Fireplace and Mantel Makeover

Welcome to the 261st Metamorphosis Monday!

I have an exciting Before and After to share for this Met Monday! This is one I think a lot of folks have contemplated for their own home.

Michael, the blogger behind the popular blog, Rattlebridge Farm, purchased a beautiful home a while back and she’s been busy renovating it. One feature she wasn’t too crazy about was the brick fireplace in the living room.

Fireplace Before

 

At some point over the years, someone had painted the brick. It didn’t look bad but Michael had something better in mind.

Brick Fireplace Makover Redesign

 

Michael said, “I had planned to leave the painted bricks but have a new mantel made by my cabinet-maker, Jimmy.  When Jimmy brought the mantel and propped it against the bricks, I really liked the design…but the bricks just weren’t working. The mantel looked tacked on, if that makes sense.”

You can see what Michael is talking about in this photo below.  The mantel and carved pilasters were removed and a complete redesign of the fireplace got underway.

Mantel and Fireplace Makeover

 

Michael said, “I thought about it and decided the bricks needed to be covered.  I asked my general contractor, Mike, if we could put drywall over the bricks. He explained about having a combustible product (drywall) so near the fireplace and told me about the local building codes — he always has our safety in mind, which is reassuring! He and Jimmy discussed it and decided to drywall the bricks on each side of the fireplace, along with the bricks above the mantel.

Ready to see the completed fireplace and mantel?

Brick Fireplace Makover Redesign

 

Beautiful! Michael said, “We put sheetrock over the bricks, and Carrara marble around the firebox and on top of the brick hearth.” Michael’s carpenter put wooden trim over the raised hearth.

Brick Fireplace Makover Redesign

 

About the marble Michael said, “The marble surround is Carrara and isn’t pink. It’s my camera.” Michael even thought to have an electrical outlet added for Christmas lights! So smart!

I love how deep the mantel is now. I have such a shallow mantel in my family room, I can hardly fit anything on it, so I appreciate a nice deep mantel that’s ready for decorating.

Brick Fireplace Makover Redesign

 

Here’s a close-up of the carved detail before it was painted. Sooo pretty!

Molding Detail on Pilaster

 

Side-by-side comparison of the Before and After:Brick Fireplace Makover Redesign

 

Do you have a fireplace and mantel you would like to makeover in your home? It’s amazing what a dramatic difference just changing the appearance of the fireplace and mantel can make in a room.

You can see more of Michael’s beautiful home and renovations at her blog, Rattlebridge Farm. Her kitchen is absolutely stunning…one of the prettiest kitchens I’ve ever seen!

Looking forward to the Before and Afters linked for this Met Monday!

One on sidebar

If you are participating in Metamorphosis Monday, you will need to link up the “permalink” to your MM post and not your general blog address. To get your permalink, click on your post name, then just copy and paste the address that shows up in the address bar at the top of your blog, into the “url” box for InLinkz.

In order to link up, you’ll need to include a link in your MM post back to the party so the other participants will have an opportunity to receive visits from your wonderful blog readers.

Please observe these few rules:

Only link up Before and After posts that are home, gardening, crafting, painting, sewing, cooking, DIY related.

Do not link up if you’re doing so to promote a website or product.

Do not link up a post that was just linked last week since a lot of readers will have already seen that post.

Do not type in ALL CAPS. It spreads the links waaaay out.


*If a post is sponsored or a product was provided at no charge, it will be stated in post. Some links may be affiliate links and as an Amazon Associate, I may earn from qualifying purchases. *



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Comments

  1. Love Michael Lee’s mantel transformation Susan! Have a great week!

  2. Beautiful mantel, nice job!

  3. I wish I had a real mantel to makeover : ) This was a beautiful transformation, Susan. Thanks so much for the party!

    Jeanette

  4. What a wonderful mantel transformation! Love it!

  5. Hi Susan. I wish I had a fireplace and a mantel. 😉 What a beautiful job they did. Thanks so for hosting.
    Kristi

  6. What a great makeover, the fireplace looks beautiful! Thanks for hosting your linky party too!

  7. Nice feature. Thanks for sharing, and for hosting again. 261 – that’s a lot of Mondays! Have a great week.
    Rita C. at Panoply

  8. What a transformation. This makes it look so much easier. I just wish I had a fireplace. Thanks for hosting.

    Shannon ~ bohemianjunktion.com

  9. What a fabulous makeover! Thank you for hosting.

  10. Beautiful mantel makeover! The outlet for lights is always a great idea. When possible, your readers might consider installing the outlet so it lays flat in the top of the mantel rather than on the wall; you don’t have to worry about hiding it.

  11. The mantel gives the room a whole new feel and very smart to include the outlet. Have a wonderful week!

  12. Great post about her fireplace. I have been following her blog for about a year and can’t wait to see her finished home. The fireplace turned out great, love that she put electrical close by for holiday lights. If I had my way, our next house would have electrical right under the roof for the same reason! lol

  13. Can I be Michael? Lovely fireplace, and the carving is right up my alley-flowers! I have kept up with her renovation through BNOTP; I hope to see the finished room.

  14. Wow, what a beautiful transformation. I love the detail in the corbels too. They add such lovely weight and also give the wall a grand presentation.
    Off to check out Michael’s kitchen now.

    Have a nice day, Susan and thanks for hosting the linky too.

