Get organized! See our favorites in the shop

Remodelaholic

DIY tutorials, Woodworking plans and more.

FREE BONUS: Kitchen Organization Boot Camp
  • Home
  • About Us
    • About US
    • Contributors
    • Facebook
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
    • Instagram
    • Disclosure and Advertising
    • Contact Us
  • Shop
  • Project Ideas
    • Our Houses
      • Birch House (current projects)
      • Canyon House
      • Park House
      • Downing House
      • Logan House
    • DIY Project Plans
    • All projects
    • Barn Door Baby Gate
    • Dutch Door
    • Framing A Wall Mounted TV
    • Indoor Playhouse
    • Beach Themed Living Room Design
    • Chicken Coop Building!
    • Computer Desk
    • Computer Desk Plans
    • Custom Newel Posts and Stair Remodel
    • Family Room Sneak Peek
    • Headboard Tutorial
    • Living Room Progress
    • Mood Boards
    • Scrabbled Family Names
    • Pets
  • Design By Room
    • Bathrooms
    • Landscape
    • Kids Bedrooms
    • Kitchen
    • Living Rooms
    • Laundry Rooms
    • Master Bedrooms
    • Mood Boards
    • Office
  • Holiday
    • Christmas
    • Halloween
    • Patriotic
    • Easter
    • Fall
    • Saint Patrick’s Day
    • Thanksgiving
    • Spring
    • Valentines Day
    • Winter
  • Crafts
    • Printable
    • Art
    • Paper Crafts
    • Kids
    • Fabric Crafts
    • Decorate
  • Recipes
    • Appetizers
    • Beef
    • Beverages
    • Breakfast
    • Chicken
    • Desserts
    • Dinner
    • Fruit
    • Healthy
    • Holiday
    • Lunch
    • Main Dishes
    • Salads
    • Sandwiches
    • Sauces
    • Seafood
    • Side Dishes
    • Soup
    • Vegetables
  • Videos

Tips for Surviving a Fireplace Makeover

Written by Thalita

  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Hey Remodelaholic friends! If you’ve never seen my name around these parts, I’m Thalita and I normally blog over at The Learner Observer. We’ve been renovating our house for the better part of the last 3 months, and it’s safe to say that it’s been a crazy rollercoaster ride, but we’re surviving and even have a few finished spaces. We’ve managed to get the nursery ready for our twin boys, got the powder room in order, and the family room has also been finished. Yep. Three whole rooms!

The family room was by far the most involved of all of these. Want to see what it used to look like?

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

That was the family room on the day we got the keys. Not exactly what one might call pretty, and the fireplace being off center, shiny brass, and with poorly done stonework (which covered up gorgeous brick with cement) drove me absolutely crazy! We worked with our contractor to make this into the fireplace of our dreams, and I have some tips on how you can do the same, without it costing you a small fortune!

This dated mantel and fireplace makeover is stunning! Shiplap combined with penny tile and a wood beam mantel.

This post contains affiliate links for your convenience. Read our full disclosure policy here. 

Tips for surviving a fireplace makeover

1. Keep an open mind

We started our thinking we could simply lower the mantle, paint the stone and brass insert, and we’d be done. It would have been super budget-friendly and we loved that! Then… we realized the stone was essentially falling off if we even touched it and that’s when we discovered cement hiding behind it, plastered over top of the brick. If we tried to lower any of that, things would surely break and we would be messing with the integrity of the original wood-burning fireplace – no good. This room was being shiplapped and our contractor asked if we’d want to shiplap the whole thing. He even drew a quick sketch of what he imagined it as for us so we could better understand his vision (super handy).

Img 7641

This wasn’t in the budget, but because we were already getting a new mantle and doing the shiplap (and this wasn’t much more material), it didn’t hurt our bank account too much. Which brings me to the next point…

2. Try to do some (or all) of it yourself

We saved a few bucks by dismantling the fireplace ourselves as much as possible. My husband started the job and then my dad went over and took off all of the stone facing and prepped the fireplace to be recovered by our contractor.

