Whatever you do, do it with all your heart, as to the Lord.  Col. 3:23

Sew a Fine Seam

Annie Sloan Paint Gives Brick an Update

Couture Snippets Tutorials· Home Decor

I have always enjoyed painting.  In grade school an art teacher gave us some lessons in oil and acrylic painting.  We used discarded cupboard doors as our surface.  Painting walls with a fresh new coat of paint is so rewarding.  (I must insert here that painting ceilings and walls is losing some of its luster as I get older)

I painted my dining room with stripes – twice!  Not planning to do the stripes again but I still like them.  The paint is all the same color, just flat and glossy to make the stripes.

What I really like to paint is ‘stuff’.  You know, pieces of furniture ‘stuff’.  I had a friend help me with a dresser years ago – she ended up doing most of the cool detailing.  But it sparked an interest in me and I have since painted most of the furniture that crosses our doorstep.  And since finding Annie Sloan Chalk Paint chances are I may go a little crazy 🙂  You can see my other posts about ASCP here and here and here and here.

UPDATE:  I have switched paint brand several times and now use Paint Couture – an acrylic mineral based paint that is 100% NO VOC!  It is amazing and the price is a bit friendlier than ASCP.  AS is a great chalk paint – the best chalk paint on the market.  But I got really tired of waxing and after trying so many paints the Paint Couture is the best I’ve found.  I do sell it at a brick and mortar shop because I love it so much.  It has a bit smoother finish than the chalk paint and for some things doesn’t need a topcoat at all.  For furniture that will see wear and tear I use the PC topcoat which is a lacquer finish and comes in Dead Flat, Matte, Satin, Semi-gloss, and Gloss.

A few weeks ago I went thrifting with The Teenager, one of her friends, and her friends Mom.  I brought home a carload of cool finds.  Several of the cool finds were furniture.  Yesterday I painted some of it.  I plan to blog about the furniture tomorrow.  Today I have a project to share with you that is technically a wall but really doesn’t qualify as ‘wall painting’.  No roller brush involved, no paint tray, no pole to attach to reach to the ceiling.  Just a plastic cup to hold the paint and a natural bristle brush.

This past Saturday I text my Mom and asked if she wanted to come over and go with me to the shop that carried Annie Sloan Chalk Paint.  It worked for her so away we went. Then we headed to her house so I could get her painting done.

Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Pure White.  Awesome.  I love a pure white!

I had hinted that painting the brick would be the way to update it.  Several other updates have been made to my Mom and Dad’s house.  Walls painted (that one got hired out this time)  Hardwood floors (installed by my wonderful hubby!) and new carpet.  I really thought this brick needed an update too.  I finally convinced my Mom when I sent her this link as inspiration.

Four hours and one quart of ASCP later and it looks like this!

A little peek at the fresh white walls and the lovely hardwood.

We wanted to do something to cover these holes at the end of the mantel.  They had always bugged my Mom so I thought we’d fill them in somehow.  But you know what?!  Once the brick was white and the decor was put back those holes kind of faded from site – we don’t even notice them now and have never done anything with them.

Mom has a hydrangea bush that was just begging to be trimmed and the lovely blossoms were so eager to be displayed on the newly painted shelf.  A couple other prettys and we called it good – for now at least.  I love how it turned out.  So does my Mom.  And my Dad even said he liked it once it was all finished.  He had been skeptical.  So fun when you can prove to the men that our ideas do turn out quite nicely!  🙂 🙂

If you liked this project you might also enjoy these:

using lace to make an embossed look on a vintage desk

Using lace doilies to emboss the drawer fronts of an old desk.  You must see the end result!

milk paint and grain sack dining room chair makeover DIY with milk paint and glaze and grain sack

These old chairs were given new life with vintage grain sack seats and milk paint on the wood.

 Jill

Please follow and like us:
error
fb-share-icon
fb-share-icon

Sign up

Sign up for all the Strawberries and Cream from Sew a Fine Seam! (discounts, news, product launches, info and more!)

Subscribe to get new posts in your inbox

Get new posts by email

Comments

  1. My goodness…that is one charming makeover…LOVE it!! Would lve to have you share it at my party today.

    Blessings,
    Linda

    Reply

  2. You did a great job! I need to paint the brick in my living room. I have wanted to do it since we moved in almost 6 years ago. I really need to just do it. Yours looks really good. I’m amazed that it only took 4 hours.

    Reply

    • Thanks! It really is so easy – I thinned the paint to make a wash. It goes so much faster when using a wash I think. Plus it was just me and my parents there – I left my kiddos at home with their Dad 🙂 And for part of the time I was all alone as my Mom took supper to my Grandma. I think it goes faster when you are on your own or at least have no kids around. I would recommend you get some Annie Sloan Chalk Paint and go for it – you will love the freshness and beauty of it! And please let me know when you are done – I want to see it!!!

      Reply

      • Hello Jill,

        You done an amazing job on the wall and you have convinced me to paint my ugly brick living room wall also, when you mentioned in the reply above that you thinned the paint how did you do that as i am after a similar effect as yours.

        any advise would be much appreciated.

