What could be done with this brickwork around my corner fireplace?

[Mj411]

Hello, 

I am SO stuck on ideas for what to do with this brick work. The previous owner started to cover them in what I think is cement.  The two grey bricks - that was me just seeing how "Zelda" by Dulux would look. I don't totally love painted brick in general..or limewash...but the grey colour is close to what I'd like.

The room as you can see is a rich mustard colour with deep chocolate leather lounges.

We plan to restain the floor to a much lighter colour in the future.

Here is colour scheme I thought might work.. there is mustard, chocolate brown and a taupe colour... I wondered if taupe might suit for the brick work?

 

I wondered if I should continue the previous project of covering it with a terracotta or taupe coloured cement. As well as using a lighter colour to restore the look of the mortar. I feel as though covering the brick in just a single colour will make the whole thing look very flat and uninteresting. I feel as a fireplace it's not currently living up to its potential as a centrepiece.

Any other suggestions on materials to cover and change the look of this brickwork? What would you do?!

Thanks,

M

[JacobZ]

Hi @Mj411,

Thank you for your question about what to do with the brickwork around your fireplace. It is a lovely centrepiece for the room and the possibilities are exciting.

My main concern is ensuring whatever you do is in line with the National Construction Code Part 3.7.3 Heating Appliances. Anything used must be non-combustible and not affect the fireplace's compliance with the NCC.

I like your colour palette and feel that taupe would look nice. 

Rendering then painting the brickwork might be a good option, but as you have said you're not a massive fan of painted brick anyway,

My favourite option that I've come across in my research comes from our friends at Beaumont Tiles. They have a variety of Fireplace & Hearth Tiles that could be applied over the existing brickwork to give everything a fresh new look.

Allow me to tag some of our helpful members to see if they have any design ideas or thoughts they can add to the discussion, @Dave-1, @Nailbag, @prettyliving, @projectmumdanni.

Let me know if you have any further questions.

Jacob

[Dave-1]

Good Afternoon @Mj411

I like your thinking tho my colour pallet is a long the lines of natural coluring already within the brick Withe ither your colouring or not how about adding a hard edge to the top, I am thinking right angle steel just to bed it into the room? The black steel would go well with the grey slate tyle colour as well.

Come to think of it a steel edge to the base square to define it would also work nicely.

I like the idea of change the look and feel of the room with items that reflect differant colour hues. And to that I would think of factoring in light from lamps or directed light fixtures. Same room, same bat chnnel but way differant feel.

Last bit about lightning the floor, Most timbers will keep their colouring or darken once they have been varnished. You could lighten the timber with a whitewash before sealing it tho. When Ive been trying to stay "light: on the timber colouring of my floor its a tight path over longetivity of the varnish verse the darkening of color of the stain.

Dave

[Nailbag]

Hi @Mj411 

I love the idea of the hearth tiles that @JacobZ has suggested, which I've not seen before. Maybe consider the beige ones to complement your colour pallet. These would also comply with the fire-rating concern Jacob raised.

@Dave-1 and I are on the same thought pattern with the base using steel. But I would consider if it was possible, to raise the fireplace a few mm to slide in a full thin plate that covered the tiles that had turned over edges on the two external sides to completely cover the tiles. This would make cleaning a lot easier too. I personally like the Coreten product (see image), which gives a rusted appearance. It would conceal any blemishes from marks and burnt timber stains to. A local metal engineering company would supply this.

Lightening the colour of the floorboards isn't a straightforward task if you want to retain the grain of the boards. This would require the boards to be sanded back to raw and then re-stained in the lighter colour of choice.

Nailbag

[Mj411]

Thanks for your reply and your suggestions Jacob, very helpful. I love the idea of tiles - there is a good range of colours to choose from too.

[Mj411]

Hi Dave, thanks for your reply and suggestions. You're right, lighting transforms spaces.. can't wait to update that too.  I like your idea about the edges - that'll look great with the tiles. Thanks for the advice re floorboards - it's going to be a huge job.

[Mj411]

Hi Nailbag, thanks for your reply and suggestions. That's a brilliant idea about the thin plate to make cleaning easier! 

Yes big job ahead of us with the floorboards.