The Learner Observer Family Room Renovation Theloreno 14

I painted the gas insert myself in a heat-resistant paint (I used this one), which wasn’t too hard to do. Here’s a rough picture I took the night I painted it. Because when you have babies things like this have to be done at night, right?

The Learner Observer Family Room Renovation Theloreno 9

3. Be frugal, but still get what you want

I wanted marble. I really really really wanted marble. But with an entire house to renovate and this unexpected change already eating into our budget, I didn’t want to spend much on the tiles for the fireplace. I knew I wanted marble hexagon tiles, but I just couldn’t find one that suited the budget, so I got creative and looked for other tiles I loved. We have a black and white ceramic hexagon tile in our bathrooms, and I decided to go for the same look here. Rather than black and white, we went for all white with a soft grey tile so that the texture and pattern of the tile come through. I dare say this was a darn good compromise on my white and grey marble!

4. Be thoughtful of details

Thankfully we had a great contractor who thought of a few things for us, like making sure we could hook up our TV easily above the fireplace by having an outlet there and also adding in a PVC pipe to run down to the side of the fireplace in case we needed to run any additional cables to and from the television. So smart. You can kind of see that in action here:

The Learner Observer Family Room Renovation Theloreno 11

And those are all of my tips! Pretty straight forward, but they can save you major headaches and also some money! Now let me show you the rest of the makeover, because what good are all these before photos without some afters?

As you can see, we had the fireplace framed to go up to the ceiling. This meant not having to alter the original at all (which would have cost more) and also prepped us for the next step here which will be to add built-in shelving on either side since the fireplace is so far off center.

The Learner Observer Family Room Renovation Theloreno 10

Then came time for the drywall and shiplap, which I was really excited about because I could finally see it all coming together! You can see below how our contractors mapped out the height of the mantle for us, which was really helpful.

The Learner Observer Family Room Renovation Theloreno 12

The Learner Observer Family Room Renovation Theloreno 1

And then some tile, and this little beauty was all finished! Here’s a true before and after. Less wallpaper, more shiplap. Less stone, more shiplap. Less brass, more matte black. 

From dated wood paneling and wallpaper with a crumbling stone fireplace to a beautiful bright white shiplap and tile fireplace and a wood beam mantel

Now can we go ahead and look closely at the details, like the tile and that gorgeous mantle built by Grain Works Collective!

Fireplace And Mantle Makeover The Learner Observer For Remodelaholic 11

Fireplace And Mantle Makeover The Learner Observer For Remodelaholic 12

The soft grey ended up working really well also with the corner piece, which is aluminum. And I just love how the hex pattern shines through without the whole thing being too graphic.

The mantle was actually made to look like a beam and our super talented contractor (who is also a carpenter) did that for us.

Fireplace And Mantle Makeover The Learner Observer For Remodelaholic 14

Fireplace And Mantle Makeover The Learner Observer For Remodelaholic 9

Did you catch my DIY faux calligraphy artwork on the wall, there? I still have big love for that piece and I’m so glad it survived the move!

I’ve kept things pretty neutral in this room with colour really only coming through in a few plants, and I love the soothing, relaxed feel of the room.

Fireplace And Mantle Makeover The Learner Observer For Remodelaholic 6

Fireplace And Mantle Makeover The Learner Observer For Remodelaholic 5

Have you ever completely refaced a fireplace like this? Any tips you’d add on? Let me know in the comments, and if you have any questions, I’m happy to answer. This makeover is definitely not over, as we’d like to add shelving and cabinets on either side, so there’s still more to come!

Until next time!


See more fireplace makeovers:

Farmhouse Mantel And Fireplace Makeover Step By Step @remodelaholic

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
Remodelaholic is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. Please see our full disclosure here.
We love hearing from fellow Remodelaholics, so let us know what you like about this and leave any questions below in the comments. If you've followed a tutorial or been inspired by something you've seen here, we'd love to see pictures! Submit pictures here or by messaging us over on Facebook.

