had been for a few days. It only stopped once I brushed on a sealer. I used a bottle of water based wood sealer I had on hand and let it dry. The next day I hit the wall again with a watered down chalk paint in gray. Too dark.

I grabbed the white chalk paint, watered it down 50/50 and dry brushed it on. My blending skills need some work and the strokes were too much. I lightly sanded the whole wall then watered down more white chalk paint, 3 parts water to 1 part paint. With an old rag I washed the watered down paint on the wall.

Ahh..... there it is. Not exactly what I started out wanting but with the adjacent wall color and the media cabinet I think it will do quite nicely. I lost most of the knots in the wood and the grain. A little of it does show through but not like I had started out wanting, but that's okay. I like the layers of colors.

Mister painted the lattice strips down each side the same color as the adjacent wall color. Leaving them like the wood planks seemed too messy going in different direction than the planks. Because of the spacing and the dark wall color behind the planks it does resemble a painted shiplap effect. I've been staring at it for about a week now and I have decided that I love it.

Next stop for this room is crown molding and then everything gets another coat of paint. Getting close to end in this room and I am so ready! Can't wait to share it with you, too!

Important things to remember (learned from hours of missteps):

#1 It would have been much easier to do the edges before it was put up on the wall.
#2 Work one row at a time-don't stop and don't overlap. If you don't heed this warning it will be blotchy.
#3 Vinegar stinks.
#4 If you plan to paint over the vinegar stain you have to seal it so it doesn't bleed through.
#5 Don't give up! It may not turn out the way you wanted it to originally but you can end up liking  the finished product as much or more than the original plan.

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Wood Planked Walls Tutorial

Our quest to relocate the television in my living room has given me opportunity to try some things I have had in my mind for a while. Mister has been a good sport and has been quite obliging.... I am not going to question it; just push on!

The wall the television is to be mounted on needs shiplap. Now, I have already had my troubles with the whole shiplap thing as far as trying to do it on the cheap. You can read about that here. My solution for that room was completely different from what I wanted for the living room.

I went to Lowes and found shiplap! Mister was surprised that it truly existed and that you could get in in Massachusetts.... it's not just a Texas thing.

We weren't ready to buy it yet and wanted to check Home Depot's prices. When we were ready to do that wall we ran off to Home Depot. They had shiplap but it had edges that were beveled. Can you see it in this picture? 

YUCK! I did not want that. It reminds me of place we go for breakfast that looks like it has not been remodeled since the early 1970's. 

While we were at Home Depot I called Lowes because I was now wondering if their shiplap had beveled edges, too and I just hadn't noticed. I got some young guy on the phone that confirmed their edges were beveled, too. (Warning flags should have gone off with this kid; it wasn't until days later that I realized I had taken pictures at Lowes and the edges were not beveled but I was at Home Depot and wasn't thinking about that when I was making executive decisions.) UGH! Home Depot did have wood that was pre-stained but it was thinner; only 6 inches. 

So, I don't want beveled and I didn't want the pieces that were only 6" wide, even though I loved the idea of mixing the stained pieces... so..... Think! Okay here is plan B: we purchased a gallon of paint to paint, 3 paint stirers and 12 pieces of 1x8x8. (That is 1 inch thick by 8 inch wide by 8 feet long.) We also picked up two pieces of lattice, 2" wide by 8 feet long and happily traipsed home. 

Mister painted the wall with the paint we purchased. We used a dark gray color. This is important if you're not using real shiplap. Once the paint was dry we started applying the lumber. We started with the top because, as I have previously talked about, our house is not level or square-anywhere. Wonkiness is the name of the game in this house and level doesn't look level when all is in place. Board one went into place with ease and Mister cut board two. Using two of the paint stirers as spacers we held up the second board and nailed it into place. The last board was ripped down on the table saw to fit.

Notice the paint stir sticks between the bottom two boards here! 

My youngest working along side of her daddy. Proud mama moment.

Oh, the dark paint-this is where the dark gray paint matters; remember the spacers? Well, if the wall was light colored you would see it between the boards, ruining your shiplap effect and it would be a bear trying to get a paint brush in there! That is why this was an important step. Once the boards were up Mister cut and nailed the two lattice pieces on either side to cover the ends, giving it a clean, finished look.  

This wall is 7.3 feet wide by 7.6 feet high. The cost to do this wall was a little extravagant for us considering it is such a small wall. The wood and lattice was about $125 and the paint (we bought a gallon but a quart would have done it) was $25-$30 (I can't find my receipt). 

That tv bracket swivels all over the place! 

Here the tv is level and you can see the it looks wonky against the wall. Notice the furniture lines against the wall, too. WONKY!

Here we shimmed (stuck a piece of 1-by under one side to show how much it would take to make it look right. WONKY!

Now comes the fun part of painting or staining this wall... but that will be another post but because we spent so much money on this little section of the room I don't want to mess it up. Stop back by soon to see what I did to the wood!

***UPDATE: You can see the finished project here.

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