I’ve been drooling over these white fireplaces for over a year now, and now that we are finally in our house, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on the one in our dining room.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s a beautiful handbuilt river rock fireplace, but it is huge and dark and imposing, and this house is small enough without creating the illusion of less space.
So, with some cursory research, I found that regular old latex paint is water based, and can be watered down to create a white wash.
The reason I did this was because there are so many small holes and crevices, it would have been much harder to fill them if the paint had not been diluted. It’s pretty thick. I used a ratio of 2:1 paint to water
Be sure to tape off the area before you start and lay down some newspaper. Because of the consistency, there will be a LOT of dripping.
I used a flat white paint for the stones, and a high gloss for the tiles on the hearth. I feel that this gives the overall look a contrast that it really needs.
I started at the top and worked my way down. I didn’t stroke so much as dabbed the paint on with my brush.
I did three coats, and waited at least 4 hours in between them.
I saved the tiles for last. I brushed in the same direction for every coat I put on.
I am so happy with the result.
I’m hoping to paint the walls within the next couple of weeks. I’m thinking a nice, cool gray.
