Today, I’m so excited to finally share the details of how I painted our tile fireplace surround!
It’s actually a project I completed a few months ago, but I never got around to pulling together a post with all the details because I jumped right into holiday decorating (so you might have actually noticed the painted fireplace surround in my Christmas home tour).
When we bought this place, the living room was an empty, very beige box:
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I brought our furniture in and slowly found myself embracing the neutral walls, but I still held a bit of a grudge against the off-white tile surrounding the fireplace. The proportions bothered me and the tiles just felt so very dated and early-90’s to me.
But still, I was a little hesitant to take the drastic step of painting over the tile… Even though I painted the brick fireplace surround in our last home black and loved it, for some reason the fact that this surround was tile was really shaking my confidence.
Honestly, I was worried that if the paint didn’t adhere well, I would end up with a big mess on my hands and then have to deal with ripping the tile out and replacing it… something I wasn’t quite ready to do, or I wouldn’t be considering painting it in the first place, right?
When I came across this post from The Makerista, and saw how fabulous her black painted tile fireplace surround looked, I was 99% convinced to finally take the leap.
So I turned to Photoshop (I have a Creative Cloud subscription for $10/month, but you could also try this out in any similar photo editing program) and virtually “painted” the tile to make sure I was committed to the idea:
Once I saw the visualization, I was completely sold!
I knew I wanted to use Amy Howard One Step paint for the tile. I’ve used it here and here in the past, and I’m always impressed with its adhesion and durability!
Thankfully, I still had some of my quart of “Basic Black” left over – and I’m telling you, it’s the quart that keeps on going… sometimes I wonder if it’s just miraculously refilling when I’m not looking!
You can read more tips for working with Amy Howard One Step Paint in this blog post (I’ll send you there for a more in-depth tutorial) but here are some basic points:
1. Make sure the paint is mixed very well. When it sits on the shelf, it has a tendency to separate and you might need to spend a little extra time and elbow grease than you’d expect to get it all thoroughly mixed up.
2. Make sure the surface to be painted is very clean. Use a de-greaser like Simple Green, and follow up with a clean water rinse. Allow it to dry thoroughly before proceeding.
Next, I used painter’s tape to protect the surrounding molding and floor. I have to say – I was disappointed to discover that it didn’t do a very good job.
Usually, my trick for extremely clean paint lines is to paint a little bit of the base color (in this case, the molding color) OVER the tape to seal it. That way, if any paint leaks underneath the tape, it’s the correct color and you won’t see it. This makes for extremely crisp paint lines every time!
Trick for clean paint lines:
Step 1. Apply painters tape.
Step 2. Whatever paint color is UNDER the tape, use a little bit along the edge on TOP of the tape. In my case, this would have been the trim color and I would have painted a little on top of the tape where it meets the tile. This way, if any paint bleeds under the tape, it blends right in. This also helps seal the tape against leaks. Allow to dry.
Step 3. Now, you can paint with your new color and it won’t bleed under the tape!
Step 4. Remove tape while the last coat of paint is still drying. This helps prevent peeling up your paint along the edges!
Unfortunately, I didn’t have any trim paint on hand, so I decided to do my best to get a firm seal with the tape. I might as well have free-handed my straight edges, because that’s exactly what I ended up needing to do after I peeled off the tape!
Then, it was a simple matter of applying two coats of the Amy Howard One Step paint…
… And peeling off the tape while the paint was still a little damp. (Another trick for crisp paint lines.)
I couldn’t believe I hadn’t done this project sooner! The fireplace has so much more presence in the room, and the details look so classic and architectural now.
As far as how the painted tile is holding up, I did end up with some scuffs and chips recently while dragging something over it. I’m kind of suspicious that it had to do with how well I made sure the tile was rinsed after the Simple Green (hint: maybe not as well as I should have because I was anxious to get started painting).
But I don’t think I would try painting tile that sees a lot of use or traffic. Also, note that our fireplace is a gas fireplace and the tile surround doesn’t heat up when it’s in use – which is something to consider if you’re thinking of tackling something like this in your own home.
