Fireplace Facelift: Welcome to the Tree House

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A study in the power and persuasiveness of paint

 
 

Something about where we landed with this fireplace just makes me want to cozy up with a crackling fire, a Dave Brubeck record and a fine scotch, neat. That said, I’ve been wearing shorts for weeks already and I don’t even drink. But seriously, I’m so thrilled with how this project came together—especially with this being my first official project with Sunny Circle Studio.

I’m Amy, Erin’s old bestie turned new business partner. In 2021, my husband, son and I moved into our home, a 1968 split level with *potential* written all over it. Now, over a year and a half in, it seems like we’ve barely scratched the surface.

That means you’ll be seeing a lot more of my house (dubbed the Tree House) here on the blog as Erin and I work our way through improving it bit by bit—starting with the fireplace in our den.


 

The fireplace, before

original listing photo

Changing the walls in the room happened quickly and easily. I had to cover up the creamy beige walls and dark, wood stained trim fast. The unique paneling I decided to keep once I fell in love with Galapagos Turquoise from Benjamin Moore for the trim. I paired it with Sherwin Williams’ Online on the walls. But when it came to the fireplace itself I was at a loss. The awful off-white painted brick and awkward mantle were not working for me, but with the direction the room had already taken, I wasn’t sure what would.

More than a year of living in limbo later, it hit. Why not continue the teal from the trim, but brighten it up just a shade? That’s when we met Naples Blue—complementary to the Galapagos Turquoise but, lighter and more approachable, yet still refined.

 
 

We started the project by ripping off the decorative hood and metal curtains, then cajoled the mantle off the face of the brick, filling the three screw holes with Quikrete Cement Repair.

Next, we cleaned the brick with scrubbing brushes and Krud Kutter. It was shockingly gross. Like, it felt good to see a much-less-off off-white but also disgusting because ew.

Painting the brick by hand was a labor of love—oh, so much labor!—but it was so worth it. We also wanted the interior of the fireplace to feel as fresh as the exterior, so we used Rutland High-Temperature Black Paint to get the uniform black that we were looking for to really offset the teal.

 

The black interior also created the perfect stage for these gorgeous andirons we found from Rejuvenation. Truth be told, I’m having a moment with these Iron Age relics. They just feel more substantial and versatile than your typical log grate, not to mention much more aesthetically pleasing.

 
 
 

From there we pulled from the roundness of the arch in the fireplace and found a tool set and fireplace screen with rounded edges. Our goal was to keep everything simple, clean and refined to let the boldness of the brick sing.

What do you think? Did we accomplish it?

 

As always, we got you covered with all the sources below.

Thanks for reading!

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Erin Wheeler