Published: February 6, 2017Filed Under: Contributors, How To Tagged: Fireplace, Living Rooms, makeover, mantel

About Thalita

Thalita is a mom of twins, teacher, and blogger over at The Learner Observer. She is a frugal DIY-er and avid lover of thrift store scores with a passion for making over spaces with pieces that are both meaningful and beautiful. Favourite colour? White. Favourite food? Ice Cream. Favourite Pastime? Instagram, where she shares an abundance of pictures of her twin boys along with her latest home reno and decorating adventures!


free email bonus

Kitchen Organization Boot Camp

Is your kitchen a zen paradise? It can be. I'll show you how.

Previous Post
Silhouette Sharpie Mugs for Valentine’s Day
Next Post
Real Life Rooms: Neutral Living Room with a Burgundy Couch

Comments

  1. SUSAN says

    February 6, 2017 at 8:19 am

    That is a fantastic makeover! Love the tile and the mantel.

    Reply
    • Thalita says

      February 8, 2017 at 8:10 am

      Thanks so much, Susan!!

      Reply
  2. Johanna says

    February 7, 2017 at 12:27 am

    Fabulous renovation and make over! Congratulations!

    Reply
    • Thalita says

      February 8, 2017 at 8:10 am

      Thank you!! We are smitten with this fireplace!

      Reply
  3. Khadija says

    February 7, 2017 at 6:34 am

    Ohhh, I LOVE what you did. It looks delicious! I love the stone with the wood with the tile and the bit of greenery! OMG perfect.

    Reply
    • Thalita says

      February 8, 2017 at 8:11 am

      Thank you, Khadija! Plants are such an easy way to bring (literal) life into our decor!

      Reply
  4. Jana says

    April 14, 2017 at 5:57 am

    Beautiful! Do you know what color stain you used on the mantle?

    Reply
    • Thalita says

      April 19, 2017 at 11:37 am

      Thanks so much! I believe it’s a custom colour, but it looks very similar to Dark Walnut and Provincial (both by Minwax) mixed together. I hope that helps!

      Reply
  5. MonicA says

    April 14, 2017 at 9:29 am

    Love it! Where did you find that tile? It’s perfect!

    Reply
    • Thalita says

      April 19, 2017 at 11:37 am

      Thanks! It’s actually from The Home Depot!! 🙂

      Reply
  6. natalie says

    October 30, 2017 at 9:40 am

    I love this makeover!!! I’m curious, is there a reason you didn’t just shiplap over your current wallpaper and paneling? I’m in a similar position and considering leaving it as is and just applying the shiplap right on top of it. Would love to hear if there was a reason for removing it. Thanks so much!!

    Reply
  7. Lauren says

    November 18, 2017 at 10:55 am

    LOVE this makeover and your style 🙂 Do you have dimensions for your mantle?

    Reply
  8. Kristen Wallace says

    February 7, 2018 at 1:46 pm

    Beautiful! The inch white border directly around your fireplace, is that just painted wood?

    Reply
  9. wendy says

    June 15, 2018 at 10:52 pm

    so lovely! can you tell me what the dimensions are for your fireplace? also, where did you purchase it? it’s the perfect size! thanks!!

    Reply
  10. Kat Karimi says

    March 5, 2019 at 5:47 pm

    My husband and I are doing something very similar with our fireplace, and our contractor is also going to make our mantel look like a beam like yours. Where did you buy the raw wood for the mantel?

    Reply
    • Verna says

      May 30, 2019 at 8:19 pm

      I would like to know the same thing. Where do you get wood that looks aged and with that type of grain?

      Reply
  11. Hosie says

    August 31, 2019 at 4:06 am

    How do you dismantle the rock part?

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

We love hearing from fellow Remodelaholics, so let us know what you like about this and leave any questions below in the comments. If you have followed a tutorial or been inspired by something you have seen here, we would love to see pictures! Submit pictures here or by messaging us over on Facebook.
Recipe Rating




Hey there, I am Cassity! Nice to virtually meet you!

This blog is about DIY at its finest. We are obsessed with it and so are you, so while we're working and have nothing to show you of our own projects we show off yours. So submit your projects! More About Us…

Categories

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Meet The Team

Privacy Policy

Remodelaholic is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. Please see our full disclosure here.

© 2005-2016 Remodelaholic LLC, All Rights Reserved

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Copyright © 2021 · Remodelaholic

  • Pinterest
  • Facebook
  • Twitter