Stenciled Fireplace Redo | Apartment Therapy

Adorning with mirrors is a good way to make rooms look greater and brighter—however mirrors can typically work a bit of too arduous. When Richa Bista (@richa_bista_) and her husband Kalyan Kandel moved into their 1995 townhouse, their lounge was filled with mirrors. Like, actually full. “The 2-story lounge had mirrored partitions together with one above the fireside. It created an phantasm of more room, nevertheless it seemed manner messier,” Richa says. “Don’t get me fallacious, I like mirrors, however these gave me a scare each time something moved, together with my very own reflection.”

To not point out, the remainder of the lounge was missing brightness. The darkish 1990s oak seemed dingy and darkish, and the inexperienced tiles across the fire “stood out in an unpleasant manner,” says Richa. However the area had excessive ceilings and open sight strains going for it, so Richa and Kalyan needed to play each of these up. “The fireside is a focus of the lounge and had a lot potential. It screamed it wanted some TLC,” says Richa. And, she provides, “after finishing our first DIY renovation challenge of our kitchen, we have been assured in our skills to deal with different renovations in the home by ourselves. The fireside appeared prefer it was a fast challenge with out breaking our financial institution!”

Fairly than changing the fireside altogether, Richa did magic with paint. She painted the brass accents on the face of the fireside with a heat-resistant again paint, then used white and black paint plus a star-patterned stencil to cowl up the inexperienced tile encompass and fireplace. “It requires persistence and precision,” Richa says. “In case you are not cautious, you’ll find yourself with paint bleeds and touch-ups.” White paint completely transforms the trim and baseboards, making them look shiny and recent. Complete price for the fireside was simply $149, nevertheless it appears to be like model new.

“I cherished the concept of getting mirror above the fireside. However the current mirror was too huge for the area and my purpose was to switch with smaller dimension,” says Richa. So she and Kalyan eliminated it—and employed professionals to take away those on the opposite wall, for security—then patched the drywall behind it. (Professionals changed the previous carpet, too.)

As soon as the drywall was patched, Richa and Kelyan reduce plywood into boards and nailed them as much as pretend the look of shiplap, each over the fireside and on the wall the place the remainder of the mirrors was.

“We now have a shiny, recent and clear area that we use rather a lot to sit down by the fireside in chilly Illinois nights and watch our favourite TV exhibits,” Richa says. “Additionally, it provides us a way of satisfaction and accomplishment in creating an attractive area with simply plywood, paint, and a nail gun.”

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