Fireplace Makeover Before and After

This may be my favorite transformation yet. Scroll down to see the before and after of this fireplace makeover!

Although it felt like it took forever to finish, it was actually a pretty simple project and it didn’t cost a lot of money.

The first time we saw this house last December, I snapped a pic of the fireplace and instantly started dreaming about a total transformation.

The existing mantle was gigantic and coupled with the hearth, it all just felt too high and overbearing. I mean…look at that thing!

I spent months thinking of design ideas and finally landed on something I loved.

I knew I wanted to make a statement with a bold color and clean up the mantle with something more simple and modern.

The first step for this fireplace makeover was to remove the existing mantle and granite slabs…man, they were heavy!

This made things look worse, but I was so excited. It already looked better to me.

Then I built a new fireplace surround out of plywood and trim. *Check the specs of your unit before ever changing a fireplace surround. We have a zero clearance, ventless gas heater so we were in the clear for this design…you may not be!*

I wanted the surround to have a stone effect, so I decided to use Plaster of Paris over the plywood.

It was great because it covered all of the seams, but I’m honestly not sure I would use this again.

Even though I’m happy with the finished look, It was SUPER messy and really difficult to work with.

Greg and I built the shelves on the left side out of 3/4″ plywood to match the existing shelves on the right side and I replaced all of the trim.

I also added trim pieces to the door faces to give them a little dimension. It’s crazy how such a simple change can make such a big impact.

After hours of painting…it was finished. And I am totally obsessed with it!

If you want to watch how it all unfolded, you can see the process in an Instagram highlight I have saved here.