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How do i disguise my fireplace surround?

12 years ago

I live in a rented house and my style is very shabby chic.However,in my living room i have a beech wood fireplace surround with black squares.Is there any way i can temporarily disguise this?

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Comment (1)

Emily H
12 years ago
Hi hatty, Do you have a photo you can share of the fireplace to get a better idea of what might work for you?
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Hello Questn, A good room you have there and good floorboards! Don't rip it all out and start again! I would say take all that part out that you mention. The rest is absolutely fine!! With the hearth (the floor bit) take it out carefully as you may find a piece underneath that you can paint- I'd suggest a black or have a piece of slate made to sit there... The room is a good size so I would definitely open it out more.. I have attached an image of mine with a focus on the opening.. Unfortunately in the 30's they bashed up the marble surround threw it in the recess and put a little 30's fire in front.. I couldn't afford to replace it. So I just created a mantle with what little budget I had.. Ie None! Point of the photo is to show you the opening with just a basket. I put in a new lintel to be safe buy you should be able to check as you start removing the front. No need to remove the mantlepiece while you do this. I would have a think about the chimney breast colour before you decide on a colour for the mantlepiece. Little Greene do a lovely colour for the space above the picture rail and also the ceiling.. Whitening- it's a lovely chalky and bright creamy colour.. perfect for those two areas. Decide on a nice colour for the chimney breast and then paint the alcoves and rest of the room with a nice light colour to compliment... So for an example.. Grey moss (Little Greene) for chimney breast, Whitening (LG) for above space between picture rain and cornice and also ceiling. Then for alcoves and other walls..Ceviche is quite nice complimentary colour... For the skirting, picture rail and cornice, make sure you paint these all the same colour.. An eggshell in slaked lime (LG) could be good... All depends if you want it to really contrast or compliment.. I have not mentioned the window frame but if you want to paint that then use the same colour as well for that too and the architrave round the door. You could also do the mantlepiece in the same colour... You'll see I have only suggested 2 or 3 colours and that is as much as you really need... Of course my choices here are suggestions to give you an idea.. Get some sample pots and paint them on paper and stick them to the walls... So you can take a look through the day and see how the light changes the colour. With flooring... I painted my floorboards white as I hate carpet but again it's just a suggestion.. What I would say is get the chimney looked at and see if it can be a working fire.. They will sweep it and give you a certificate... Get them to do all the fires at once as it's easier...Then all you need to do is buy a good cast iron basket. If you intend to use it like I do then you need it swept every year and a certificate which they will give you. Have some logs delivered and away you go... Store them in a log store to dry.. As damp logs smoke!.. Or even if you don't want to use it - you can create the look as if it works... Just lay a few logs in... It's a good room - it's going to look very stylish.. Enjoy working on it.. : ))
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I disagree with not putting modern touches in to old buildings as long as they are in keeping and tastefful. I think, looking at how much light comes down the stairwell, that it might be wrong to box it in, it's going to impact the downstairs space. If you want to try an experiment, get a dark sheet and hang it up all around the space, just to see what you think of the loss of light. It will give you a feel for what it looks like without the natural light of the stairwell. You may also make the room feel smaller, as your eye will end at the tongue and groove boxing not the wall behind. You could also go for a plain plastered wall in the same colour as the rest of the wall, as you have a hand rail on the other side. Here's the light taken away and the wall plastered. Just a thought - I quite like it, looks like it's always been like it.
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