DIY Fireplace Makeover

September 29, 2019 In DIY By Stephanie Sullivan

Hey friends,

Who doesn’t love a good before and after project!

In between our family room and kitchen we have a freestanding fireplace and it such a cozy thang, but originally it was a total eye sore. As soon as we moved in we knew we wanted to change it STAT… and I thought “What’s better than adding a little shiplap!” Right? I love the texture it brings to this space and somehow transformed this area into a bright and cozy corner of our home. Love it!

Before Pics

Nuff said…so many shades of brown and different stone/tile selections, it was a busy overload of colors.

HOW TO SHIPLAP

We did this project over a weekend between a bunch of kids events… and when I say we, I mean I had the vision and ideas, but my husband is the one who had to deal with getting it done 🙂

But seriously, I’m loving how it turned out!

It really wasn’t a hard project and it was super afforable compared to re-tiling or having stone work done.

Here are the steps we took…

Demo – for sake of time, he had a helper come out to remove the tile. It’s hard work, tedious and messy. It’s a great job for a helper!
He taped plastic from floor to ceiling all around to make sure dust didn’t get through to the rest of the house. This one step is sooooo crucial. A little work upfront saves a massive amount of time cleaning up dust later. Don’t miss this step!!!
Next he had to patch the walls where we pulled the tile out. Most of the wall was fine, but there were several areas that came out with the tile removal. It’ so much easier if you have a nice smooth surface to start the new project.
Then he measured out the shiplap pieces. These were the pieces we bought from Home Depot. Here is a link to the Resawn Pine Ship Lap we purchased. Its about $.75 cents per linear foot… and 6inches Tall. So you can estimate about $1.50 per square foot.
Prepaint! Shiplap has a ton of nooks and crannies and it is so much easier to prepaint the wood before you hang it. It takes a small amount of time and saves a ton of frustration on the other end. We put the boards on tarps and 2X4 (to keep off the ground) and this is where I helped a bit! I used a brush and roller to get the prepaint job done. This project was done with about 1 gallon of paint. Do yourself a favor and by the best paint. It goes on better, less coats needed, lasts longer. I think we paid about $50 for the gallon for Satin Impervo. We used this on our trim too… Really nice paint, flows well, touches up easily, good coverage.
After cutting and painting, he hung the boards with a nail gun (air compressor and nail gun). You could certainly use a regular hammer and nails, but it is much faster to use a nail gun and the result is better because you don’t have to deal with the board moving after each hammer. Get a nail gun… borrow, rent, buy. It’s totally worth it. We use our air compressor all of the time, and nail guns are pretty reasonable (maybe $100 or so) and it’s a really great investment into your home projects. This is the one we own
We applied a Flame Retardant paint on the front and back of the first two pieces of wood above the fireplace. This is overkill as the area doesn’t get how because there is a 6in gap between the top of the fireplace and the wood (ours has a fan area above the actual fireplace). To be safe, we added the paint to make sure the wood isn’t able to catch fire, and then added the Benjamin Moore pain on top. Better safe than sorry 🙂 Here is a link to the paint we used. We just bought a gallon and had a bunch left over.
Then you add another layer of finishing paint… we chose the same as our trim and cabinetry to match. Benjamin Moore White Dove. Since is has already been pre-painted in step 5, it is very easy to go back over to fix any imperfections and make it look “finished”.
We added honed Carrara Marble tile pieces to put on the ledge. It softens the fireplace and I seriously love the look of Carrara Marble! We had the tile pieces rounded on the corners at the tile shop. This seems like an easy thing to skip, but it makes a world of difference. If you have rounded edges it feels soft and smooth… it doesn’t snag, easier on kids if an accident occurs and all around safer. It is really a must IMHO.
Voila done

You can do it!

Hope you feel inspired to take on a project in your home and know a simple change can make a huge impact on the look and feel of your space. We’re ready to bundle up again for the Fall and Winter with this cozy fireplace.

Thanks for reading along friends,

Stephanie

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Hi, I’m Stephanie!

Wife. Mother of 4. Designer. Sharing styling inspiration and home decor tips. Thank you for stopping by, and please say hi if you have any feedback!

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