Whitewashing our fireplace was the cheapest and easiest renovation we’ve ever done. It also drastically changed the look of our living room. Our original fireplace took over the room and stood out in an old, unfinished way. After we whitewashed it, the appearance changed in a couple different ways. 1. It looked smaller and didn’t seem to take over the entire space. 2. It was still the center of attention, but this time in a clean and elegant way. If you have a brick fireplace and are looking for a budget friendly renovation, try this one out!

What You’ll Need:

White paint
Water
Bucket
Cloth rags
Paint brush
Drop cloths or towels

*Spray paint and painters tape if you want to paint the mantle.

Instructions:

Mix 1 part paint to four parts water (to increase thickness add more paint).
Brush paint on in small sections and then wipe it off with a damp cloth rag. *The harder you wipe the less white it will be.
Let it dry and then repeat for a whiter look. The less paint you use the grayer it will be.

*If you want to paint the mantle, tape it all off with painters tape and then lightly spray one coat of white spray paint. Repeat until you are happy with the finish.

We also added a palette wall, which was just as cheap but took a bit more time. Tyler found some old palettes at work and cut them into different size lengths. He nailed them to the wall on each side of the fireplace, and that was it! These palettes came colored like you see in the photo, because they were really old. Newer palettes don’t usually have any color so you can stain them to get a similar effect.

Happy Painting! Comment below and share a pic if you’ve done this before!