22 Stunning Painted Fireplaces That'll Make You Want to Grab a Brush
The hardest part is choosing a color.
With their cozy appeal and architectural cred, fireplaces beckon people and furniture to gather around. That means your fireplace needs to be a worthy centerpiece for your room. Luckily, paint is one of the quickest and easiest ways to spruce it up. few features are more attractive than painted fireplaces. Whether you have a working or nonworking fireplace, a modern fireplace, or a charming tiled fireplace, brushing the mantel and fireplace surround with fresh paint will elevate it. When you want to change the style and mood of your space in a major way, paint is a very powerful tool. The color of paint you choose to paint your fireplace can even transform the entire room.
As for the best color to paint a fireplace, it depends on your personal style and your home's architecture. A slick coat of high gloss green paint can modernize a Victorian style fireplace, while a painted brick fireplace in a cozy shade of maroon instantly grounds a bustling family room. A soft, warming white will gently brighten a dim basement fireplace. No matter your style, the magic of paint can transform the look and feel of your fireplace in the most satisfying way.
Looking for inspiration before you pick up a brush? We've rounded up pictures of painted fireplaces with chicness in spades, including popular green painted fireplaces. Whether you’re looking for bold, color-forward options that offer a high-style glam factor or something subdued like a simple all-black or crisp white fireplace, you'll find painted fireplace ideas aplenty here.
Whimsical Jade Green
A Victorian-style fireplace gets a modern face-lift with a bold new jade green mantel and surround to match the walls and furniture. In this quirky dining room, rounded shapes, playful color, and unexpected touches (like the light fixture) bring a fresh look to a traditionally formal space.
Black on Black
In this modern, mostly glass room, the decor, furnishings, and color are kept to a minimum to let nature take center stage. Black framed windows act as picture frames for the incredible woodland view. Rather than make the fireplace the focal point, deep black paint helps it blend in with the rest of the structural elements.
Classic White
A fresh coat of white paint is the most common approach to enlivening a dingy fireplace. Just remember that if you use it, soot and ash will quickly soil the crisp appearance. Prevent an unsightly mess by painting the interior charcoal black, as seen in this bright coastal living room.
Coal Black Statement Wall
Or paint the entire fireplace and feature wall a coal shade to completely conceal dirt. In this living room, the all-black brick fireplace, mantel, and hearth add depth and texture that contrasts with the surrounding white walls.
Slate Blue
We're swooning over the charm and coziness of this utterly relaxing bedroom. Using a textural painting technique, the slate blue paint on the ceiling and fireplace surround adds movement and interest to this stately space. The color perfectly complements the blue-gray stone to create a cohesive color palette.
White Painted Mantel
A super-white paint modernizes this elaborate antique fireplace mantel, helping it blend more seamlessly into the natural stone surrounding the firebox. The designer behind this living room, Augusta Hoffman, wanted to maintain architectural intrigue while incorporating modern furnishings and artwork.
White Painted Stone
A white-painted fireplace can feel more rustic than crisp, as seen here. Given the rough exposed stone, designer Lauren White opted for a lower sheen paint and extended it across all the walls.
Blended-In Blue
Designer Lydia Pursell covered every single surface save for the floors of this traditional dining room in blue paint. It's a bold and unexpectedly mod approach that exudes confidence.
Tiles and Painted White Wood
In this eclectic living room, a tile fireplace surround really pops against the crisp white painted mantel and walls. Touches of blue sprinkled throughout play it up even further.
Black Painted Mantel
White is clearly a popular paint color for walls and mantels, but this living room designed by Nanette Brown makes a strong case for the polar opposite: black. A dark wall makes a fireplace feel even cozier.
Allover Lacquer
In this Connecticut farmhouse designed by Elizabeth Bauer Watt, a custom-colored lacquer was applied for a sleek, uniform surface. The burled wood surround complements the cream fabrics and coffee table for a nice balance between warm and cool tones.
Light Gray Painted Mantle
In this contemporary dining room designed by Studio DB, the light gray mantel matches the painted trim and moldings for a subtle yet transformative layered look. The bright and cheerful artwork creates texture and dimension, and, along with the gold lighting, warms up the cooler elements of the room.
Orange Clay Painted Mantel
Try the same look but opt for a brighter, more unique paint color for a bolder impact. In this living room, Heidi Caillier chose an orange clay tone that contrasts nicely with the green shades used throughout.
Light Green Painted Mantle
Instead of overhauling an old fireplace, consider working with the existing design. Here, "bespoke encaustic tiles sit beautifully with the original deep green glazed tiles of the fireplace," say the design duo behind 2LG Studio. Embrace the colors with decorative pieces in a similar tone, then paint the mantel a subtle green that eases the transition to the neutral wall color.
Stone Mantel and White Painted Surround
Though sophisticated, this dining room designed by Arent & Pyke adds some playful personality by running with a bird theme. From the antique bird statue watching over the fireplace to the bird's next on the mantel, these little details add a sense of humor to the formal and stylish space. And though the white mantel is a simple, go-to paint option, it really marries the swirls of the natural stone and the yellow and white artwork.
Golden Yellow Painted Mantel
The bold and unexpected marigold paint color on the mantel in this sitting room designed by the Novogratz flatters the surrounding wall treatments and brings out the rich tones in the rug.
Wood Beam Mantel and White Painted Stone Wall
Exposed stone and brick can look dark and damp depending on your taste, but it's nothing that can't be fixed with a bit of paint. This floor-to-ceiling fireplace in a living room designed by Leanne Ford incorporates the best of both a classic mountain chalet and the Malibu coast thanks to the coat of white paint.
Pink Painted Mantel
The eye-catching pink paint covering this mantel really makes the entire fireplace stand out. Interior designer Kristen McCory tells us it was inspired by her client's grandmother's favorite lipstick color.
Full Wall White Painted Fireplace
"The clients wanted to elevate their space, and I knew the full wall fireplace was an opportunity to do that! I randomly came up with this idea to do a tiered thing to it and covered it with my ever-favorite concrete skim coat," says Leanne Ford.
Pale Yellow Painted Fireplace
In this child's room designed by 2LG Studio, the pastel yellow door and mantel soften the graphic black-and-white features. It's the perfect way to make a traditional room feel youthful and fun!
Hadley Mendelsohn is the co-host and executive producer of the podcast Dark House. When she's not busy writing about interiors, you can find her scouring vintage stores, reading, researching ghost stories, or stumbling about because she probably lost her glasses again. Along with interior design, she writes about everything from travel to entertainment, beauty, social issues, relationships, fashion, food, and on very special occasions, witches, ghosts, and other Halloween haunts. Her work has also been published in MyDomaine, Who What Wear, Man Repeller, Matches Fashion, Byrdie, and more.
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