How to Whitewash a Brick Fireplace

My house was built in the 80’s, so naturally we have sunken living rooms and red brick, oh, that red brick….so dark and so ugly. There have been many updates done in our home, but the brick continued to just irk me. The previous owners in our home replaced the wood burning fire place with a gas fake-looking-wood-burning fire place, another annoyance of mine. I took it upson myself to do a DIY on how to whitewash your brick fireplace.

When I brought up the idea of painting the brick, my husband was not on board. I am not sure if it’s a man thing or what, but any dude I spoke to told me it was damn-near desecration of the perfectly ugly brick. Well, after almost a year of pestering and a pregnancy, he caved. I could finally whitewash my brick fireplace.

Before doing anything, I researched, I planned, and then I got started. I was surprised with how easy the process was. For the space that I did (approx. 100 sq/ft ) it only took me about 5 hours. I feel like I could have finished it much more quickly, but I have kids and they still need to be fed and watered (just kidding, my hubby was home, but I still have a nursing baby and I like to play with my older boy).

I am going to tell you how I white washed my red brick and updated the look for literally nothing!

Supplies needed:

• Bucket (I used 10.5 L)
• Paint (I used Barren Plain- Behr Grey) It was leftover paint from another project. I recommend that you use a white or grey tone
• Stir stick
• Water
• Paint brushed (find some that you don’t care about – the brick ruins them)
• Rag
• Painter’s tape

Vacuum and wipe down the brick. This ensures that we get the little cobwebs, dust and any other debris from the brick. Be sure to do this thoroughly it will make the process much easier for you. If you have painted the brick before, you will need to remove this paint from the surface.
Tape any areas that you are concerned of. I used latex paint; it was easy to remove if any splatter ended up on the floor or fireplace. We did use an old plastic table cloth and draped it over our TV and TV stand. I recommend you cover any item that you are concerned about.
Prepare the white wash. I literally eye-balled it. I did approximately 50% paint and 50% water in the bucket, using a stir stick to mix it well. I poured a small amount in a dish and tested a small area before really committing. Wait approximately 30 minutes after application to see if you need to add more paint or more water. Play with it to get the colour you desire.
I started at the top of the brick. I dipped my brush and made sure to cover the brick and then dipped again to paint the mortar around that brick. There are several ways you can do this:
• Paint the mortar and fill in the brick
• Paint the line of brick and follow with the mortar
• Paint the brick and the mortar at the same time
I painted the floor and the sides of the brick at the very end.
I waited at least 24 hours before doing any touch ups.

Reminder that brick is very porous and will absorb the paint. If after 24 hours it isn’t white enough, you can either go over certain bricks or the entire surface again

I am so happy how this turned out. Even my husband was surprised how much he liked the new look. It really updated the space and brightened up the room. This is a really cost effective way to really punch up the space. Now, if only I could get rid of that ugly fireplace….stay tuned…