We finally gave our fireplace a makeover. We decided to do an entire black shiplap fireplace wall. I've been wanting to do something with the fireplace ever since we purchased our home but I really didn't know exactly what I wanted to do until recently. We needed to move the TV to the wall across from our sofa and this is where things really set off for the fireplace makeover.
When we moved in I always said I'm going to paint the fireplace to give it a little makeover for now but I never got around to it. The mantle that was there was a DIY by the previous owners and I really didn't like it. I felt like painting it would buy us some time until we knew what we wanted and we saved for it. I always thought I wanted built ins for extra storage and display shelves and I new that I wanted to incorporate shiplap, I also knew it would be a project that would take time and a budget needed to be in place.
When we moved the TV to the wall across the Couch (for various reasons that I will get to some other time) I suddenly knew what I wanted. I was cleaning and puttering around the living room and I just had a vision of what I wanted so I sketched it out really quickly and sent the picture to my husband. He really like the idea and said "let's do it!" I love it when that happens.
On the sketch you can see that there is no storage or display shelves like I thought I wold be adding. In the end I knew I did not need extra storage and I don't like having too many things on display because I like it when things have a minimal, simplified, clean look. I did however need extra seating because we removed the chairs to add a TV console.
We took some measurements and off to Home Depot we went to buy our supplies. We went with 1"x8"x8' shiplap boards because we wanted them to be wide. Our ceiling height is pretty short so we needed about 16 boards. to complete the wall. We also purchased a 1x3 straight board to frame the Fireplace and keep it simple. We used our miter saw to make all the cuts at home and our nail gun and compressor to secure the boards to the wall. We marked all the studs, and leveled the first row at the top and worked our way down. My husband did a great job mitering the corners of the fireplace frame. I then filled all the holes of the nails, sanded them and we got to painting.
This is when things started to get complicated. Getting in between the shiplaps was almost impossible even using tiny artist brushes. My husband said it would be better if we sprayed the wall. Since we already had all the equipment, we just went with it. We taped up about 5 feet of wall space between the living room and the shiplap wall and sprayed it with the HVLP spray gun and compressor. It took us a lot longer to tape up the wall than to spray but it was so worth it. The cracks filled in nicely but I realized after I removed the plastic that grain of the wood felt rough so after we thought we were done, I decided to lightly hand sand the whole wall and give it one last coat of paint this time with a high quality roller so that the wall wouldn't have roller marks.
We also built the benches for extra seating. We used 2"x8" wood and made very simple benches, we didn't need storage so they were very easy to build. The hard part was making the cushions. We bought 2" foam, 1" batting, and faux leather in a cognac color to match with the light fixtures we purchased for the wall. We purchased everything at Joan's and used their 40% off coupons to save because foam is very expensive. I had to learn how to use the sewing machine again and it was a pain in the tooshie but it worked out. I even made a little curtain for the entry door that has a big window.
The light fixtures was one of those things that you make a plan but half way through you decide to make some tweaking. In the picture I drew I originally had a plant hanging on either side. I was looking at the wall thinking to myself that lighting would be nice and and since we don't have overhead lighting they would be functional. I did not say anything to my husband right away because I wanted to find a way to ease in the extra cost but he literally came home from work that same day and said, "you know what, instead of plants why don't we hang light fixtures?" I swear this guy and I are soul mates. I shopped around and ultimately found the perfect ones at Target. I had to go to 5 different stores in one day to find both of them and we drove an hour away to buy one of them. Lucky for me these gorgeous fixtures were also on clearance. They are perfect! I love how the brass pops against the black wall and the wood base looks so good with the leather on the benches.
We went back and forth on what to hang on the middle of the wall but ultimately stuck with the ram head and we like the way it looks. For some reason it doesn't photograph well, it looks small on the pictures but in person the scale looks perfect, and it doesn't ask for so much attention so it doesn't take away from the black shiplap.
Sources
Shiplap ~ Home Depot
Shiplap paint color ~ Gliddens Onyx black
Firebox paint ~ Rustomleum High Heat
Light fixtures ~ Threshold Target
Ceramic ram head ~ Homegoods
Wood for benches ~ Home Depot
Bench cushions rials ~ Joan's Fabric mate
To see more before pictures of our entire living room visit this post and for a full review on our Ikea Kivik couch visit this post.
When we moved the TV to the wall across the Couch (for various reasons that I will get to some other time) I suddenly knew what I wanted. I was cleaning and puttering around the living room and I just had a vision of what I wanted so I sketched it out really quickly and sent the picture to my husband. He really like the idea and said "let's do it!" I love it when that happens.
On the sketch you can see that there is no storage or display shelves like I thought I wold be adding. In the end I knew I did not need extra storage and I don't like having too many things on display because I like it when things have a minimal, simplified, clean look. I did however need extra seating because we removed the chairs to add a TV console.
This is when things started to get complicated. Getting in between the shiplaps was almost impossible even using tiny artist brushes. My husband said it would be better if we sprayed the wall. Since we already had all the equipment, we just went with it. We taped up about 5 feet of wall space between the living room and the shiplap wall and sprayed it with the HVLP spray gun and compressor. It took us a lot longer to tape up the wall than to spray but it was so worth it. The cracks filled in nicely but I realized after I removed the plastic that grain of the wood felt rough so after we thought we were done, I decided to lightly hand sand the whole wall and give it one last coat of paint this time with a high quality roller so that the wall wouldn't have roller marks.
We also built the benches for extra seating. We used 2"x8" wood and made very simple benches, we didn't need storage so they were very easy to build. The hard part was making the cushions. We bought 2" foam, 1" batting, and faux leather in a cognac color to match with the light fixtures we purchased for the wall. We purchased everything at Joan's and used their 40% off coupons to save because foam is very expensive. I had to learn how to use the sewing machine again and it was a pain in the tooshie but it worked out. I even made a little curtain for the entry door that has a big window.
The light fixtures was one of those things that you make a plan but half way through you decide to make some tweaking. In the picture I drew I originally had a plant hanging on either side. I was looking at the wall thinking to myself that lighting would be nice and and since we don't have overhead lighting they would be functional. I did not say anything to my husband right away because I wanted to find a way to ease in the extra cost but he literally came home from work that same day and said, "you know what, instead of plants why don't we hang light fixtures?" I swear this guy and I are soul mates. I shopped around and ultimately found the perfect ones at Target. I had to go to 5 different stores in one day to find both of them and we drove an hour away to buy one of them. Lucky for me these gorgeous fixtures were also on clearance. They are perfect! I love how the brass pops against the black wall and the wood base looks so good with the leather on the benches.
We went back and forth on what to hang on the middle of the wall but ultimately stuck with the ram head and we like the way it looks. For some reason it doesn't photograph well, it looks small on the pictures but in person the scale looks perfect, and it doesn't ask for so much attention so it doesn't take away from the black shiplap.
I scrubbed the crap out of the fireplace to remove all the soot and paint the firebox with high heat black enamel paint since we do use it in the winter months.
I am so in love with the black shiplap fireplace wall. I'm so happy that my husband helped me bring my vision to life, we are very proud of our hard work. The house is slowly feeling more and more like us with every project we do.
Sources
Shiplap ~ Home Depot
Shiplap paint color ~ Gliddens Onyx black
Firebox paint ~ Rustomleum High Heat
Light fixtures ~ Threshold Target
Ceramic ram head ~ Homegoods
Wood for benches ~ Home Depot
Bench cushions rials ~ Joan's Fabric mate
To see more before pictures of our entire living room visit this post and for a full review on our Ikea Kivik couch visit this post.