  15. Changed the whole look of the room
    Love the fireplace…
    Rose

  16. Hi Susan, this is such a great way to start the week, this party always puts my creativity on steroids! Thanks so much!

  17. What a great makeover. I haven’t seen Michael Lee’s finished kitchen yet so I have to hop on over and see it! Thanks as always for a great post and a great party!

  18. Peggy Thal says

    Beautiful mantel renovation!! They will really love the electric they put in for lights. I have the same thing on all our mantels and it is the best. Great for lamps and Christmas decor. A wide mantel is the best. Never understood why they ever make skimpy mantel tops. Thanks for sharing.

  19. Gorgeous mantel!!

  20. What a stunning mantel – just gorgeous. Thanks for the party host, Susan! Jane

  21. What a beautiful fireplace transformation! It really seems to fit the area and fireplace so much better and is a gorgeous focal point in your room! Hugs, Leena

  22. That is a beautiful fireplace/mantel transformation! Thanks so much for sharing.

  23. The mantel looks great! Thanks for hosting!

  24. Thanks so much for hosting! That is a gorgeous mantel makeover! Have a great week!
    Blessings,
    Nici

  25. That fireplace makeover is stunning! Thanks for hosting! Life to the full! Melissa

  26. This mantel is gorgeous! Such a beautiful transformation! I am delighted to join your party this week and do appreciate you hosting,
    Kathy

  27. That looks beautiful- good job.

  28. Wow I love how her fireplace turned out. I love that rose detail with the acanthus leaves- how perfect! I’m trying to convince Dan to spray paint out brass on the fireplace just to tone it down a bit. That’s as much of a change as I expect for our fireplace.

  29. Your mantel is so lovely. Thanks for hosting another fun party!

  30. What a GORGEOUS transformation!!! It looks gorgeous, but then so does everything she does!!! Thanks to you both for sharing this. XO

  31. Now…that is H O T!!! Cosmetic surgery done right!!! franki

  32. That is beautiful. Thanks for sharing. It makes me even more anxious to redo my fireplace.

  33. Love the fireplace makeover. I need to do something with my fireplace…I’ve put it off for 7 years. Time to do it this year!
    Thanks for hosting.
    KC

  34. That is a great transformation. We have a fireplace that we’ve wanted to update for the past 11 years! Just can’t seem to get around to it. But this surely is inspiring. Thanks for hosting the party!

  35. That mantle is so charming, very elegant. I have a stone fireplace that I adore, but sometimes is would be nice to have a more neutral palate to work with. Thanks for the party! 🙂

  36. What a lovely fireplace makeover! This is certainly the winter to enjoy keeping warm by the fire. Thanks so much for hosting.

  37. Refacing a fireplace is definitely easier cheaper and cleaner than trying to tear it out building a new one! I did this all by myself in my last home, having been inspired by several I had seen in the past. This is obviously the very upscale version, but your mantel shelf is an easy fix which I need to do to mine too. It is on the list!

  38. I love Rattlebridge Farms and have been enjoying her renov diary.

    Thank you for hosting!

    Glad to be able to share something today. Have a wonderful week, Susan.

  39. gorgeous Fireplace transformation!!! Christine from Little Brags

  40. Michael Lee’s fireplace transformation is gorgeous, as is everything she does in her homes. Such a talented lady. Thanks for hosting, Susan. laurie

  41. I appreciate all you hard work with putting together these parties. Thanks so much and have a happy week!!
    hugs x, Crystelle
    Crystelle Boutique

  42. The transformation is wonderful. How clever to think of using marble to cover the brick. Now I just have to tour the rest of her house. (What did you say Susan….my favourite thing to do, looky looing at houses). 🙂

  43. Michael has such a beautiful home. I have followed her through her remodel. While her fireplace and mantel are fabulous, I am in love with her kitchen.

  44. I love it! I love Michael’s whole house and the way she decorates it….Christine

  45. What a pretty mantel transformation, Susan. Although I like the before mantel itself, the after mantel with the beautiful scrolled details is really outstanding. Thank you for hosting the party today.

  46. Wow ! What a great transformation! Thanks so much for sharing it with us!

  47. Love the pretty mantel….thanks for hosting, Susan!

  48. Amazing job on that fireplace! It’s great that there was no air vents needing to be worked around like there is on some older fireplaces. Part of my Honey-Do list is to cover up our early 1970’s red brick fireplace (with air vents). This post is great, and has given me some ideas for my own project. I too read about the fire hazard with drywall and other kinds of paneling, which is what I think has kept me from tackling the job. Good idea about the marble, will keep that in mind!

  49. This fireplace transformation is stunning. I went over to Rattlebridge Farm and checked out the rest of the house. It’s fabulous and I’m adding her to my bloglist to keep up with the progress. Thank you for hosting again this week, Susie

  50. Beautiful fireplace makeover! Michael is very talented and creative.

  51. Wow, what a difference in Michael’s mantle – stunning! Hope you’re having a great week Susan and thanks for hosting the party.

  52. Rattlebridge Farm says

    I’m just bowled over by your wonderful comments. They were a joy to read. Thank you so much! And Susan, thank you for featuring my mantel on Met Monday and your beloved porch. xxoo

  53. Wow, that is one beautiful fireplace makeover! Thanks for hosting!
    -shelley

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