Can you believe that July is almost over? I mean, one of our local schools starts in less than three weeks. Dude. Summer is over.
I am in full-out-summer-panic-mode. Four times a year we make a list of all the stuff that we want to do in that coming season. Fall is time for leaf jumping and pumpkin carving. Winter usually involves gingerbread houses and riding a horse drawn carriage. Spring’s list always has fruit picking and flower planting. And summer? Summer is all about swimming and sparklers. And we have limited time for getting our hair wet and sandy and lighting up the night people. We must try harder….we must get this done. The deadline is looming and by gosh darn it, this might mean night time swimming with sparklers.
So with all this time spent with fireworks and in bathing suits, there isn’t much time left for important DIY projects. Enter this quick and not-so-dirty swiftie. That’s a word now for quick-projects….swifties. It’s a thing. Kinda like fetch 🙂
Okay so you know those gold accents on those fireplaces?
They are stuck on with magnets. I KNOW!
So freaking easy to remove that all you do is pull them off and they are instantly ready to be hauled off for a makeover.
I didn’t know if I could get these spraypainted without a little grit to the surface so to ensure proper adhesion, I scuffed them up with a little sandpaper (I used 440 grit so that the finish would not have huge scratches).
Then I used Rustoleum’s High Heat Ultra spraypaint to cover them completely. The people at Rustoleum don’t recommend that this is used where the fire can be touching the paint (like inside the firebox) but it’s completely fine on outer accent pieces like these gold bits.
I did two coats and then popped them back on our weirdly tiled fireplace. MUST MAKEOVER THIS SPACE. That’s all I think in my brain when I see that tile. But then I remember that we MUST SKINNYDIP WITH BOTTLE ROCKETS. Oh right…totally different thing, huh?!
I am waiting for the person who finds your website with the search “must skinny dip with bottle rockets!”. Your previous post about weirdo searches has had me reading your blog with a whole new level of humor. Thanks!
What room is this fireplace in?? That’s awesome that they were just stuck on with magnets. I don’t have any fireplaces so it’s not something I would have ever thought about!
Now I want to sit around and make a lit of all the fun Fall activities I can look forward to!
Summer is definitely almost over for us, my kids start school on August 18th! We haven’t done much swimming and sparklers either with the daily thunderstorms we’ve been having. I’m excited to see your makeover ideas for that fireplace!!
Stop trying to make fetch happen Gretchen.
It’s never gonna happen.
xo – kb
It’s in the little sitting room off the master bedroom.
xo – kb
Looks great! Although an even faster makeover would have been just leaving the pieces off altogether.
Enjoy the rest of the summer!
I’m feeling pretty validated now that I see you went black… considering I love your style… and considering I did the same! 😉 I added burlap and stencil to ours since we don’t actually fire ours up. I’d love it if you’d check it out! http://messieconfessions.blogspot.com/2010/07/fireplace-art-before-after.html?m=1
Too funny! Be sure and post pics when your family goes skinny dipping with sparklers! Also, love the easy update on the fireplace – always love easy diy projects! I must admit, though, that I’ve never really stopped loving brass. Still, on your fireplace, the black definitely looks better!
Just wanted to let you know I got a Triscuit survey pop up on your site today. I’ve never seen a pop up here before, so I wasn’t sure if it was supposed to be there!
Did you re-tape to do the second stain, or just try to stay “in-the-lines” with your paper towel?
Such a great little update! I think we need a quick, easy update every now and then to help keep us going. Thanks for sharing!
Ohhh I did this to my fireplace a couple of years ago and it is still looking great. Such a huuuuge difference!
We did the exact same thing a few years ago with our fireplace – ours were also stuck on with magnets! 🙂
I just simply took the brass pieces off. Still that way for 4 years now.
Summer’s half over and wasn’t someone supposed to remind you a few months ago to touch up the base of the concrete wall with house paint per your request in this post: https://www.bowerpowerblog.com/2013/12/wood-racked/
Did anyone ever remind you?
We have the same fireplace in our rental. I’ve actually taken one off since it was missing the magnets and fell off all the time. But I left the top one, which is the perfect height for my 3 year old to admire herself in. It looks beautiful, let me tell you. Especially the fingerprints.
Oh Dang! That is right! I do need to do that. And you totally get the friend award for the reminder 🙂
xo – kb
There were also mentions of painting the outside light to match the front, art/clock for over the firewood rack, and a cover for said rack.
Just adding to your to-do list to ensure the continuation of your blog. ‘Cuz it’s my fav. 🙂
I almost shrieked when I read this…it’s like you KNEW I had an ugly brass fireplace! Except my hardware isn’t magnetic….so now what?? Any ideas? Just paint with a brush?? Thoughts? Thanks!!!
I’ve seen people tape all around it and create a spray paint tunnel and do it like that 🙂
xo – kb
I didn’t retape – just tried to fill the unstained areas and wiped up the excess 🙂
xo – kb
AHHH! SO MANY TO-DO’s!
xo – kb
Nope it sure wasn’t. Thanks for telling me…I’ll try to figure it out.
xo – kb
I used the same stuff on my fireplace a few months back. Brass be gone for sure.