5 Reasons to Love a Dark Grey or Black Fireplace + 10 Dark Fireplaces to Love

When we first stepped foot in the lakehouse, I spotted the wall to wall fireplace and immediately pictured painting out the pine wood paneling and discolored concrete "stone" a deep, charcoal grey.  I wanted a modern, dark grey fireplace to help balance all of the creamy whites and bold shades of aqua I was dreaming about.

Nearly three years later, Hubby and I both love our DIY charcoal grey painted fireplace!  Over the years, dozens of readers have written to me to say they were inspired by our fireplace and painted theirs a striking shade of grey too (varying from light grey to a near-black, like ours).  Sometimes it's so helpful to see someone else try something before taking the plunge and I'm happy to be a guinea pig!  I was certainly inspired by other dark grey fireplaces I saw online and it gave me the confidence to give it a try.  Stories like these remind me why I started blogging in the first place: to connect with other DIY-driven folks with small budgets but big ideas!

Pros and Cons of a Dark Grey Fireplace:

A dark fireplace, however, is not for everyone.  Although some folks have seen our fireplace, grabbed a paint brush and busted out a makeover in a weekend, others have sent me photos of their "before," asking for my input and whether I think a dark grey fireplace will work with their decor.  At the end of the day, I think the most important question to ask is, "do you love it?".  In the case of my fireplace makeover, it's just paint - as long as you're committed to painting it (because stripping paint is miserable work), trying a different, lighter color will only take a little patience and a gallon of paint.  So the best advice I can give is, "try it, you might like it!".
 
Because that's a little wish-washy, I also make an effort to explain why I think the dark fireplace works for us:  we have tall ceilings, an open concept lay out, and lots of natural light in the living room, which keeps the dark grey from making the room feel small or dark.  In a smaller room, a dark fireplace might be overwhelming - but it could also help create a feeling of coziness when paired with the right decor:

Vogue Living

It really boils down to the look you're trying to create.

Another reason I love our dark grey fireplace is that the dark grey is picked up elsewhere in the house (like the floor tile in our new bathroom), so it feels cohesive as you move from room to room.  In fact, I'm planning on adding this same hue to the kitchen (any guesses where???).  Painting the fireplace dark grey was also a great way to determine if we like the look of a dark grey fireplace, before dropping thousands of dollars on something like slate. 

We're definitely sold on a dark grey fireplace - there are plenty of reasons to love it!

5 Reasons to Love a Dark Grey Fireplace:

1.  A Dark Dark Fireplace Grey Hides Soot and Ash:
One of the many perks of a dark grey fireplace is that the color hides dust and ash, which showed on the natural concrete of our old fireplace.  If we hadn't spotted that staining, I might have been tempted to paint the brick teal (because teal) or maybe white to match the walls (like this stunner - a white fireplace really does look very crisp and airy).

My Domaine

But knowing our fireplace had the tendency to get a bit smokey was good information and our color of choice disguises this flaw perfectly!  

2.  A Charcoal Grey Fireplace Suits Any Style:
The interesting thing about peeking into so many readers' homes is that I've noticed how versatile charcoal grey is!  A charcoal grey fireplace looks equally at home in a modern space as it does a more traditional room.  No matter your style or taste, you can make a dark grey - or even black - fireplace work!

Apartment Therapy

via My Domaine

via My Domaine

bod'or

3.  A Painted Grey or Black Fireplace Adds Drama to a Room:
Having never before tried a bold accent wall, I grew unexpectedly attached to the statement our dark grey fireplace makes.  I love that it became the focal point of our living room and I'm definitely considering dark grey stone for our eventual fireplace renovation to keep the bold look. 

4.  A Dark Grey Fireplace is a Great Backdrop
I love a white wall (obviously) because it provides such a crisp backdrop for furnishings and artwork, but there's something to be said for a dark fireplace (and dark accent walls) because they really make colors POP.  Even whites seem whiter and earth tones seems earthier against a rich, dark background.  And look at how vivid turquoise looks!

Emily Henderson

Emily Henderson

Apartment Therapy

As an added bonus, dark fireplaces help disguise televisions.  In our new living room arrangement, the corner TV is less prominent thanks to our charcoal grey fireplace and, in rooms where the TV is mounted above the fireplace, a black screen really blends in with a nearly-black fireplace.



5.  A Dark Grey Fireplace is Timeless
I'm not one to throw the "oh, this is a classic" line around because I think that's what everyone was saying about the forest green bathtubs you could buy in the 1980s - no one dreamed that one day, a new generation of design-savvy home owners would take a sledge hammer to so many design elements deemed "classic" back then.  I once chatted with an antiques dealer who told me that in the 1980s, he had to throw away a lot of the 1950s/1960s furniture we clamor for today because no one would buy it - it was just too "dated."  Now we call mid-century modern design timeless, but at one point you couldn't give it away, for love nor money.  

Some things, however, do stand the test of time and I think a dark grey or black fireplace is one of those things because it's so versatile and works with so many design styles. 

The Brick House

Home Adore

Jessica Helgerson Interior Design

Have you painted your fireplace a rich grey or tackled a more expensive dark and moody fireplace renovation?  If you have - or you see any gorgeous dark grey or black fireplaces - tag me on Instagram because I'd love to see!

