Make Mine Eclectic

The Fake Chimney

December 9, 2018 at 11:12 am (Home Changes and Additions) (1862, antique, barnwood, brick, chimney, Christmas, Christmas decorations, Christmas tree, decor, decorate, decorating, dit, do it yourself, early american, fake, farmhouse, faux mantel, fireplace, grey, home, house, Inspiration, mantel, modern, old, project, whitewash)

This ancient house once had a chimney, two actually. In fact, one is still partially there. In the living room, you can see the shape of the old chimney up one wall. Usually I love character and uniqueness from times past. In this case, though, they covered this chimney up since there was no longer a fireplace. Then, since you could still see the shape of it, they added faux brick to it. Horrible, ugly, pinkish faux brick. It didn’t stand out nearly so bad when the little old lady who lived here previously had the room dark, dingy, and covered in nude paint and odd decor. But once we painted the walls grey, lightened the room, and completed changed the style, the chimney stood out like a sad, sore thumb.0ec56792a3b0f484bcf03c32a4763bf50bca28e68adedf8191

You get the picture here, but unfortunately this is even a mid-project shot. I really wish I had a picture of the drab room when the previous owner lived here to show!

We debated for a while. Do we tear it out? Do we paint it? Do we just take the faux brick off and embrace the odd shape in the room?

One day I said I was painting the bricks white and because we owned the paint and this was “free”, it would at the very least be a temporary solution and that we could always do something different down the road when we had more time. (Ha!)

No one stopped me, so I went forward with a brush and some paint. My plan was to add a couple of coats and make them completely white. One coat in I found that it was actually a bit difficult to get the paint down in all the crevices. We left the one, imperfect coat to dry for a night. The next day we realized the this “whitewashed” look was it. I didn’t need a second coat at all.

Then I wanted a faux mantel to finish it off. Several weeks of debating with each other ensued. I had a very specific picture in my mind of color, shape and size.

We finally have that little mantel, made of 100-some year old barnwood, added to our chimney. And I LOVE it.

Sometimes tiny, simple, easy projects turn into more lengthy and complex ones. Ok, usually. But, when you are done and sit back and look at your work, that makes it all worth it

Don’t mind the empty wall next to it, at least the Christmas tree fills the space for now. I have plans for huge floating shelves all up and down there as “built-ins” for the room. Any guess how long that will take us? 😂

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