I hope I'm not offending anyone who has a similar fireplace but it's just not for me. I'd love a more Victorian style fire with tiles and a black hearth and a simple white or black surround. But no, we have the Cream Wonder. Why would anyone choose cream? And the insert...don't get me started on the insert. It might have worked had the rest of the fireplace had an Art Deco thing going on. But it doesn't. It has a B&Q thing going on.
So anyway, reason for rant. I've been looking at ways to make this fireplace more palatable on the cheap. First and foremost I did a bit of covering up with a certain Mr Dylan.
Goodbye mock Art Deco insert. Obviously we can move the frame when it's cold enough to have the fire on but until then it's staying firmly in place. So now I just have to kill the Cream Wonder.
I've Googled the hell out of this and have come up with this. It's a primer and paint by a company called Stonelux designed specifically to paint stone/marble fire surrounds. You are supposed to a) be able to paint over marble and b) end up with a stone effect. It's £41.24 for a litre of primer and a litre of the stone coating paint. Not only that but it's been used on ITV's 60 Minute Makeover. SOLD.
Seriously though, I'm really considering it. The only issue I have is that it's not available in a huge variety of colours:
I can't decide whether to go darker or lighter. I've ordered a free sample of the Grey Limestone but I have a feeling that the White Limestone might also be a contender. It's a tricky one as the wall the fireplace is on is grey...but it's a hell of a lot easier to repaint a wall so I guess I shouldn't let that make the decision for me.
Has anyone else used a paint like this before or had success painting a marble/stone fire surround?
Hmmm, I must admit I like the white limestone. But then again I am not very brave about these things! x
ReplyDeleteHi I'm new to your blog! I must admit I had a little luagh atvyour fire place description. Bob looks great, fantastic idea to solve the horror brass look. A few ideas, i hope your okay with me sticking my nose in? I would hang a large mirror or a picture above the fireplace, straight away itvtakes the emphasis off the fireplace! I would group your ornaments at one end, at the other end i would put a stack of books or a indoor plant! The mantle needs a pop of colour. Last but least, sometimes its best to leave well alone, my experiecne with painting over big pieces like this is like swapping one effing disaster for another. So think pop of colour, something dramatic above the fireplace and regroup the ornaments. I'm popping over to follow your blog now to see what you come up with. Feel free to pop on over to my blog and tell me off if you feel like it. Roberta
ReplyDeletePs The mantle is not bad at all.
I would be inclined to leave the marble, but invest in some really jazzy tiles for the inner panel.
ReplyDeleteHello! Just popped over from Col's blog. What a lovely house and transformation, I enjoyed the tour! For what it's worth, I would go for white on the fireplace!
ReplyDeleteHi there Charmaine! Thanks for the kind words and for dropping by! Do you have a blog I can check out?
ReplyDeleteHi Ana ... just popped over from Hello Olive ... your blog is lovely ... it's great to see your house transformation ... my hubby and I built a new house two years ago and are slowly trying to complete it as budget and time allows ... I'm loving the journey though ... I recently started blogging and I love that it's a way to keep a record of my decorating, making and crafting ... just added you to my reading list, looking forward to updates :) Bee x
ReplyDeleteHi there Bee! Thanks so much for the lovely words! I totally agree, it's brilliant having a b(log) of all the things you've done to a property! It makes the whole thing very worthwhile! Building a house is a whole new ball game though! Wow! I'm off over to your blog now to find out all about it! Thanks again! A x
ReplyDeleteDefinitely the white, although it looks creamy in the swatch
ReplyDeleteIn fact your creative writing abilities have inspired me to start my own blog now. Really blogging is spreading its wings rapidly. Your write up is a fine example of it.
ReplyDeleteStone Fireplace