Revamping the Fireplace

Our fireplace is in the perfect spot to be a focal point in our den (attached to the kitchen). But it just wasn't. It was blah, no brick or stone and a beige nondescript tile that did nothing for the room. After I painted the room Benjamin Moore' Mineral Alloy, it looked even worse. I decided it needed some pizazz!

Nondescript fireplace.

I decided the easiest thing to do would be shiplap to increase visual presence with minimal investment. So, I went to my local Home Depot and picked up a 3/4" sheet of plywood and asked the guy to cut it horizontally at 5.5". Well, as luck would have it, it was his first day and the lady before me was his first cutting experience (great). He asked me to hold the measuring tape in place while he measured... I locked in in place for him. He measured and marked and then struggled with the saw. I suggested that he should measure from the bottom and then allow the piece to drop down after each cut so the saw was already in place for the next cut. He didn't believe me and went to get someone else to help him... who then measured from the bottom and allowed it to drop for each cut {insert eye roll}. I'd also like to note that neither of them were wearing protective eye wear... I even pointed it out to him that he could get in trouble for it... he just shrugged. I digress. This type of help at Home Depot SHOULD only take you a few extra minutes and save you a lot of trouble. Remember that when
you cut it at 5.5" it will be slightly shorter because I didn't feel the need to adjust measurements to accommodate for the blade. SOME Home Depot experts will help you out on this one if you feel that's necessary for your project. I headed home with my long sheets and some baseboard trim for the top and sides. I decided I didn't want to rip down the existing crown molding, so I bought a piece of trim with a thin side to butt up against the crown molding and a thicker side that would match up to my thicker base molding. a little spackle and caulk to fill in any gaps (and it's at the ceiling anyway, so I'm the only one who will notice!).
First, I measured and drew a line where the trim would go on the sides. Pretty certain they didn't go into any studs, but added caulk and and paint later made it secure enough. I then measured in between my frame and cut the long pieces with my miter saw. I used nickles for spacers. I opted NOT to use glue in case someone (including me) ever wants to rip it down. You're welcome, future home owners! I did mark the studs so I was certain to put nails into a few studs at the very least, and I used my level to keep things in check since my pieced were ripped down by the less-than-accurate Home Depot saw and the guy who didn't know how to use it. I had to adjust a bit here and there. I managed to only need to match the very last piece and fill in the gap with spackle... but y'all know spackle is now my thing so I owned it. At this point, I was feeling a bit regretful that I didn't give the top more flare... so I cut some angles of the top trip and spackled those in too...you're seeing the theme here, right?
Caulked edges and started to prime and paint...and at this point I wished I had painted white behind my shiplap. And then, I wished I had painted the edges white as I went. I read that on a blog somewhere and just thought that didn't apply to me for some reason. However, because the wall is at least the room color behind it, I find now that it gives the shiplap edges a little more depth so I don't regret it. But if you have a red wall you intend to paint...paint it first. Overall, it took a lot more paint than I thought it would.

Then, I stared to the think through the beige nondescript tile... It didn't go. It didn't fit my vision or the overall look of the room. It had to go. I knew I didn't want to spend a lot of money or time re-tiling it, and if we were going to replace the floor piece, we should have done it when we replaced the rest of the floor--not after! I decided to try spray painting it white. Covered everything. Opened windows. Researched which paint to use and went to town. 
I do not recommend this method. It was messy and quite frankly looked like I had spray painted it. No worries! I had other plans!
First, I decided to give the inside tiles around the fireplace a little cheap facelift. I decided on stick-on tiles. I used these Peel & Stick Wall Tiles. They basically required a box cutter and some patience. But overall it was very quick! Am I worried about heat? Maybe...but because of our kids we don't run the fireplace often. It was cheap and if it doesn't work--no big deal! But I did see this as an example on several websites. So, I'm not the first person to do it. It looks great and really makes the fireplace POP as the focus of the room. Now, I was left with the floor.... I knew people converted counters all the time so I started to look into materials used for that. I finally settled on trying a Giani Countertop Paint Kit. But that was $80 I didn't want to spend. VOILA!

They have a "small projects" version for half the price. Thefirst step is to pain the whole thing black. So much for all the white I just painted on there! This has to dry completely for four hours before you start sponging on the additional colors. So, mine ended up sitting for at least a day.
Then, I started sponging on the additional colors... and pulling up YouTube videos with tips and tricks for making this look realistic! Of course, at this point I realize I have ordered the wrong color kit entirely. The page must have refreshed when I was contemplating the order, and I didn't realize it in time. I couldn't return the kit at this point so I decided I would give this one a go and add a BUNCH of white at the end to get my desired look. I ended up running out of white and sponging on some of my Benjamin Moore white. I wanted it to match anyway. I tried to get creative and make it look more like marble which messed it up all together and I ended up adding more black... which got me gray...and that actually worked. I finally got it to a desirable look and let it dry before applying the clear topcoat that makes it shiny like granite or marble.

I'm not sure it's perfect, but it looks REALLY good. I'm pretty happy with it. Again, let's talk safety since this is a fireplace... we have an enclosed fireplace with gas logs. I have no idea how flammable this is. So, if you have an open fireplace with embers popping out, this might not be a good solution for you! It works for my situation.
Overall, I'm pretty happy with the final outcome for the fireplace. It REALLY works in the room. It creates a focal point for that end of the house, and I think it really works with the kitchen. Which is good because this is what you see from the kitchen!

Final fireplace.