What would you do with this fireplace?

J

jaspn

This brick fireplace and mantlepiece is in a 1960s house. The walls throughout are an antique white which doesn't look too bad (kinda cozy for the style of home). Carpet is a soft peachy pink, tiled hearth is a sandy orange. This living room is connected with the dining (open plan) which has light grey 'slate look' lino. There's kind of a mishmash of styles going on.

The whole fireplace doesn't look good at all IMO, and at minimum need to be addressed with some paint. What would you do here colour wise?

fireplace1.jpg



fireplace2.jpg
 
I would paint the brickwork the same colour as the walls, re-carpet to cover the horrible floor times and leave the brick hearth as a brick colour. You can hide most of the yuck factor but IMO the floor tiles are the worst bit, especially with a peach carpet.
Oh and get rid of the pink mantlepiece and the pink skirting - white is always good! Feature walls work BUT only if they are the right colour.
Having said all that - if it is a rental leave exactly as it is. It wont add rent and it looks in fairly good nick
 
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Paint the pink either white or wall colour. Bricks I am in 2 minds, either wall colour or leave as is as any light colour will highlight any rust/grot/grime on the fire itself.
 
Check my insurance, ensure a wood fire is covered in a rental,
tenants seldom do anything propertly, and may burn down the house

edit:: Of course I'm >hugely paranoid, tenants have burned down one​
 
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Really? I'm surprised by the majority advising not to paint the bricks. This is what I was envisaging, kind of like a grey on grey combo as a feature:

fireplace1_adjusted.jpg


Keep the hearth quite dark to hide the ash/mess. Perhaps I'll rethink this one and leave as is, while only changing the pink. The property belongs to a family member and will be for sale soon (not rented), so trying to maximise CG...
 
The coating would have been put on to stop them shedding dust. Too hard to get it off. I would give it a scrub with a strong bristled brush and hot water - maybe some sugar soap.
It's a personal thing, though. I like that look.
But I also have a lime green kitchen bench that some people here said unkind things about.
 
jaspn said:
Really? I'm surprised by the majority advising not to paint the bricks. This is what I was envisaging, kind of like a grey on grey combo as a feature:


Keep the hearth quite dark to hide the ash/mess. Perhaps I'll rethink this one and leave as is, while only changing the pink. The property belongs to a family member and will be for sale soon (not rented), so trying to maximise CG...
Click to expand...
That looks great, but draws attention to the less than stellar steel work, 6 of 1 1/2doz of the other
 
I'd go the grey - but also invest in a wee tin of "pot belly black" and paint the fireplace fa?ade as well ... will look so much better.

Sheesh - pink with yellow-ish tiles - no accounting for taste
 
lizzie said:
I'd go the grey - but also invest in a wee tin of "pot belly black" and paint the fireplace fa?ade as well ... will look so much better.

Sheesh - pink with yellow-ish tiles - no accounting for taste
Click to expand...

You don't think it makes it all too dark/goth lizzie?

fireplace1_adjusted_2.jpg
 
I like the dark fireplace, but I'm not sure if I'd use grey. It brings in "another" colour when there is already peach carpet, beige two tone tiles, brickwork, pink fireplace and trims.

I would paint it the same colour as the walls and keep the brick as it is, paint the fireplace itself black (special paint or stove black from fireplace shops or hardware stores) and I'd be tempted to cover those beige tiles with something, maybe black tiles, or a black mat. I'm not sure what would help to stop the tiles clashing with everything else.

More importantly :) how did you do the fireplace in grey (what programme)? That would come in handy for picturing how something will look. I'm impressed and keen to know what it is.
 
I would go antique white over the pink, clean up the bricks, tile over the floor tiles and absolutely number one........put a large mirror over the hearth. You can't beat Smoke and Mirrors.
 
Forget about the fireplace - what's going on with the ceiling?

Anyway, chalk up another red brick fan. Personally I like a combination of red brick, concrete and steel as an aesthetic. Not that it helps much here but I reckon cleaned gloss red bricks should go well with grey otherwise. Mirror is also a good idea but if it was my house I would rather use the fireplace.

But then I also liked Scott's kitchen!

If it's an IP it would be hard to financially justify much more than a coat of paint and decommissioning of the fireplace through exposing the red brick behind.
 
I'm doing a reno for profit atm, I had a similar room/fireplace, this is what ive done.

28vdd1t.jpg





That's a black marble hearth, and ledger stones on the face, Total cost was about $400, but it's a bit classier than just tiling it or painting it.

I then have a similar jindara style heater going in it I got off ebay.

I'm making a 50mm thick polished Vic Ash mantle to match the polished boards in the rest of the house.
 
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