How to Stage a Living Room and Dining Room for Sale

Finally the fireplace is a focal point!   Remember how I struggled with it?  Once the DIY antiqued mirror with the Hungarian stenciled poem was hung, I thought I'd found the right piece.  The fireplace has a weird little brick bump out that I thought prevented anything larger from being hung there.  But when we listed the house, I asked our realtor (who is also a home stager) if she had anything more neutral for the fireplace.  I didn't want people distracted by the poem, trying to figure out what language it is and what the heck it means (it draws dinner guests to it like a moth to a flame, it's kind of comical).  She brought over this behemoth of a mirror that I am madly in love with:

The bump out still poses a bit of a problem, but this mirror is so beefy it really disguises it.  I think I should have gone bigger with the poem mirror . . .

Along with removing any Hungarianness, I also de-cluttered the living room a little.  The realtor never asked me to do this (although she did have a hate-on for the puffin candle holders), but I think it just looks cleaner now.

I think the key to staging a living room is to de-personalize, without removing too many of the accessories that make the space feel homey and comfortable.

Here's a list of what was edited:

1. DIY felted wool billy buttons (end table)
2. Pottery dish (end table)
3. Hand-sewn crow pillow (from tweed chair)
4. Houndstooth throw (from tweed chair)
5. Puffin candle holders (realtor made me)
6. Wood box for kindling
7. Vintage side table/stool
8. Hungarian poem mirror
9. Ottoman (swapped for mint coffee table)

Long before we decided to list the house, I gave my Mom the vintage cat print I had carefully chosen a frame for (that replaced the chair watercolour in the first photo), because it just wasn't jiving with the rest of the space.  Sometimes things I love just won't work!  Because the empty wall looked weird, I hung my displaced tree painting there because I was too lazy to take it all the way down to the basement.  I wish I was kidding.  It's too low, but was never supposed to stay there.  I had a really cool art project planned that would take up the whole wall, but I just never had time to finish it.  Or start it.

Here's a peek at the photos the photographer took for the listing:

The dining room looks identical, but for the listing photos my beautiful Shane Norrie pottery bowls were swapped out for flowers and the realtor added a plant stand my Papa welded.  It's so weird to see the townhouse through the photographer's lens!  Turning every light on and using a wide angle lens really changes things.  I think maybe he uses a flash, too? 

The dining room as it normally is:

The dining room in the listing:

It seems like a small change, but swapping out some pottery with fresh flowers make the space seem more lively.

I plan on doing a full post on the ins and outs (and ups and downs) of selling the townhouse but I know some of you are itching to know what's been going on.  It was listed for sale on a Friday and the next Monday we had a showing which resulted in a strong offer two hours later!!!  Unfortunately, we couldn't settle on a closing date or price but I think the quick offer means the townhouse shows really well, because the potential buyer wanted it immediately.  I'm hopeful the right offer is around the corner, but we're lucky enough to be in a position that we're not desperate to sell, even though we take possession of the lake house soon.  We can wait for the right price.

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How to Hang a Heavy Mirror on Brick (How to Drill into Brick)

You have a brick fireplace.  You want to hang something heavy on it.  Probably a mirror, to bounce a little light around the room.  No problem (and good idea, by the way, I'm sure it will look fabulous). 

There is obviously more than one way to do this (and always default to professionals), but here's how we hung the super heavy duty mirror we stenciled and framed.

Tools:

• Drill
• Drill bit (for wood)
• Masonry bit (some masonry screw brands sell the bit in the package)
• Masonry screws
• Wood screws
• Masking tape
• Pencil

How to hang something heavy on brick:

1.  We measured where we wanted the mirror hung, choosing two anchor points (for more strength) in the mortar between the bricks.

2.  We taped off the length of the screw on the drill bit, so we knew what depth to make the hole (this is the "poor man's depth gauge").

Masking tape works well, because it doesn't leave a sticky residue on the bit.

3.   Using a masonry drill bit that came with our masonry screws, we drilled holes into the mortar, stopping when we reached our poor man's depth gauge.  Handy Hubs kept the drill as straight as possible, so as not to enlarge the hole.

Step number three made a huge mess.

4.  Finally, we drove in the masonry screws, making sure they hugged the brick as tightly as possible, so they are nice and secure.

Easy-peasy.  Next we tackled the back of the mirror.

1.  We picked up some heavy duty hangers from our local hardware store and screwed them into the wood the mirror is mounted to, using wood screws.  We pre-drilled these holes too, to ensure a tighter fit.  (Pre-drilling also keeps the wood from splitting). 

2.  Using heavy duty picture hanging wire (this stuff is weight-rated), we tightly strung it from the hangers, actually triple-stranding it to make it extra tough.  We also kept quite a long tail, wrapping it back onto itself.

 3.  We also wanted to make sure the wire sat where it should on the screws, so we marked the points in pencil on the back of the mirror.  It's important the wire isn't too loosey-goosey, so we adjusted the tension accordingly.



And that's it!  I was really stressed about hanging something really heavy on the brick (I pictured the whole fireplace crumbling or hearing a crash*bang and finding bits of shiny Hungarian poem everywhere), but Hubs knew what he was doing!  We lived with this mirror for years, and never had it move an inch!

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