Fireplace Makeover (with only paint!)

I am so happy with this fireplace makeover. Funny thing is, I wasn't planning on it. After we repainted our living room with a faux glaze and stood back and looked at how it turned out, we said uh oh. The trim paint we originally planned on would not work nor did our fireplace match the room any longer. After much debate, searching Pinterest for ideas and trial colors I FINALLY made up my mind. I wasn't about to bust through all that tile and replace it. No thank you. Not in the budget, nor do I know how. So my idea was "maybe I could paint the tile and brick!" Do people do that? Would it look stupid? I searched a little more to see if people actually did this lol. 

Turns out they do! I liked the idea of using oil based paint on the tile so it would hold up better (as was suggested by www.andthen-shesnapped.com). I read about some that used regular latex paint and ended up with scratches etc after long term use.

At first I attempted to white wash the bricks. It still showed too much gray so I wasn't happy with the results.

So I decided to paint the entire brick facade completely white. I used Kilz 2 latex and applied 2-3 coats to cover the brick color.

I used the same Kilz 2 Latex on the mantle as I used for the brick. I primed the tile at the top and bottom with Kilz Original oil based.

For my tile I chose an oil based paint in Almond Satin made by Rust-Oleum. I rolled on this coat of paint so it wouldn't leave any brush strokes. To make sure my newly painted tile still looked like tile that hasn't been painted, I used Q-tips to wipe the paint out of the grout lines. 

My last step was painting the mantle with the white trim paint we used in our room!

Thankfully our ugly old carpet was set to be replaced just after I finished painting! It took me a few months of reminding, but I finally got my husband to replace the old broken fireplace handles as well.

I am very satisfied with how this fireplace makeover turned out! It really makes the room pop! I felt like it was an eye sore beforehand. I decorate my fireplace a lot more than I ever used to (as you can see below, immediately started at Christmas)! I hope this helps you with your fireplace makeover. It's amazing what you can do with just a little paint!