How To Transform Your Old Tile Fireplace In 5 Easy Steps

How to transform your old tile fireplace in 5 easy steps. This is how I transformed my 100 year old fireplace and everything I used to do it!

Before I get started though, I need to preface this by saying I actually struggled with this decision for a very long time. I have lived in this house for 20 years. This is the original fireplace tile and woodwork from 100 years ago when this house was built. I felt like I would be letting so many people down by painting everything, but ultimately I realized how trapped I had been feeling by this fireplace. This room has never been any color except various shades of yellow. The old stained tile dictated the entire room, and had been for 20 years. Sometimes you just need a big change, a fresh start if you will, so this is exactly what I did to achieve it!

•First I researched!

There are lots of great accounts on IG that do DIY and home decor that I refer to when I need help. I stalked accounts like @Prvbsthirtyonegirl, @MRSDIY, @kismet_house, @cynthia_harper, @loverenovations, and @angelarosehome to name a few. Most have great blogs that I will link below, but I find their pinned stories of past projects on IG very useful resources. Plus, I just totally fan girl all of them!

•Step one- sanding!

To sand or not to sand? There are so many varying opinions on this one! My baseboards in my living room were not in the greatest shape. Theyhad very little shine or polyurethane left on them. Because of this, I did not sand them. Though it was peeling all over, the fireplace had quite a bit of polyurethane left. I decided sanding was my best option for it.

I started with these handy little blocks from Home Depot. They worked great but I decided in the end to make it easier on myself and switched to this Dewalt cordless palm sander. If you are looking for one that comes in a set with the batteries, try this set. Wow, everything was so much faster after that! If you are in the market for one, I highly recommend this one! Plus, I can think of tons of other projects it will be useful for in my future (kitchen cabinets I’m coming for you soon)!

*Step two- clean it!

For this step I vacuumed up all of the dust with my handy Dyson. I love this handy little vacuum! Then I cleaned everything well with a degreaser/cleaner. I used Krud Kutter from Home Depot, making sure to clean all of the tiles both outside and inside of the fireplace.

*Step three- tape off your tiles and paint the wood

I knew my walls were going to get painted after the fireplace was finished, so I did not tape them off. At first I was considering using peel and stick tiles to cover my old tile, so I decided to tape them off for protection as I painted the wood mantle. In the end I opted to paint them, so you can decide whether you feel the need to protect them. If you have a steady hand, you can probably skip this step all together!

Once I had them taped off, it was time to jump right in. I used Behr Marquee semi gloss paint straight off of the shelf in White. To apply it, I used a brush around all of the difficult areas and edges. I then used a smooth small roller for all of the flat surfaces. Look for the rollers that say they give you the smoothest finish, because it did make a difference for me. I would throw a thin coat on, let it dry, lightly sand any bumps out, clean away the dust from sanding, and repeat! For me, I did find the need for 3 coats to get everything covered (due to my dark toned wood). I’m a perfectionist and you may find 2 coats work for you. Once finished, pull the tape off the tiles and take a tiny brush and touch up anything you missed.

*Step four- tackle the inside of your fireplace

This was probably the biggest game changer of this whole project for me. The tiles were very stained inside of my 100 year old gas log converted fireplace. I had tried everything to clean them with absolutely no luck. It was actually my Hubby’s idea that transformed this whole project the most.

He came up with the idea to use Rustoleum specialty high heat barbecue paint in black satin to coat the inside walls of the fireplace. It created the coolest illusion that our fireplace is a never ending black hole. Suddenly the faux gas logs absolutely pop against it. (As a note- I would recommend opening the windows and using a respirator. Also, put plastic down on the floor to catch the over-spray from this stuff. It did create a fine mist of paint that dropped onto the plastic. Although it did not get on the previously painted white woodwork.)

He also taped off the tile and spay painted the gold trim and old mesh curtain with satin black spray paint to freshen them up as well. He used Rust-Oleum Painters Touch 2X Ultra Cover Paint plus Primer in Canyon Black for them. (Some of the previously mentioned over-spray on the plastic could have come from this step as well.) Once finished, peel off your tape, and get ready for your final step!

*Step five- paint your tiles

The home stretch! After looking at the samples of peel and stick tile that I ordered, my Hubby (and my budget) ultimately convinced me to just break down and paint the old yellow tile. After a quick internet search and some consultation with our local Home Depot paint specialist employee, we decided to go with Behr Marquee interior matte advanced stain-blocking paint and primer in one.

We chose two colors to take home and try- Cracked Pepper and Dark Secret. In the end Cracked Pepper was the winner. It gave me exactly what I was looking for- a nice dark slate gray that was still light enough to see the contrast between it and the freshly painted black trim. I have to say, I am in love with this color.

As far as application, I used this very handy little brush from Wooster and another small paint roller. Being someone who has joint pain (especially in my hands) from autoimmune illnesses, I found that this brush was super comfortable with its flexible rubber-like handle. It was also super slick at edging, so I found no need to tape off the freshly painted white wood. We did however tape off the hardwoods around the floor portion of tiles just in case. Two coats of cracked pepper paint later and voila- finished!! Pull up your tape and enjoy your new fireplace! That is how to transform your old tile fireplace in 5 easy steps!!

Thank you guys for following along and remember- it’s your home! Do what makes you happy. Go at your own pace, and little by little you will get there. You too can go from this-

To this-

Below I will re-list the blogs of all of the great accounts that inspire me daily on IG. https://proverbs31girl.com/, https://www.mrsdiyandtherenaissanceguy.com/, https://cynthiaharperliving.com/, https://www.loveandrenovations.com/, https://angelarosehome.com/. Also, I will re-cap all of the items I found to help me with my fireplace transformation. As always, thanks for following!

mrslittlebylittle