How to Paint a Dated Rock Fireplace | DIY

You may be asking yourself, can you even paint a rock wall? Yup! We finally painted the dated, rock fireplace in our kids’ playroom! Our third home had a wonderful garden-level space that we used for the kid’s playroom, but the giant rock wall made the room feel dark.

I went back and forth for months trying to decide if we should paint the rock wall and I am so glad we went for it. It was the main feature in the room and I was pretty intimidated to take on this project since it would be hard to hide if it turned out terribly.

I am so glad that I overcame my fear of such a permanent change because the fresh coat of paint made all of the difference in this space and it was super simple! This dated rock fireplace is now a fun focal point for our kids’ playroom. Today I am sharing our step-by-step process for how we painted the fireplace in one (long) day.

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Fireplace Before

Here is a reminder of what it looked like before we painted. The large rocks made the room feel dated and dark. There was even moss growing on them which caused a mess when you rubbed up against it.

There really was no escaping the 70’s vibe in this room.

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How to Paint a Rock Fireplace

Step 1 | Use a Wire Brush on the Rock Wall

Make sure you wear protective glasses and a mask while brushing off the loose dirt and moss. I used a wire brush to remove most of the moss and vacuumed up the debris.

Step 2 | Wash the rocks with TSP

I wore gloves and used a sponge to wipe down the wall with TSP 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 Rock Fireplace with Kilz

Next, we painted the wall with KILZ to seal the rocks and provide a base for our wall color. We used a 3/4 thick roller cover and fat, old paintbrushes to get in the cracks of the rocks. The primer required two coats before the wall was ready for the interior paint.

On this particular weekend, my parents were in town to celebrate my birthday. I am so lucky to have hard-working parents who are always offering to help with our projects. 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 Rock Fireplace

Choose the paint color and apply the paint just like you would for a standard wall. We used standard interior wall paint in an eggshell sheen. We carried the same color on the walls (Sherwin Williams Eider White) of the room onto the fireplace and applied two coats. I wanted the lower half of the fireplace to pop so I chose a dark gray paint color (Sherwin Williams Dorian Gray).

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Fireplace After

That was all it took to completely transform this space! This room is brighter and looks much more modern than the dated rocks on the wall.

If you are considering painting a rock or stone fireplace too, my advice to you is to take that leap of faith! I know it can be a tough decision because painting is so permanent, but if it really will brighten your space, I say go for it.

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Purchase List

• Dropcloth
• Protective glasses
• N95 Mask
• Wire brush
• Bucket
• Sponge / Scouring Pad
• TSP
• Kilz
• Interior paint
• 3/4 inch thick nap roller & roller frame
• Paint tray
• Thick, old paint brushes (fat paint brush)

Looking for More Beginner DIY Paint Projects?

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• How to Paint Your Linoleum Floors
• How to Paint a Carpeted Room
• Paint a Room in Your House like a Pro
• How to Paint a Pool

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