How to Resurface a Fireplace

While the temperature heats up many people want to do a little redecorating but think it might be too expensive. Lighter colors are a good choice for the summer warmth as they tend to reflect more light. White or beige colors tend to bounce more light around a room and can help to cut down on energy bills at a time when everyone could use a couple extra bucks. Numerous options are available for every budget, so let's take a look at how to redo your home decorating today.

Candles are a great way to redo any room simply by choosing a few good colors. Pier 1 is currently running big sales where you can buy a lot of great candles for under $10. Take a look at the Aspen Flower Candles for something to accentuate your home decor.

If you have a brick fireplace in your home, I always like to recommend the Brick-ANew fireplace cleaner to take off all of the soot that may have gotten on your fireplace over the winter. With a little effort you can bring out the true beauty of your brick or stone and even get it ready for a coat of fireplace paint.

To round out our list of items for this summer, take a look at the latest collection from West Elm. I recently picked up a sweater rug to go in front of my fireplace with marvelous results. A small rug starts at $89 so you can pick up all three items listed here for less than $130. Happy Decorating!

For this lens we are going to look at the various ways that you can resurface a brick fireplace. If you are looking for instructions on resurfacing a stone fireplace you can see my instructions at my lens on the subject. Resurfacing brick is a lot easier than stone and there are a lot more options available.


The first thing that you will want to do is decide on how to prepare the surface. If you have large amounts of plaster that hang over the brick you may want to consider attempting to take some of this extra material off in order to create a more even surface. This is especially important if you are planning on painting your fireplace and the results will be much more desirable. Take a sturdy screwdriver and chip off small pieces if possible. If it is an especially large amount of mortar you will want to consider sandblasting the brick surface. If you choose to go this route you will want to lay down some plastic to avoid getting the fine sand all over your living room. This may sound a little complicated but you can generally rent machines for less than $50 at many equipment rental shops and its a great feeling to do it yourself.


After you finish with your preparation of the surface you will want to decide on what sort of finish is appropriate for your fireplace. The two most common types of resurfacing involve either staining or painting the brick. Staining is a popular option if you want to preserve the natural look of your brick. Stain is available from any home supply store and can be easily spread with a paint brush or simple sprayer. Over time, however, stain tends to fade, making it a more temporary option. For this reason painting is the more popular choice, allowing for a wide range of color choices that will match your living room's decor. Fireplace paint is widely available online and you can buy inexpensive fireplace paint kits that will allow you to easily apply the colors you want with a brush and a couple hours of fun.



With either technique that you choose to use you will want to make sure that you protect your flooring from any paint or stain that may drip down as you paint. At any supply store you can buy tape and plastic to seal off any areas that you think may get splattered. Most people generally do not worry about the mortar either, tending to paint or stain over the entire fireplace, mortal and all. This makes either technique fairly simple and can be accomplished on a free afternoon.

So you've made the choice to stain your fireplace. Now what? If the bricks you are going to stain are different colors from each other you will want to take this into consideration. If you are attempting to match lighter bricks to darker ones you will need more stain than if you are going for a lighter effect so keep this in mind when purchasing your stain. An employee at the hardware store will help you navigate the different colors of stains as well so this can help if you are trying to achieve a particular color. You will also need a fairly large paintbrush or roller and a pan to put your stain in. Plastic can also be a good idea if you are concerned about the stain getting on your floor.


Begin by laying down your plastic and putting some tape to hold it securely in place. Pour your can of stain into the pan and swirl your brush, making sure to soak the brush and mix up the stain a little bit. Begin by testing how the stain will look on a brick in a spot out of sight. Allow the stain time to dry to make sure you achieve the desired resurfacing effect.


Once you are sure the stain is going to meet your standards begin painting the fireplace in up and down strokes, making sure to coat the bricks evenly. You can continue to apply stain to achieve a darker effect or allow each layer time to dry to gauge exactly how the fireplace is going to look. Stain will sometimes dry lighter so keep this in mind in determining the appropriate amount for your bricks.

If you are like the majority of people you will probably come to the conclusion that you will want to resurface the fireplace with a fresh coat of paint. Fireplace painting is a common way to give a fireplace an updated look without spending too terribly much money. The process for painting a fireplace is very similar to the process for staining except that you will want to choose an acrylic latex paint to put on the brick. This type of paint is widely available at any Home Depot or other hardware store.


As with staining it is a good idea to test the paint on an area that is not highly visible. Allow it to dry on the brick to make sure that it will be the color that you want before painting a larger area. You can even paint over the mortar so you can avoid the hassle associated with having to tape it up to protect it. Lay down plastic to avoid paint splashing on any carpet or on the mantel.


For more pointers take a look at on my other article on fireplace refacing ideas.

If you have a fireplace mantel, which I assume you do, it can often get extremely dirty if you don't clean it for a while. Dust builds up on the surface of the fireplace, not to mention the cobwebs and even mold that can crop up in an otherwise clean home. I recommend wiping down your mantel with a drop of natural house cleaner dissolved in a bucket of water. The little bit of soap will help to disinfect your mantel, killing bacteria that could cause your mantel troubles in the future.

Aside from this lens I also have many others on a wide range of topics. I have several other articles available on fireplaces, such as how to choose a heatilator fireplace blower or a set of heatilator fireplace doors. If you have a temco fireplace then I have info on temco fireplace doors too.


If you are searching for more great fireplace decorating hints then you may want to take the time to read my other lenses. I have several years of interior decorating experience so I am positive that you can find something that will suit your home and its decor. Please see my main lens on decorating mantle for more great ideas!

I help home decorators in Atlanta find new items for their decorating jobs in addition to my family (which is a full time job!). If you are considering buying and decorating a new home please check out the site for my brother, a surveyor in Georgia, and my sister who works at an art gallery and event space in Valdosta, Georgia.