fireplace and built-ins

05 June 2014

I fell in love with this picture of a family room from Muskoka Living (here!) and I carried it everywhere with me on on my phone as we were making building decisions. It seems like everyone is painting over brick these days, but I still love it’s classic warmth. mantel I love
It was the spring board for our fireplace and built-ins in our family room. Except that I found out that a curved fireplace was much more expensive than the standard square fireplace our builder provided. I was set on having that curve though, so here is what we decided to do:brick fireplace and built ins

We went ahead and did the brick and built ins, but for that curve, we put a piece of hardie cement board between the fireplace and the brick.fireplace
To make it look more like one piece, I scrounged up some paper from the floor boxes and some painters tape and
tape job
used the rustoleum high heat spray paint.
rustoleum high heat
It’s not as dark of a black as I would like, but I was trying to play it safe since it’s right above the heat of the fireplace.brick arch fireplace built ins
I’m going to live with it for awhile and see if it bugs me. You can see that I’m playing with the shelves as we’re unpacking. I want to do something behind them – paint, grasscloth, wallpaper? Let the fun begin! :)
built ins and brick
Have you ever used regular paint around a fireplace? Did it stay or did the heat do weird things to it?
 photo signature_zps45983bca.jpg

13 comments

  1. You are BRILLIANT! Your fireplace looks beautiful. What a great idea for creating the curved look you wanted. I don't see why the paint wouldn't hold up--the outside of the fireplace doesn't get THAT hot, does it?

    I'm a sucker for painted brick (actually, whitewashed is my favorite), but there is something about exposed brick like this that does have a warm, homey feel, doesn't it?

    Looks like you're doing a great job of getting settled in! How are you feeling?

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  2. That whole wall is my favorite thing ever. Love love love it. And especially love the brick around the fireplace -- such a warm touch!

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  3. Looks great! Will probably last much longer than you realize.

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  4. It's beautiful! You have come a long way from the TX home with all the 70's craziness. I am so happy for you!

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  5. I love it! It looks like you have a gas fireplace...we painted around ours (because it is surrounded with drywall, grrrrr!) And it has held up fine. I think Nester did the same thing with chalkboard paint?

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  6. What a dreamy fireplace and built ins! Absolutely stunning!!!

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  7. Hi Melissa -

    I know I have not commented in a long time, but I read every one of your posts. Your new home is a beauty. What a blessing to be closer to family and getting to live in a house you have been putting together in your head for a long time.
    Genius fireplace fix!

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  8. There are certain specifications for materials that are close to your fireplace that you can find in your owner's manual. I just had to look up my owner's manual for my carpenter to see how close the mantle could come to the fireplace box.

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  9. My house came with gold trim on our gas fireplace. I took all the gold trim off and spray painted it with regular black spray paint. (I think it was high gloss enamel....) I've never had a problem with it since. Well, except for dust!

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  10. I've used the exact spray paint you used and it has held up beautifully for the past 2 1/2 years. We used it on the frame where there was some scratches from previous owners. Blended well and everything! Love your fireplace!!

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  11. The curve on the fireplace is gorgeous! I love those kind of custom touches. And, I love what you have done with the shelves so far. Your new home is really beautiful -- so many new homes lack character, but I can already see you in this house.

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  12. Sigh! I've always wanted a fireplace with built-ins. Your wall is beautiful--and I love your shelves. Have fun!

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  13. Love what you've done! What is the plank wall made out of? Good luck with everything and I'm sure you already know this but I saw on another blog that she switches out her shelving backgrounds by covering and/or painting cut pieces of either cardboard or thin wood so she can change the color of the back with the seasons. This might help since you can use all of your choices throughout the year!

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