Dark Gray Painted Fireplace Focal Wall

Even though white and bright colored spaces are very popular right now, sometimes the change that will make a room pop is a dramatic contrast — something like these black and white ideas we shared recently. Our guest today knew her traditional-style fireplace wall needed an update. Instead of going with white like the rest of the room, she painted the fireplace a contrasting deep charcoal gray to create an eye-catching focal point in the room — and it also helped hide the smoke-stained brick and soot! Check out the results:

If you’re not sure about going darker, check out some of these beautiful spaces that have used gray and black to make a beautiful statement — and keep reading to learn how to paint a brick fireplace (whatever color you want!)

Granite Gray Painted Bathroom | The Corson Cottage on Remodelaholic

Gray Painted Kitchen Cabinets, featured on Remodelaholic
by (from top left) LoveLee Homemaker, House for Five, and This Little Momma

Gray Board and Batten Focal Wall | Live on Virginia Street on Remodelaholic

Black Board and Batten Kitchen Island Update | Remodelaholic

And now, give Tanya a warm Remodelaholic welcome — if you’re a long-time reader, you might remember her and her blog (formerly Dans le Townhouse, but a new house means it’s now Dans le Lakehouse!) from our previous features of her play kitchen made from a microwave stand and her simple modern DIY desk. 

How to Paint a Brick Fireplace
by Tanya of Dans le Lakehouse

My husband and I recently purchased a lovely house on Lake Superior that we plan to renovate more extensively once we save up some cash, and figure out how we’d like to use the space and what really needs to be tackled.  In the meantime, we wanted to refresh the space on a small budget and the fireplace was one of the projects where we’ve seen the most impact for smallest outlay of cash (and time!):

The fireplace facade is a kind of faux stone made from concrete, which was decked out with brass vents and doors.  The vents and door were painted with Rustoleum High Heat Enamel spray paint, which required no primer and has a fabulous formula that seems to prevent any drips or sags.  It also dries really quickly!

To paint the stone, I vacuumed the faux stone thoroughly with a shop vac, and then brushed off any loose bits with a brush.

Then I simply brushed on a paint and primer in one (Behr premium plus in Evening Hush).  I applied the paint thickly with an angled brush, pushing the painting into the crevices and then smoothing it out.  I only needed one coat, although I did go back and touch up a few areas after the first coat had dried.

To paint the uneven edges beside the white walls, and around the vents, I used a small artist’s brush for better control.  The same paint and primer covered the pine paneling as well.

I used a can of spray paint and a gallon of paint and primer, but the results are so dramatic!  I used a satin finish paint to keep the finish from looking too matte.  The “facets” of the concrete now catch the light and in the right light it seems like the fireplace could almost be slate or some other dark grey stone.  The satin also makes the fireplace much easier to wipe down and keep clean than a flat finish.

I’ve seen a lot of beautiful painted fireplace, especially white ones, but I decided on a more unusual dark grey because ours was smoke-stained and I thought grey would easily hide any future soot while adding a dramatic focal point to our all-white living area.  When we first toured the home it was difficult to see past the homeowners’ furniture and the dated fireplace, but in the end it was so easy and inexpensive to make the space ours:  in addition to painting the fireplace we removed the window valences, and painted the walls, oak trim, and ceiling a crisp white.

See more photos of the finished living room (plus before and after photos) in this post and this post.

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Tanya, we are so pleased to feature you again and we LOVE the new look you’ve given the place! Can’t wait to see what else you’ll do in your new home!

Head on over to Dans le Lakehouse to pay Tanya a visit and see all of the great work she (and her husband) have done, both in her previous townhome and in the new lakehouse, like solid wood DIY kitchen counters and a painted particle board floor. 

PS: Check out more of our favorite fireplace makeovers here.