Hey there! Today I’m going to continue to show you how we transformed our fireplace!
After painting the brick of our fireplace white (check out this post) we decided that we wanted to strip and re-stain our mantle to update the look. We liked our fireplace cover, but it was also outdated.
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We started by taping off the brick. Then we stripped the old stain off using these:
Mantle After
Pre-Stain
After the stripper wash had completely dried, we used Minwax pre-stain to condition the wood. The mantle looked like this after it was brushed on:
Apply the Stain
You are supposed to apply the stain within two hours of applying the pre-stain so when it was completely dried we applied the stain. We chose Varathane’s Briarsmoke because we had used it on the barn doors we installed in our entryway and because it has a touch of gray in it. It is the prettiest stain!
When my hubby built our beautiful dining table he stained the top gray. We wanted the mantle to tie in but didn’t want it to be completely gray. Here’s a close-up after the stain was applied:
We only applied one coat and made the decision not to use a top coat on this piece. All done!
Fireplace Cover Makeover
Next, we gave the fireplace cover a makeover by spray painting it black. We used Krylon’s High Heat spray paint so it won’t chip. We’ve also used Rustoleum’s before and it’s great.
Kirkland’s Clock Before and After
I had a clock that I had purchased at Kirkland’s a couple of years back and it went with our décor at the time perfectly. It was kind of a rusty brown and cream color made to look distressed. But I wanted it to go over the fireplace and the colors didn’t fit so I used the same Krylon spray paint on that, as well.
Here is the finished product complete with newly stained mantle and updated clock and fireplace cover!
Huge difference, huh?
Thanks so much for hanging out with me today! For part 3 of this series go here.
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Farmhouse Dining Room Makeover
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