How To Whitewash a Brick Fireplace


 



We had an old red brick fireplace that really made our family room look dated. No matter what kind of decor I put on the mantel, the red brick stood out like a sore thumb. I hated it! 

I did so much research on different brick treatments that would brighten my room.  I was torn between painting the bricks or  going with a white-wash treatment.

For those of you who don't know, the process of white-washing is like painting, but the paint is watered down first, applied to the brick and then wiped off.  

White-washing seemed like a good option for me because, truth be told, I was afraid to paint the fireplace a solid white color.  The thought of going from dark red brick to stark white was a little frightening, but I really wanted to do something with the brick that would brighten the room.

I watched a ton of how-to videos before I picked up my paint brush. I ended up with a limewash product from Romabio in the color Bianco. It's a really white color lime wash paint. I'll link the product here:


The instruction calls for you to wash the bricks or wet them down first.  I did that first.  Then the instructions call for the paint to be mixed with water. The amount of water depends on how deep or thick you want the lime wash to be. I wasn't sure how much of the red brick I wanted to show through, so, it was a little wait and see with the first few bricks. As I went along, I was better able to gauge how much limewash to apply. 

Here's a video of fireplace before and after:



Whitewash Process

Ok, so here's the process:

1. Dilute your paint with water
2. Use a separate bucket of water and rags to wipe down/clean the bricks
3. With a wide brush, apply paint to small sections of the brick fireplace
4. With a spray bottle of water, go back and gently spray the painted brick in small sections, and wipe with a rag to get the desired depth of color.

What's great about this process is that you can wipe away as much of the limewash as you like with just a little squirt of water, or add another coat of paint for deeper coverage. The paint dries in about 30 minutes.

It was easier than I thought.  Now the white fireplace is bright and the entire room looks amazing!



Disclosure: Links may contain affiliates. When you buy through one of our links we will receive a commission. This is at no cost to you. Thank you for supporting Life on Greenwood and allowing me to continue to bring you valuable content.

No comments:

Post a Comment

FEATURED POST

EASY HOMEMADE GRAVY RECIPE WITHOUT DRIPPINGS

Would you like to master the art of making homemade gravy without using any drippings? Everybody knows that gravy is not the easiest thing t...