My Faux Fireplace.

Amy is making me post these photos of my fireplace. I just resently did a Faux Finish on the brick and she wanted me to share.

This is all paint made to look like just the rustic look of the brick. My brick was completly brown before I did this.
Amy did hers first and after sharing with me how she did it, I thought I could do anything AMY did...ha! I'm thinking Amy had it a bit more under control than I did at first.
End result was wonderful and I'm glad I took on the challenge.

NOW...Amy share yours too!









This last one is the brick on the OUTSIDE of my house. I was trying to get it as close to that as possible.

Nice work, GG! You're a woman of many talents!

Gin wrote:

Amy is making me post these photos of my fireplace.

You make me sound so domineering. I like it.

Rob wrote:

Nice work, GG! You're a woman of many talents!

That she is! Gosh, what CAN'T Gin do?!?!


Gin, this is remarkable. What an amazing difference! I am thrilled that this technique worked for you....considering it's a 'made up' technique by your truly! Kinda scary, recommending it to someone else!


I'll have to find my pictures and post soon! I know they're already on here somewhere....


Congrats on a job well done!

I sponged my paint on the brick Amy. I tried the rags and the saran wrap....that was about when I said aloud...." Amy, you have got to be kidding. I am going to send you a $5 bill wrapped in 80ft of saran wrap!" I was going to make you work for it.

You flatter me guys, but there is alot I am terrified of even trying.

Aw, shucks. Thank you! It really was borne out of necessity. I had looked at all the faux sites and thought they all looked, well, 'faux'! When I'm less tired, I will post a couple of my pics and will explain the technique.

LOL about the saran and rags, Gin! Actually it was saran and paper towels that I used! Worked like a charm for me! LOL! I wonder if it depends on the thickness of the paint. But I can see where sponges would work well too!

WOW actually that looks epic!

Found them!

This is the before pic of my fireplace....just plain dated and awful.




First process....stippling on MANY paint colors....I think I used 7 or 8 total. Most of them go onto each and every brick, making sure to vary some so they are not redundant, and have somewhat of a pattern:




And oh, actually the FIRST process was the grout...my original grout was very 'blah' so I decided to paint mine to brighten it up some. I know Gin painted hers too...the grout can make all the difference.



Final process...adding the stain for a rich, authentic look....you can see the bottom, right hand bricks are brighter---not stained yet:





Almost done:




Final result:

Thought I'd share a close-up of the brick too:




Moral of the story...don't be afraid of this. I am not an artist by any means, and I did this, lol. Yes, it's labor intensive, but totally worth it! This took me one weekend and cost me next to NOthing, considering you use VERY little of each paint color. (As Gin will tell you though, if you have a hard time deciding on the colors, it will take you a tad longer. ).

Gin and Amy...Your home seems to be very cozy! Conratulations! You both did a great job!

Vanesa

Wow! You ladies are amazing. I might be able to hire someone to do things like that, but for me to do it, um, tragic things would happen.

Thank you Vanesa, Cheryl, & Savannah.


Cheryl, you are too funny! TRUST me, it's not as hard as you think.


Savannah, I had posted these on the board before but couldn't find the thread anywhere. But yeah, I just kind of modified a lot of what I'd seen on other sites. I had never seen anyone use stain before, but turns out that's what really did the trick. And a lot of people say to prime first. Priming is just going to give a smooth 'barrier' over the brick. You want the 'pores' of the brick exposed, so that you can get all of the diluted paint colors in there without really 'building up' and having a thick layer. THAT is what will peel. My paint ain't going anywhere.


Thanks for the compliments, ladies!

Great job, ladies!

Very nice you two!!! You should go into business!!

Thanks guys!


And Joe, that would be kind of fun....I do other kinds of faux finishes too, just not a ton. Not sure if I'd have enough 'know how' to really go into business. But I think doing this for other people would be kinda fun.

very cool

I took all weekend trying to argue colors with Clay. As I told Amy, he has a feminine side that just about drove me over the edge. He kept telling me it was too dark or too light or he didn't like the gold...blah, blah, blah. When I told him he should help me he ran...so I was alone to finally work.
Amy used paints and thinned the colors, I did not...I just sponged them on at a medium thickness. I had everyone of the colors except the green and gold. All I bought was some samples for $3 each at Lowes in those colors. Got two large sponges I cut into large chunks for each color and poured my paint in paper plates. My total cost was $15!!!
If you have cans of paint still good and just waiting for the next project you can do this without spending much at all.
Amy could be the next Genevieve Gorder(who named her!)....she has a creative side that shines! Lucky for her I didn't give up on this when I didn't fully understand how it was to work. (I'm a stubborn apprentice!)

Thanks Amy, and all....this was well worth the sore feet from standing on the ladder for a week!

Gin wrote:

Amy could be the next Genevieve Gorder(who named her!)....she has a creative side that shines! Lucky for her I didn't give up on this when I didn't fully understand how it was to work. (I'm a stubborn apprentice!)

Thanks Amy, and all....this was well worth the sore feet from standing on the ladder for a week!

Aw, what a compliment! I love Genevieve! (Yes, what a name, lol!). You are so welcome Gin...I'm so glad all the labor and agony ended up being worth it in the end!


I was just telling Savannah about my next project I'm going to attempt. I want to faux wood my white interior doors (that have an ingrained wood texture. A lady did this using gel stain, and look how realistic! (warning---the video is a little shaky). She is a professional faux painter so yeah...not sure if mine will turn out quite like this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8my0rVKWVNM&feature=related


And this is the technique I would use on my front exterior door, using paint and glaze. It is just solid steel (with the panels)...I would need to create my own wood grain with the tool used here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwROpn4I3pU

If this actually turns out, I'll post pictures.