Chic on a Shoestring Decorating: Cheap & Easy Fireplace Makeover


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Cheap & Easy Fireplace Makeover

Our fireplace has been bugging me since the day we moved in... just sitting there, looking cheap and chinzy.  Everytime I looked at it I thought to myself, who thought this looked good??  First of all, the vents on the firebox are brass, who in the 2000's puts brass in their house?  Also, the mantel was small and a cheap light yellow-oaky color, yuck-o. 



Fireplaces are supposed to be beautiful focal points... I love having a fireplace, I love having a mantel to decorate and re-decorate with the seasons, I love snuggling up in front of it with my family and a big bowl of popcorn.  But every time I sat in front of our new fireplace I was distracted by its ugliness.  Something had to be done... pronto.

Now in my dreams I would have loved to rip the whole thing out and build a big beautiful surround with a big chucky mantel and molding that goes all the way up the ceiling, but this blog is called Chic on a Shoestring for a reason. :)  

Time for a Chic on a Shoestring Decorating style makeover: 

First, the yellow oak had to go so hubby and I lightly sanded the mantel and slapped on a coat of white paint.  This was "free" as we had some leftover white trim paint and brushes.


The white paint really made a difference, it made the mantel "pop" from the wall and even made the mantel look a bit more substantial.  But those brass grates.... grrrrr, they are so 1992!! 

Then we spotted this at the hardware store...

High heat matte black spray paint... Brilliant!!  And only about 5 bucks!  We did some googling research and found out that it was ok for fireplace vent grates.  Ya-Hoo!!!  Those ugly brass grates pop right off and my hubby was kind enough to take them in the garage and spay paint them for me.  Easy Peasy!!!

The finished product!



While it's not the huge fancy mantel of my dreams I am so happy with the results!  

I heart comments and new followers! XOXOX


I am linked up to Thrifty Decor Chicks, Between Naps on the Porch, Cottage Instincts, Twice Remembered, and The Stories of A to Z mantel party, & Fireflies & Jellybeans!

The Lettered Cottage

62 comments :

  1. Very nice change! I like it much better white and I don't miss the brass. Love the power of paint! :-)

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  2. That looks incredible!! Love the transformation.

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  3. Looks great! You've given me a couple of good ideas here! = )

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  4. I was blown away by this beautiful transformation! Great job Kate! :)

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  5. Such a great transformation!!!

    {{HUGS}}

    Robin :o)

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  6. Your fireplace looks fabulous. You have inspired me to get rid of my brass on my fireplace!!!

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  7. Very nice--my fireplace is probably my next big project!

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  8. Wow, what a huge difference that makes! It's beautiful!

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  9. What a great transformation! I love the clean white look of the mantel. And I've often wondered if you could use that high heat paint on a fireplace surround. You should link this up to Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch, it would be the perfect post. Kathy

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  10. WOW!! That looks awesome! Love your mantel decor too!

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  11. Love what you did to your mantel. I also love your blog (it's my first time here!) I'll definitely be coming back :)

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  12. Oh wow!!! You guys did such a great job! What a change.

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  13. Fabulous results! You did a wonderful job on it! Love it!

    Cheers!
    Tina

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  14. What a wonderful change it made! It doesn't look like the same fireplace now. It's beautiful.

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  15. Vaste improvement! looks really good.

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  16. Thank you everyone for your sweet comments! You all made my day!! :) xoxo Kate

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  17. I didn't know you had a blog, how fun! I love your decorating!

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  18. I think it looks great! I wish I could talk my husband into letting me paint our fireplace.

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  19. Great makeover. The black looks much better than the brass.

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  20. What a great makeover. I love the new look. My fireplace doesnt have the brass slats, but it doesnt have a mantle either and has a hole above it for our tv. Thankfully we just purchased a nice flat screen so it looks ten times better, but I am still on the hunt for a thrifty mantle. Stop by my blog and say hi.

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  21. I've been desperate to do the same thing for 4 years but can't talk my husband into letting me pop off the brass plate... I'm so going to show him this!!! I'm sick of the brass.

    Great job!

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  22. Love it. I finally got my husband to agree ours needed painting in the fall. He's really happy, too.

