A painted fireplace is the interior trend quickly taking our Instagram feeds by storm. Here’s how to do it, even if you don’t actually have a fireplace (yet).
Who doesn’t love an original period feature? To score yourself a home, whether it be rented or bought, that comes with an ornate fireplace is an interiors dream.
Not only do we love that it feels like a little piece of history in our humble abodes, the variation in styles from different eras make it a real statement piece, especially in a living room.
Interiors influencers have been utilising this by turning their fireplaces into a feature using one simple method: a pop of colour.
By painting the fireplace mantle (the shelf on top and the exterior that runs either side down to the floor) you can create a real focus for your room and give it a new dose of personality.
It can feel like a big move to touch something that’s been there for, potentially, longer than you have – but you know what they say: she who dares, wins.
But even if you don’t have a fireplace, you can still try this trend. In fact, we spoke to part-time renovator and interiors magpie Sophie Abbott. After all, she fitted her own fireplace and then painted it a very fetching, pale pink.
How do you fit a fireplace?
Abbot says: “After we moved into our house I knew I wanted to try the fireplace trend. We love renovating, so our house was already a shell and we were planning on starting over, so it was exciting to imagine the living room from scratch. Although there wasn’t a fireplace in there already, I’d seen videos on how to DIY one and was determined to make my vision happen.”
Abbott already had a gas fire in her house but started doing research after deciding that what she really wanted was a log burner.
Her first step was to speak to a professional about disconnecting the gas. After that she used a fireplace company to make her alcove bigger and to install a lintel (which goes up the chimney).
“I picked my own tiles for the bottom of the fireplace and had those fitted. This was a really fun part of the process and I’d recommend picking a really fun colour or pattern,” she explains.
Once her log burner was fitted she looked on Ebay to find an old, reclaimed mantle piece. Although thrifty, this meant she had quite the task ahead of her to turn it into the fireplace she’d imagined.
After wiping it clean, she used three lots of paint stripper and scraped the last paint debris off. Then she used an orbital sander to finish and sand papered the delicate areas. Finally it was time for the best part – picking the paint!
She says: “After priming the mantle piece I chose Farrow & Ball’s Estate Egg Shell. It’s especially good for metal and wood and I loved the powdery, peachy pink hue. It’s now my favourite thing in my living room and I’ve loved styling it with plants, ornaments and prints in both complementing pinks and clashing colours.”
Fireplace ideas
Whether you have a fireplace already or you need to build one, the prep that needs to be done before picking the colour and styling is obviously the hardest part. But when that’s all done you get the joy of deciding the concept of your room, which is where hours of browsing inspiration pictures comes in – yay!
Here we’ve picked five fireplace looks we think look particularly stylish to give you a healthy shot of inspiration.
Pastel pink
This is probably the most popular fireplace colour, and it’s easy to see why. Pastel and dusty pinks create a playful feel and can be contrasted with dark walls for extra drama.
Burnt orange
If you fancy going for a boho look, burnt orange looks fantastic alongside pampas grass styling. You could use an assortment of glass vases along your mantle piece, or one giant vase filled with dried flowers to sit in the fireplace itself.
Steely blue
A dark, moody fireplace looks stunning next to a velvet sofa or chair in a rich jewel tone. It’s a match made in interiors heaven.
Mint green
If your fireplace has a lot of ornate carvings a lighter colour will show them best, which is why we particularly like this pretty, mint green.
Mustard yellow
Give your living room a 70s feel and opt for a mustard yellow fireplace. We recommend accessorising it with red like in the picture above, or a leafy green.
Bright white
The good thing about a white fireplace, as designer Luke Edward Hall proves here, it gives you an empty canvas for accessories. We love the kitsch vibe he’s gone for here.
Images: Sophie Abbott / Instagram
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