A painted brick fireplace can create the cosiest living room

A Classic White Brick Fireplace

As a classic neutral shade, a simple coat of white paint never fails to serve as a clean slate for anything that’s paired with it. A plain white brick fireplace lends a minimal aesthetic to a room’s décor while also opening up and brightening the space. If you’re looking to create a mid-century modern living room that’s clean-lined and monochromatic, this is the perfect starting point. To avoid monotony, you can bring in a spot of colour with your décor pieces on the mantelpiece, which can be swapped based on the season or during festivities.

Pro Tip: While white may seem like a tough colour to keep clean, it’s actually the perfect shade for a fuss-free fireplace. When a considerable amount of soot builds up around the edges of the opening, a quick repaint or whitewash will immediately do the trick! Since this is a basic versatile shade, you don’t have to spend time going through numerous catalogues to match it.

A Dark and Dramatic Fireplace

A fireplace in any room becomes the space’s focal point and can even dictate its aesthetic. In rooms such as the study, a fireplace (or the mantelpiece above) painted in rich deep hues can look stately and regal. With a toasty fire illuminating within, a grey or black fireplace won’t be too overbearing or leave the home looking cramped and stuffy.

Style Tip: When working with an all-black fireplace, avoid clutter around it. Simple accessories from the same family of colours will work well on the mantelpiece above it. For easy clean ups or wipe downs, a neat matte-finish coat of paint will work wonders.

A Freplace Made from Locally-sourced Materials

When planning your home’s décor—whether you’re building it from the ground up or giving it a routine makeover—it’s always a good idea to work in materials found locally in your vicinity. Not only will these be affordable but also fare well in the climatic conditions native to the land. It’s also a unique way of weaving your city’s history or heritage into the home. It can be on your floorings, the tiles in your kitchen or even the materials that make up your fireplace. This contemporary living room’s fireplace tiled with raw stone serves as a stark contrast against it’s bright walls and pared-down furniture. The rough-hewn façade in natural stone serves as an interesting frame for the fire lit within it.

A Fireplace with a Metallic Screen

A hint of metal or metallic detailing is the easiest trick in the books for bringing a dash of glamour into a home. To protect a room from open flames and flying embers that may be emitted by the fire (or to cover your fireplace when not in use), a trusty fire screen should do the trick. This utilitarian piece can even create a style statement in a room. From fitted glass-panelled shutters and doors to simple screens that can be moved away when a fire is lit, choose a fire screen that pairs well with the decoration in your home. Using a simple dull-gold framed screen with straight lines is a clever home décor idea to instantly make a living room look chic and neat.

Give a Stone Fireplace an Upgrade

A fresh coat of paint always gives any space a new lease of life. This rule can also be applied to every corner of your home—not just your walls. If you have a stone covered fireplace, chances are it is filled with debris and soot accumulated over the years. For a simple yet dramatic fix, repaint the exterior to match the colour palette of the rest of the room.

Style Tip: If you’d like a mantel top but your fireplace doesn’t have one built around it, turn to this living room for inspiration. A slab of wood fitted above mimics a mantelpiece without any invasive or long-drawn renovation. When placing a slab or shelf like this above the fireplace, make sure it’s placed at a reasonable height above to avoid burning or charring over time.

The Art of Styling a Painted Fireplace

A fireplace is usually painted in a single colour to avoid looking too busy. If this ends up being too monotonous, styling it with the right objects can easily to the trick. And, you don’t have to look too far—simply use the pieces that are needed to get the fire going (and the accessories to make the room cosy) for your fireplace’s décor. In this room, wicker baskets holding logs of wood and fluffy throws immediately create an inviting and cabin-style ambience.

A Fireplace Fit for a Double Height Ceiling

No piece of décor or art can take away from the attention a double-height ceiling commands in a room. Since it becomes a focal point and source of visual drama in the room, it's better to work with home décor ideas that enhance it. In this double-height ceiling living room design, the tall mirror placed above the fireplace creates the illusion of extending it all the wall up to the top of the wall. Not only does this add height but the mirror creates depth, making the room seem even larger than it is.

A Painted Mantelpiece that Blends into the Rest of the Wall

You can leave your brick or stone fireplace unpainted and in its natural finish, and style the elements around it instead for a more uniform look. In this elegant living room, the mantel piece extends into the breaths of the wall’s wooden panelling and shelves. Painted together in the same shade of matte grey gives it a sense of neatness and a contemporary upgrade.

An Exposed Brick Fireplace

Sometimes, a material left in its natural form lends more beauty to a room. This symmetrically lined exposed brick fireplace pairs well with the wooden floors and ceiling surrounding it. Left bare, without any treatment or paint finish, the natural tones of the baked bricks add a rustic charm to the room.

Expert Tip: Can’t decide between a painted or bare brick fireplace? You can have the best of both with the German smear technique, which involves a faux antiquing technique that uses wet mortar instead of paint. This gives a light uneven paint finish while revealing parts of the brick underneath.