DIY A Brick Fireplace Makeover Without Painting Over The Brick Itself

Imagine this scenario: You've just bought a new home and are excited about the fireplace in your new living room, but it's surrounded by a wide radius of brick that doesn't match the aesthetic you're envisioning for the space. While you dream up ways to change the color of the brick or otherwise shift the fireplace's aesthetic, the loud comment sections on home renovation Instagram and TikTok accounts are all screaming at you to avoid painting the brick, claiming that it's this generation's biggest home decor faux pas. Luckily, there's a happy medium that allows you to leave the brick unharmed without compromising on your aesthetic and color palette: Use paneling to cover parts of your fireplace. 

Brick fireplaces are believed to add value to your home, as most buyers typically seek out this feature. So, it's important to maintain your home's value by keeping the fireplace in good condition, both in terms of function and aesthetic. Painting your brick fireplace isn't easy to undo, and you might end up using a hue that goes out of style by the time you want to sell your home. If potential buyers don't like the look of your painted brick, it might dissuade them from purchasing the property or could lower their offer.

Rather than painting the brick in her large, built-in fireplace, Instagram user Emily Haufler found a creative way to cover up parts of the fireplace so that her mantle would match her color palette. The most important materials to acquire for this project are wooden planks, which you can get from your local hardware store. You can use a combination of various sizes, mixing the larger planks that are 4 inches or 6 inches wide with some simple, DIY-friendly 1x2 wood planks. For larger areas like the empty space above your mantel, you can use a 4x8-foot plywood plank. Measure the height and width of where your project will go, and use a saw to cut the panels into perfect pieces; remember to use diagonal, 45-degree angles to build slick corners. 

Once your pieces are cut, use a drill to hold them into place around your fireplace. In the video above, the creator left enough room around the fireplace for the brick to still shine, which is a great way to maintain the feature's natural look while still minimizing the appearance of the brick. Then, you're ready to paint the exposed wood whatever color matches your living room's aesthetic. You can also use slim pieces of wood to form beveled frames in any open areas, adding dimension and artistry to the project. 

If building your own mantel and frame using wooden boards isn't ideal for your project needs or budget, there are plenty of other creative fireplace makeovers that will blow you away. One easy way to jazz up a basic fireplace is to add a pre-cut and pre-stained wooden mantel. You can order one online, such as the 60-inch Avana Rustic fireplace mantel shelf, which is a long piece of refined wood that you can drill into your brick lining using a level and then adorn with candles, books, and other decor to elevate the area. You can also buy an entire finished mantel that surrounds the fireplace itself, such as the HOMCOM modern surround mantel, which slides over your fireplace and has a similar effect to the built-in wood coverings in the DIY above. 

Decorating your room to match the rustic aesthetic of a fireplace could help you embrace the built-in feature. Dive into the natural, earthy materials highlighted in rustic decor, such as wooden and leather furniture and sheepskin or cow skin rugs and blankets. You can also use the spread-out brick area for built-in cabinetry that creates more potential for interesting display shelves. Finally, you can paint the walls around your fireplace a color that complements the brick. Use a paint visualizer tool to play around with different hues and find one that goes perfectly with the natural brick.