Fireplace Makeover- How I Painted My Fireplace & How it's Held Up

This is not a sponsored post.

Recently I had some questions about how I painted my fireplace that I haven't answered in previous posts. I thought I'd do that today. 

First, here is my fireplace before & after:

Before:

1977 Asymmetrical Fireplace with Bookshelf 

After:

This fireplace was such a source of frustration to me when we first moved in. I didn't know what to do with it without demolition. As you know, this blog is about decorating on the cheap. There is no way I was going to pay for that. I searched Pinterest and eventually found myself on Jenna Sue's blog. There I found my inspiration and got to work!

Painting the fireplace.

Before painting I took a bristle brush and cleaned the entire fireplace to get rid of dust and dirt. Then primer. My favorite primer is Valspar bonding primer. You can use a brush or a roller for this. I used both. Then came the Sherwin WIlliams semi gloss in Summer White. I used a standard roller made for smooth surfaces on the surface of the bricks and a brush on the mortar between the bricks. 

And the same thing on the bookshelf, EXCEPT that I recommend using FLORTROL. A paint additive that reduces brush and roller marks, as well as drying time. It's the best thing you can use on any kind of furniture or cabinetry if you want a more professional looking finish. 

I recommend waiting 24 hours with between coats.

How has it held up?

It's been three years since I've painted the fireplace and it pretty much looks just like it did three years ago except that which you'd expect with use. I have NOT used the fireplace at all since we moved here, so I do not know how the heat would impact the paint job. I can say that I learned to to apply more coats to brick that may be a traffic area. We have to step up onto the fireplace to reach our bookshelf so that area tended to grab dirt and was hard to clean. This is because the brick is so porous. More coats help with that, but be careful. You don't want to apply too many, too soon. It will peel. Make sure you let the coats cure in between. This does drag out the process, but you'll be trying to remove paint and paint again if you don't. Take my word for it. 

So take your time and be patient. If you do, you will have a lasting finish. 

Happy painting! :)