Fireplace Refresh (on the cheap!)

If you haven’t noticed, I’ve been on a bit of a Cricut kick! After wanting one for so long, I’m finally putting my Cricut Maker to some good, vinyl-cutting use!

In the Split Decision, the fireplace was in good condition, including the legs and header and the built-ins flanking the sides. But I wasn’t a fan of the tiled hearth. They certainly weren’t worth taking out, and I was hesitant to paint them.  So I thought I would give them a vinyl faux tile treatment.

The surround wasn’t doing much for me either, so I decided to spray it black. It wasn’t difficult. The surround just slides right in, and is held in place by set screws that tighten against the brick. I loosened the screws and pulled it out. I took the doors off and taped off the glass, then spray painted everything with high-heat black. I also added knobs to match the kitchen.

Ahhh…. much better! I considered a very light whitewash on the bricks, but in the end, I was happy to have the contrast.

My decision to tile the hearth was before I bought my Cricut. I perused Etsy for some cool tile stickers (there are a ton out there) and finally settled on basic black and white to tie in with the rest of the house. I got my tiles just fine, but unfortunately, my measurement of the tile was 1/8″ off, which left a thin orange line showing around the edge. It just didn’t look good. I was frustrated because I couldn’t return them. But by this point, I had bought my Cricut, and I had even used this pattern to perk up the backsplash in my own home (check that out here!) So I got to work. I ended up cutting out 6 1/8″ white squares and then laid the pattern over top.  On the smaller/cut tiles, I simply trimmed the vinyl along the edge of the tile with a utility knife. Easy-peasy!

Above the fireplace, I considered some planking or trim work, but instead, I opted for a mirror to tie in with the hearth. I’ll share details on how I made that next!

 

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