All things considered, I’ll spend a few minutes touching up the tile, and I’m still so very happy with its dark new look. I have some exciting things planned for this room here in 2017, so you can definitely expect to see more of it soon!
I love the black. So much better than before
Thank you Julia! I completely agree!
it updates it so perfectly! love the black!
Thanks Cassie, especially for the encouragement back when I was still waffling over the decision to paint! It’s a million times better now!
Love the black! Trying to picture your “trick for extremely clean paint lines by painting a little bit of the base color OVER the paint”. I love your tips and would love to see details because this is one area of painting that I would love to use.
Thank you Jo! I’ll edit the post to try to clarify a little.
Step 1. Apply painters tape.
Step 2. Whatever paint color is already UNDER the tape, use a little bit along the edge on TOP of the tape. In my case, this would have been the trim color and I would have painted a little on top of the tape where it meets the tile. This way, if any paint bleeds under the tape, it blends right in. This also helps seal the tape against leaks. Allow to dry.
Step 3. Now, you can paint with your new color and it won’t bleed under the tape!
Step 4. Remove tape while the last coat of paint is still drying. This helps prevent peeling up your paint along the edges!
I hope that helps make it a little clearer! The next time I do a painting project with tape lines, I will be sure to snap some pictures to share!
Looks so good! Such a difference. Love it.
Thank you Jessica! It was a pretty quick way to make me love the space 100 times more!
It looks great, Brynne! I have sad, old slate on mine. Your fireplace makes me want to revive it somehow.
Thanks Emy! Aw, I love slate! Is it something you could possibly oil to bring out a richer color?
Such a big improvement! I’m glad you were so brave and went ahead and did it 🙂
Thank you Gretchen! You’d think I would learn to be a little more fearless over the years, but nope – I spend SO MUCH TIME before every project second-guessing it, lol.
It makes a wonderful difference. So, how is the paint holding on? Any chips? or is it pretty clean? I would be scared of painting tiles for this reason, but using Amy Howard seems like a great decision.
Thank you Mila! So I recently was pulling up the living room carpet (shh! I’ll share more soon!) and the scratchy carpet backing did end up scratching the paint and causing a few chips, but it was seriously a pretty rough job trying to get the big roll out of there. I put on a fresh coat on the hearth tiles and it looks as good as new! I think it should hold up pretty well to more normal wear 🙂
Good to know! It makes your fireplace look so much better. Great design call!
This looks great! I have the same fireplace and have been wrestling with painting the tile. How did you get up the nerve to do black? I was considering a color close to the mantle (mantle is off white). Im nervous about the black because the rest of the room is yellow. Thoughts??? Thanks
Hi Dawn!
I had painted the brick fireplace surround black in our previous home, so I knew I loved the look of white trim + black surround. But honestly, I was still a little scared to pull the trigger in here, so I created a mockup in Photoshop to test drive the look!
You could do the same by playing around with free editing in PicMonkey or even just using a basic Paint program – it doesn’t need to be fancy, it just lets you see how the new color works in your existing space! You could even tape up construction paper or poster board in black to physically try it out before committing 🙂
Hope this helps!
We have a working insert woodstove surrounded by marble that I would like to paint. Do I need to be concerned about this paint being flammable?
Hi Katie,
I’m afraid I can’t answer that for you – I’m not sure how heat-resistant this paint is! I know that there are paints out there designed for high-heat applications. Personally, I like to play it safe, so I might stick with one of those instead!
Best,
Brynne
Did you sand your tile first before painting? My tile is a polished marble.
Hi Linda! No, I didn’t sand before painting, but that might be a very useful step, especially for a glossy surface! If you try it, let me know how it turns out!
Where can u buy this paint that u speak of?? My fireplace is gas and my tiles on the hearth part do get fairly warm when my fireplace is on. How does this paint hold up to heat? Does thus paint come in other colors?
Thanks
Leah
Hi, I love your fireplace and would love to do this as well but I have ugly brown speckled marble on mine. Can I do this paint on marble ? Congrats! And thanks for sharing.
Thank you Janet! I’m not 100% how the paint would adhere to marble, but I would think it would behave similarly to tile!
I have a gas fireplace that I’m considering painting dark gray. I was very inspired by your post!