        Thank you

        Ryan.

        Reply

        • I put paint in a disposable plastic cup, added water and stirred till it was just a bit drippy when I pulled the brush out to put it on the wall. Not too thin but not too thick either!

          Reply

      • Did you use any kind of sealer or lacquer when you were done? I’m looking into Annie Sloan painting my fireplace as well!!!

        Reply

        • Hi Melissa, no I did not use a sealer or anything on top of the paint. This fireplace is not used anymore so I didn’t have to worry about blackening from smoke. However I’m not sure a sealer would make a lot of difference even if the fireplace was sealed. Brick is not easy to clean as it is rough and porous. If it were me I’d paint and leave it – if it blackens from use, clean as best you can and paint again when it gets to the point you think it needs it. Blackening from use isn’t necessarily a bad look!

          Reply

    • Yes it does brighten things up so nicely, Laurie! Thanks so much for coming by and leaving me a sweet comment! Love the name of your blog – I’ll be by to visit soon!

      Reply

    • Hi Martina! Thanks so much for your sweet comment! I am loving everything about this makeover 🙂 Thanks so much for coming over and following – I’ll be by your blog and I’ll follow you back!

      Reply

    • Thank you Cindy! It really wasn’t as much work as it seems like. I thinned the paint with water making a wash – much quicker to put on. Thanks so much for taking the time to comment – makes my day!

      Reply

    • Hi Michele – thanks for stopping by! I always try to make time to check out the blogs of my commenters so I will be over! Sounds familiar – I may have been there before!!!

      Reply

  8. oh wow what a great job! I love that you did that for you Mother! (and Dad!) you are such a wonderful Daughter and your hubby! what a guy!!!!!! WOW I so hope they appreciate you and yours!I’m sure they do! 🙂 I know I would! 🙂 hugs and job well done! kat =^.^= 🙂

    Reply

    • Thank you Kat! It was fun to be able to help them out with all their updates. It went well – hubby and I have put down lots of hardwood in our house, a kitchen for my sister and brother-in-law, and now for my parents. We work well together and it went so much faster than I thought it might! And yes, they appreciate us – we owed them!!!!

      Reply

    • Thanks Pam! She is thrilled! And I’m thrilled to that I got at it and got it done just days after she told me to get the paint! I have several projects for her that are taking much longer, simply because I’ve been busy.

      Reply

  10. Jill!
    It looks beautiful! The whole house has embraced the transformation.
    Your attention to detail on anything you do is amazing! I have got to get my hands on some ASCP asap!
    ~Lynne
    w/L.

    Reply

  13. I love “stuff” too and painting all those cool thrift shop finds are the best! LOVE the painted brick (but all that matters is that it got the stamp of approval from mom & dad)!
    I do think plaster of paris would be perfect for those little holes in the brick.
    And lucky you that your teen enjoys thrifting!
    Kelly

    Reply

    • Thanks Kelly! I’m thinking the plaster of paris would be a great way to get the project completely finished without involving my hubby – he has lots of other stuff going on right now!

      Reply

  15. I LOVE the new look the ASCP has given our fireplace. It has brightened up the room more than I could have imagined. And thank you a 1000 times, dear daughter, first for showing the picture that convinced me to paint it and then for your job of painting. I felt so pampered as you painted and I just watched your progress. Love ya bunches.

    Reply

  16. Very nice! We sell ASCP at our shop and have had several people come in for paint to paint their brick walls/fireplaces- but I never get to see the end result! This looks awesome!

    Found you on the Ironstone Nest!
    ~Ashleigh @ rusticanthology.blogspot.com

    Reply

  23. The brick looks fantastic! What an awesome transformation!
    I saw the comment above about the plaster of paris. I just had some work done at my own mother’s home and they were touching up grout in her bathroom. They used unsanded grout that came in a tube like caulk! He told me you can get it in sanded and unsanded in many colors..but it comes in like three different colors of white! It would be so easy to get one of those tubes and just squirt the grout in the holes…let them dry and paint over them! Or you can buy brick veneer…little thin slivers of a brick. A little grout or concrete repair slapped on and then paint with the ASCP – you are done! Good Luck with it….the room is so light and bright now. Really so pretty!

    Reply

    • Thank you Martha! That sounds great. My hubby also had some sand/concrete stuff here that he says I can use and also gave me a tube to use for it! So I hope to get that done sometime soon!

      Reply

  24. I absolutely adore the way the painted brick turned out! You would think that all that area would have soaked put more than one quart of quart paint. I’m inspired and have 2 fireplace that I should do.

    I’m delighted that you shared this project at Potpourri Friday!

    Reply

    • Thank you Honey! Annie Sloan Chalk Paint is very good with coverage and I did think it down with water to make a wash. I was hoping one quart would do it but wasn’t sure it would – I was so happy that it did!

      Reply

  26. Thanks for the inspiration! I need to paint our 2 fireplace walls!

    If it was me, I would just use a scrap of wood cut to size to hide the holes. Use “liquid nails” to adhere it, let it dry and paint.