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  23. Looks so great! LOVE the white and the brassy-less-ness!

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  24. Everything looks great ... the updated look and your beautiful accessories, too !! Becca

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  25. I did the same thing to my fireplace doors to cover up the ugly 70's brass accents. It made a world of difference. And to think I was going to pitch them and buy some new ones to the tune of about $500! I figured what was I out to try it - $5 in spray paint! and they turned out great!

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  26. Ahhh...so much better! Great job!
    Cindy at Lakewood

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  27. This looks GREAT.Amazing the difference!

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  28. I found you through Thrifty Decor Chick. I love the mantle re-do. I'm all about frugal decorating! I look forward to seeing more!

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  29. What a huge improvement, it looks great !

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  30. everyone is discovering the high heat paint and getting rid of brass!! YAY! I JUST did my entire fireplace surround and the sconces this week! Ann Nicole at Our Suburban Cottage ( http://oursuburbancottage.blogspot.com/ ) just did hers recently too! Maybe we should have a 'ding dong the brass is gone' party! :)
    Lovely re-do!!

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  31. The white absolutely pops! Nice upgrade! Very pretty. :)

    Donna
    http://funkyjunkinteriors.blogspot.com/

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  32. I am so glad you linked to my party so I could see your lovely new mantel! Would you be willing to allow me to feature it in my review?

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  33. That's amazing! I can't believe you made such a difference on a "shoestring budget"! It does look so much more updated and substantial. I really like how you have decorated it too!

    DD

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  34. I love the new look and the way you decorated the mantel! Stunning transformation! MIKI

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  35. Perfect update!!! Such a different feel!

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  36. Looks very nice! A good do-it-yourself project
    a SITS friend

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  37. Wow--

    I am now following you but I will have to come back over later to check out my follower status-it's not showing my picture.

    Cheri

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  38. So much better. I just built a mantle now I need the spray paint to get rid of the brass. Good Job.

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  39. Did you see the Monday post Last weeks winners dated FEB 22? You are on the list of winners.

    cheri at www.itssoverycheri.com

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  40. I just read your blog & have already popped the brass off, going to have to mask off the permanent trim (yikes) and go nuts with the spray can in the house, but wow! I never even thought of this, thanks for such an EASY fix up!! I had put a fireplace screen in front to tone it down! lol

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  41. Found you on One Pretty Thing....Great Job on the fireplace. I wish mine would be that easy but it is all brick and has some marble too....I don't know when or what we will do with it.

    http://spottedsmiles.blogspot.com

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  42. it is amazing what paint will do. wonderful job!!!

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  43. Soooooo pretty !! The transformation is gorgeous and you've accessorized it beautifully !!

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  44. I am so glad to see that you painted it white! I love it. I am not a fan of the previous color of wood and unfortunatel, it's a classic color for a lot of the newer fireplaces. Your fireplace looks fantastic!

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  45. This is my first visit to your lovely blog via Kimba's Soft Place to Land. Your mantle looks great painted. I think the color adds more contrast. The black frame on the mirror and accessories you've used draw your eyes up from the grill. Beautiful job!

    Deborah
    http://fairfieldhousenj.com/2010/04/03/flowerplace/

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  46. I have a similar fireplace. Great job, you've shown me what to do! ;-)

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  47. I think I will have to try this! It looks so good! I have a brass fireplace as well. Do you know if the high heat spray paint comes in any colors other than black? I checked one place today but they only had black.

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  48. I painted my brass insert with the heat-resistant black paint, but I haven't attacked my mantel with a new look yet. I need to! I'm going to poke around your blog now ... happy new year!

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  49. Its amazing what a little spray paint can do. Looks so much better. I need to tell my mom about this stuff. She redid your entire mantel area and it looks awesome except the shiny brass!

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  50. nice transformation .. i love the new look ..

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  51. Can you give some advice as to the type of paint you used for the mantel? Was it eggshell, flat, how many coats, etc? Thanks!

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  53. It's funny how fireplaces are such a nice addiction to the home but if they are ugly they can ruin the beauty of a home.

    -Zane of ontario honey

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