TWEAKS+inspiration : Update Your Fireplace Next Weekend!
- kathleen
- 5 hours ago
- 2 min read
Phillip and I had always had wood-fueled fireplaces until we moved into our current house in Oakland, CA. Turns out, this house had ceramic logs in a gas fireplace. Huh? This was new to me. You light the gas and you have a fire. It was a hot fire but noisy, energy inefficient and hard to light as the gas valve key was almost beyond a human wingspan from where to light the gas. I could live with all that, but it was SO dated. Of course, I was on a budget but surely something could be done. Let's see what happened.
P took off the glass doors, lightly sanded the "brass" and painted the metal trim using a spray paint made for fireplaces (at Home Depot, etc). We also changed the wood handles to a black metal.
I painted the surround with a similar heat-resistant paint in matte. The paint is designed for barbeques and fireplaces. I wanted to paint inside the fire box a black but that seemed like too much work.
woodland direct
We did have the fireplace serviced including checking the gas line and adding more ash coated coals at the base. We kept our oak "logs" but you can change the look by rearranging your ceramic logs or buying new ones - I like white Aspen logs (pictured above) as they show up better in the fire box.
If you have a brick surround or mantel, the quickest and least expensive way to change the look is with paint. If you have a TV on the brick above your fireplace, I'd recommend painting the brick a dark color so a black tv doesn't look jarring.
my photo at the SF Decorator's Showcase
Don't you love the look of both these painted fireplace surrounds?
On Lizzy and Erin's blog, the dark red brick dominated the living room and kitchen. By the way, most any mantel or trim can be removed. Bolt holes may remain but they can usually be patched.
Do you know about he German schmear technique? It is a DYI project and just look at the amazing results on Lizzy and Erin's blog. A thin layer of mortar is applied to brick or stone and then smeared off before it dries to create an aged, whitewashed finish. You can control how much original brick you want to have show through. Beautiful! Hope I've given you something to think about. In a weekend, you could have a whole new look for not much money. In the meantime, have a wonderful Sunday!
For how-to from Lizzy and Erin's blog, check out :
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PS ~ Did you hear that Diane Keaton passed away yesterday at only 79? I admired her incredible spark and stunning style. In 2019, she co-authored a book on California Romantica homes - those California and Mission-styles I love. That Christmas, Santa (P) gave me an autogragphed copy. One of these days, I'll write a blog about the two tear-down Califorian-style houses she preserved and then lived in. In the meantime, I'm hoping to live each day with grace and a lot of Keaton spark.
Keaton's book in my living room
Diane Keaton's autograph on left.
a page from California Romantica
