31 Days of Home Projects: Day 26

When we first looked at our home, I fell in love with the brick fireplace. Its a lighter blonde color and it is one of my favorite things about our home now. The only thing I did not like however, was the orangish/tan mantel on top. Not a fan at all! I knew that it wasn't something that I would be able to do right away, but it was on my list of priorities. This past Summer I found some time to repaint it! I loved how it turned out so much, that I wanted to share it with you. I just know it's on the top of everyone's to-do list!! In all seriousness though, it is something that I really wanted to do, and I am so glad I finally found the time.

Repainted Fireplace Mantel

Before

After

What You Need

1. A hand-held powered sander or a manual sanding sponge (this one will take a little longer and may
    not work as well as a powered sander.
2. Semi-gloss white paint (be sure to get a paint that is the primer and color in one)
3. Paint brushes (regular & angled)
4. Small foam roller & rod
5. 3M blue painters tape

Step by Step 

1. First, you need to sand your fireplace mantel really well. You want to make sure there is no shine
    left. It is also a good idea to lay a tarp of some sort down to collect all of the dust. You can vacuum
    what's left, but I would not recommend vacuuming all of it. It will mess up your vacuum.

2. With a damp cloth, wipe down the mantel. Make sure there is no debris left on the surface. Tape
     off all the edges, so that you don't get any paint on your walls.

3. You can now start to paint your surface. I used the brushes for the first coat, making sure to get a
     pretty good layer of paint. I let it dry for an hour and then went back in with my small foam roller
     and did a second coat. The foam roller is good, because it covers the paint lines from the brush &
     makes the color more even/darker. Since I used a semi-gloss I didn't need to put a sealer coat on
     top. However, I have noticed over the last few months, there have been some marks to the paint.
     This doesn't really bother me, because I am thinking of possibly adding a brown glaze over top
     to make it look a little worn, and you don't want a sealer on top for that.. You can watch this -->
     tutorial if this is something that you might want to do!

Many Blessings,