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Paint Design Dilemma living room

1950's huge wall stone fireplaces

2 years ago

Advice needed - what color would you paint these walls? We don't love the all-white look that's currently in the dining room area, but not sure what else goes with these giant pink fireplaces.

The fireplaces are back to back in the dining room and family room. We're not sure about painting the brick, it seems terrible to paint this old brick, but not sure how to compliment it either.

What would you do with these two fireplaces?

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Comments (4)

arcy_gw
2 years ago
I would celebrate them!! Swap out the brass front screen for something more modern. The brick and flooring is a neutral paint the room as your furnishings dictate.
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Beth H. :
2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago
That pink stone is such an awful color! You can't even find pictures of those original fireplaces any longer. they're too difficult to decorate around.

You're stuck w/white, mauve, beige , or a sickly green. While I get your concern, it's nothing special. if you paint it, you'll still have the original stone. just better looking. (and you can paint the gold insert black)

here are some pics

same stone. gray. a darker gray. (but you have warm yellow wood floors)

while a diff stone, the surrounding decor and ceiling really make this mcm fireplace.

You really don't have any other authentic elements in that room, so keeping it as is is just going to look odd ( unless you plan on decorating like this^)

yours could look like this white one. (change out the hearth to a solid piece of stone)

or, completely redo it.

If you fir it out to attach cement board and new tile, you will keep the original tile underneath it all. win for everyone.

I think something like this w/a black basalt hearth would look way better than what you have

Not the best paint job. use a good masonry paint like Romabio
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You can do it the way you suggest although it may be difficult to attach the plywood (near the firebox opening you can use cement board which meets the code requirements for non-combusitble materials). However, I would suggest that you use mortar, and trowel it on in a sufficient quantity so that it fills up the irregularities and mortar joints and you end up with a reasonably smooth surface. You may have to do it in two coats - first partially filling in the recesses and then a finish coat - the reason is that otherwise a thick coat may sag before it dries. Then you will end up with a surface that is perfect for adhering stone or ceramic tiles to (and it won't stick out into the room as far as a plywood overlay), or even dry wall if you use lead or plastic anchors. This assumes that the existing stone has not been coated with something that will cause the mortar not to stick. If it has, you can use fortified thinset mortar, although it is messier to work with. Hope this helps. Also, since it's 15 feet high you will need a sturdy ladder or even scaffolding (cheap to rent) since the mortar is heavy and you need leverage to apply it.
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I think it's one of those things that if you don't like it, it's not that simple to alter. People paint these and sometimes it works sometimes not. I think it works best when the entire room is painted out as a monochromatic white background but that's a very specific look too. Or you could painstakingly paint the grout a different color and faux paint some of the stone to blend it together. But I don't think you can disguise it or update it in a simple inexpensive fix. I think you need to work with it or remove it. I'd probably mirror the entire space above it wall to wall and mantle to cornice and hang art over the mirror. This is not a mantle for little tchochkes.
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I would paint the walls a pale but warm blue, whitewash the fireplace, put up cream-colored, thicker curtains with a white or cream pole, have blue and soft red pillows and do what you think is best with the bookcase. I would leave that for last. Right now the contrast between the lower and upper half of your room is too great, and the white looks boring. You could paint the walls a warm cream if you're against the blue wall color. I wouldn't put anything on top of the mantel or the bookcase and hang the snowshoes elsewhere. Also remove the two items off the base of the fireplace. In a smaller space you don't want clutter, and whatever is there should be meaningful and beautiful.
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I agree that it needs to go. Above the cubbyhole is a 20 or 25 gallon booster hot water heater that sits on a shelf. I replaced it recently because (it was 15 yrs old) I don’t have a clear idea on what to do and it’s always been there. The bedroom behind it could benefit from the space because it’s the smallest of four. But to get the full benefit, I would loose that closet. I could just pull out the hood and cover with drywall and call it a day. I could pull out the hood, cover the grill with marble, install a sink (got water lines right there) and make it a bar. Or, I could pull the brick, grill and hood out and put in a fireplace with some sort of brick or stone and replace the paneling and leave the cubbies. Maybe make that some sort of bar thing. The more I think about it, the more confused I am about what to do. I’m so tempted to cover it and leave it like a time capsule for someone to find 10, 20 years down the road. Maybe the indoor grilling thing will have made a huge comeback by then. If money wasn’t a problem (within reason say around 8k) what would you do?
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Jennifer Hogan
2 years ago
The yellow paint is not helping the brick. I have a pink brick home with a large pink brick fireplace wall and love that the exterior and interior are tied together with using the same brick.

If you don't want to go white you can use a taupe, green gray or cream.

You can also really make this sing if you aren't afraid to go bold. Eggplant, dark taupe, deep mulberry reds, grayish blue greens are all pretty.

The original photo isn't allowing me to get good results when I try to add creamy whites- they are going greener than they should on my screen, but here are some options.
Sofia
2 years ago
This could be a really cozy room. I’d start with a large piece of art or area rug that you love and that has the fireplace color in it. Then repeat the art / rug colors with furnishings and accessories. This is rough, but just to give you an idea…

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