Family Room Fireplace Transformation

 

Our home has two fireplaces and each one has its own vibe. The upstairs fireplace (check out that fireplace update post here) is more formal and clean while the downstairs fireplace has a cozier, authentic feel to it. I prefer the downstairs fireplace vibe so much so I wanted to maintain the natural brick versus painting over (at least for now!).

BEFORE PHOTO

When we moved in our basement was actually a home office. As you can see we had a lot to update in order to make this space right for our family's needs. For this post I am only focusing on the fireplace update but you may recognize that brown trimmed window from my Window Trim for Days post. 

We made a lot of changes at once that had a visual impact on the fireplace which first included removing the built in desk along the right wall which was drilled into the fireplace, pulling up the carpet, scraping the ceiling and putting in cans.

The final demo update was to remove the custom built mantel seen here lying on the hearth.

The first thing I did was use Spray Nine Fireplace Cleaner that I found on Amazon to clean the fireplace. Don't be shy about how much you apply, I found it was easier to get the grime off of the brick when it was saturated. I had a wire brush for some tough spots but mainly just used a cloth to wipe the excess off. Be sure to wear rubber gloves and work in a well ventilated room, this stuff is pretty potent. 

It really freshened up the bricks. I also bought some birch logs for the fireplace to give it some depth. My next step was to figure out what sort of mantel I wanted for my new space.

I couldn't find anything I liked online. I was looking for something more natural or recycled. That's when my dad told me he had found this piece of mantel wood he thought would make a good fit over my fireplace. I agreed and it cost me only $60! 

I first wanted to darken up the wood a bit so applied multiple coats of Minwax Wood Finish Penetrating Stain - Dark Walnut.

I also found these amazing mantel brackets on Etsy @IndustrialFarmCo. I decided to apply some Minwax Paste Finishing Wax as a final step before mounting them. It was easy to apply with a few paper towels I was able to get a nice even coat across both brackets.

I loved that how it looked with the solid industrial looking brackets and darker stain on the mantel. I also was happy that I went with a mantel that wasn't the entire length of the brick which was something I was thinking about doing.

Another update we made to the fireplace was to add the top white trim piece. You can kind of tell that we decided to add crown molding to the rest of the basement and we wanted that clean white trim line to continue across the fireplace. We ended up just using a 2 x 1 piece of trim since we had an outlet on the ceiling we had to work around. I painted to match the trim with the same Sherwin William Snowbound White.

I found some fun decor pieces at Home Goods to mix up with pieces I already owned (that mirror!). We also mounted our TV so it can pivot towards the couch or lay flat on the wall squarely over the mantel. I really love how this space transformed.

 In the end this project really took months given the level of demo we had to do initially so it is hard to pinpoint. From a cost standpoint I estimate it was around $240 to complete including; mantel $60, brackets $60, supplies $20, wood trim $20, birch logs $30 and decor $50