I finally bit the bullet and painted my dated rock fireplace! I am so glad that I overcame my fear of such a permanent change because it was super simple and brightened up the room so much.
Fireplace Before
The large rocks made the room feel dated and dark. There is even moss growing on them which can cause a mess when you rub up against it.
I was scared to make this change because it is so permanent but I am SO glad that we did! It was super simple and took 1 day to complete. I have laid out the simple steps for you below.
Materials Needed
- Wire brush
- Bucket
- TSP
- Kilz
- Interior paint
- Thick paint roller cover
- Thick, old paint brushes
Step 1: Clean the rocks with a wire brush
Make sure you wear protective glasses and a mask while brushing off the loose dirt and moss.
Step 2: Clean the rocks with TSP
I wore gloves and used a sponge to wipe down the wall and then put a few fans on it to dry. My son, Thomas, is always a big helper with home projects and asked to join in on the fun!
Step 3: Paint the wall with Kilz
Next we painted the wall with KILZ to seal the rocks and provide a base for our wall color. We used a thick roller cover and fat, old paintbrushes to get in the cracks of the rocks.
I am so lucky to have such a hard working family. We spent our entire Sunday working on this wall and we all had so much fun transforming this 1970’s eyesore into a bright fun wall feature.
Step 4: Paint the wall
Choose the paint color you desire and paint the wall like you would do for any other type of wall! We used standard interior wall paint. We carried the same color on the walls (Sherwin Williams Eider White) of the room onto the fireplace. I wanted the lower half of the fireplace to pop so I chose a dark gray paint color.
That was all it took to completely transform this space! It modernized the room and also brightened it up immensely.
My advice to you is to take that leap of faith! If you have always wanted to paint a fireplace (brick or rock) that you felt was dark and dated, just got for it! I bet you won’t regret it. And for me, this was one of the best birthday presents I could get!
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