    Reply

  32. Love this! I have a real brick backsplash in my kitchen and have contemplated on painting it, after reading this, I just might!! Thanks for the inspiration, found you at the DIY Dreamer!

    Reply

  33. That looks amazing–nice job! I have been toying with painting the behemoth fireplace/wall in our living room for a long time, and I have seen a few other fireplace makeovers using Chalk Paint. Could you tell me what the finish is like? That is, does it stay on the brick or will it be, well, chalky? I’ve never used this paint before, but from what I’ve read when using on furniture it has to be finished off with a wax, which obviously wouldn’t work on brick.

    Reply

    • Hi Jamie! Thanks so much for your sweet comment about the brick. The finish feels great on the brick. no you do not need a wax finish for the brick. You don’t HAVE to use a wax finish on furniture if you sand it down smooth with about 600 grit sandpaper. gives it a wonderfully smooth finish and seal it off. My stockist told me that tip! if it is furniture that will get water on it often it would be best to use a wax but I love the feel of the sanded finish. and it doesn’t have to be a distressed sanded look. the paint will sand smooth without going clear through to the wood if you don’t want to go that deep! Miss Mustard Seed has a post about finishes and she even does the no wax finish a lot.
      I don’t think the paint finish really feels any different than the raw brick. hope I answered your questions well enough! email me back if you have more!!

      Reply

  34. Just wondering, don’t have time to read through all the comments, How is the paint on the brick handling? Did you coat it with anything afterwards to seal it? Just curious to know if the chalk paint is a really good permanent solution. I have a brick corner wall with a pot belly stove in an office I’m redoing and the brick color is so ugly and hard to decorate around I need a solution and this seems like a good one…

    Reply

  35. Wow, this looks fab!! I am itching to paint our fireplace and now I *really* want to use ASCP on it!! Question…did you do anything to prep the brick? Or was it not as blackened as ours is, haha? We’ve got some soot/smoke ick on ours, and cleaning that is intimidating me more than the actual painting part!!

    Reply

  36. hi, I love the white brick wall. Questions, I have a white brick wall that I would like to paint. The look I’m going for is reddish brownish underneath and the white on top coming threw. What is your thoughts on that? Thanks, Lisa

    Reply

    • I would paint the brick the reddish brown color you would like to see under the white. Then use a thinned down chalk paint and the dry brush method to put as much white back on as you want to get the results you want to see! good luck – I’m sure you can do it! If you have more questions please ask!

      Reply

  37. Is white the only color you would suggest for a brick fireplace? My living room walls are a lovely shade of blue, the trim is white and the fireplace is white. The fireplace has been white for the last 26 years although the walls have gone through several changes. I am tired of the fireplace. Any color ideas?

    Reply

    • Hi Rose Ann,
      You can certainly paint a fireplace any color you want! Is it completely white right now with none of the brick showing through? I’d say if so you have a blank slate to do whatever you desire! The only concern I would have is if the brick were to show through you wouldn’t want the original brick color to clash with the paint color – but if the brick is entirely covered that isn’t an issue.

      Reply

  38. Tell me does the heat of the fireplace affect the paint? And just to double check you didnt seal it with anything? Thanks in advance! (Posting all the way from South Africa)

    Reply

    • My parents don’t use this fireplace anymore so I can’t answer on the heat question. I did not seal it with anything – just painted with thinned down chalk paint. And thanks so much for coming over from South Africa! Wow!

      Reply

  39. I have decided to whitewash/chalk my X-large used brick fireplace. Your blog is the best. To get a little of the brick to show thru did you wipe it or just not cover the brick with chalk paint? I want mine to turn out just like yours, but I gotta say, I’m scared.
    Did you just keep remixing the cup of chalk? what ratio water/chalk? One gallon did the whole thing?

    Reply

  41. This treatment on your fireplace is exactly the look i’ve been trying to nail down. Gonna try this.

    Reply

  42. Love this look! It is exactly what I want to do to my brick. I was having a hard time convincing the hubs, but showing him this makeover may just make him change his mind! ♥

    Reply

  43. This looks amazing and has (finally!) helped me convinced my husband that we need to paint our double sided brick fireplace white as well. Do you happen to remember the ratio you used to dilute the paint?

    Reply

    • Hi Megan – it was about half and half but maybe not quite that much water. i just diluted the paint with some water, stirred, and then added more water if i needed too. It was pretty thin and drippy – I didn’t have an exact formula – I just went with what I thought looked and felt right.

      Reply

  44. Hi! I love this look and I have a 1960s brick fireplace that I am contemplating to either limewash it or try this ASCP. To achieve the same look as yours, after thinning the paint, did you just brush it on and leave it? Or did you wipe some of it off as you went along? We still use our fireplace, so I am concerned about peeling. That is why I am considering the limewash to help with that issue perhaps. Do you have any thoughts on this? Thanks! Denise

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Sign up for all the Strawberries and Cream from Sew a Fine Seam! (discounts, news, shop openings, info and more!)