Power Tools Rater: Real Life Rooms: A Brick Fireplace Facelift

Hey there Remodelaholic readers! Dawn here, from AD Aesthetic, and I'm back this month with another reader question mockup to hopefully inspire some creative ideas for your space. If you've missed any of my previous reader question mockups, you can always see all my posts here.

If you follow Remodelaholic on Facebook, you’ve probably seen several of the reader questions that are submitted every month. Well each month here on Remodelaholic, I choose one reader submitted photo to offer my two cents on, and I create a Photoshop mock up of what I would do if I were in your shoes! (Pssssst— you can submit your reader questions by messaging Remodelaholic on Facebook!)

Brick Fireplace Facelift

First though, my standard disclaimer: While I can recommend ideas that I think look nice, I have never seen this house in real life and don’t have accurate measurements. I am also not an architect or landscaper and do not know the planting recommendations for your area- I just like to make things look nice. I can’t guarantee that any of the items I put in my ‘virtual’ design will actually work in real life (or that they’ll fit your design style for that matter), and this is not intended to be a professional design consultation. So think of this as a just-for-fun rendering that hopefully gets your wheels turning and provides some inspiration!

On to the fun!

READER QUESTION from Leanna —
How to update this fireplace wall (besides getting rid of the clutter!) I don't love the cabinets or the style of the mantel, and the windows throw me off!

Before Brick Fireplace Facelift

Fireplaces flanked by small, high windows are actually one of my favorite decorative features in a home, so finding some inspiration for this makeover was a pleasure:

Image Source: Magnolia Market | Photo Credit: Rachel Whyte

Image Source: The Lily Pad Cottage

Image Source: West Elm

Image Source: DecorPad | Photo Credit: Spacecrafting

Image Source: Homedit

Image Source: Southern Living | Photo Credit: Laurey W. Glenn

With some inspiration in mind, here is what I came up with for Leanna's fireplace:

After Brick Fireplace Facelift

Product Sources:

This post contains affiliate links; learn more and read our full disclosure policy here.

How to Decorate A Brick Fireplace

The main issue in the before photo, to my mind at least, was the dead space between the cabinets and the windows. Looking through the inspiration photos, you can see that one unifying characteristic is that all of the spaces have small windows, but they also all have cabinets or shelving that cover the wall from the floor all the way up to the base of the windows. This helps give the whole thing a customized look, and is the main element I felt was missing in the before shot of Leanna's fireplace wall. To fix that, I removed the too-small floating shelf from above the cabinets, and replaced it with two shelves that span the length of the wall, with the top one landing right below the windows.

In addition to larger shelves, I also updated the fireplace by painting the whole thing a crisp white. This change makes a big difference in how the color of the wooden cabinets reads. When paired next to red brick, the cabinets took on a red/orange tone that fought for attention. Paired with white brick, however, the wood looks warm and the cabinets look more modern. I also updated the trim in the space to a bright white to help modernize the curve of the windows. Speaking of that curve, I actually love it, but it felt a little out of place with all the hard angles of the cabinets, mantle, and fireplace. To help the windows feel more at home, I added several accessories that bring in a rounded shape, such as the round mirror, clock, and lamp.

Finally, I brightened up the space, and further complimented the warm tone of the wood, by painting the walls a cool, light blue color, and accenting the space with several green plants. Then I softened everything up with some textiles like the basket and blanket, and the woven garland on the mantle.

Brick Fireplace Facelift

So what do you think? What would you do if this were your home?

As always, thank you to Cassity and the Remodelaholic team for having me back each month. If you like this post, and have a design dilemma you’d like me to mock up some ideas for, you can ask your questions by sending Remodelaholic a message over on Facebook, or checkout my mockup design services over on my site adaesthetic.com. And be sure to follow me on Facebook, Pinterest, or Instagram and say hello! Have a great day, friends!

-Dawn