fireplace dilemma
We need your help…well, Ivy does –she and her husband, Kyle, own a beautiful 1962 atrium Eichler, in San Jose’s Fairhaven neighborhood. That’s not the problem, clearly. It’s their fireplace, as Ivy explains…
“When we bought our house, the fireplace interior was painted the body color of our house…a yellow/beige called Oyster. The fireplace exterior has never been painted. We promptly painted the interior white, to match the beams…”
“…but we’ve always been distracted by the fireplace’s two-toned nature. We assumed we would paint the exterior but, in over ten years, I still can’t bring myself to paint the lovely (and original) brick, despite my distraction and dislike of the lack of continuity.”
In her own words, Ivy has three choices: “Paint? Strip? Leave just the way it is?” –and she’s not sold on any. Painting the exterior adds consistency but also guilt. Stripping is tough, with no guarantees. Could a new interior color help? What would you do? Ivy (and us) would love to hear your thoughts…
Have your own Eichler/MCM design dilemma? Just email us –we’ll give you our thoughts, and share it here.
Brooke
I think the main issue is the contrast (saturation contrast) between the existing brick and the painted brick. I think if the interior fireplace was a darker colour the contrast wouldn’t be as noticeable.
There’s a darker corner on a brick 7 rows up from the white brick in line with the white chair. I think if they took that colour or a colour in that saturation the fireplace and the outside would blend well. I can see the walls appear to be taupe in colour so a very dark taupe or a charcoal leaning towards taupe could be nice (Midnite Hour by CIL is a charcoal with brown undertones and it would look nice).
Start off by just painting a large square close tot he window so you can see if you like the colour combo better than what’s existing and if you dont you haven’t painted too far. You’d still be able to repaint white, soda blast the brick or pick a different color. I have a massive wall in the Midnite Hour and I love it. We get a ton of light from the windows so the room never feels dark.
The rich warm dark colour would certainly make the fireplace a feature. Add some oversize colorful art or a large brass wall sculpture and it would be a great focal point in the room.
Here’s an image of Midnite Hour: http://tinyurl.com/josomhv
Here’s a super blurry, somewhat dark photo of my Midnite Hour wall: http://tinyurl.com/jmnzrox
Sorry my iphone takes horrible photos (I have since removed the dining room rug and replaced it with something better. lol we also still need to put in the new floors).
Brooke
🙂 Thanks for making the links tiny. I always forget about that website.
fogmodern
Thanks for your considered input, Brooke. After stripping, our next thought was along those lines –complementing the darker bricks could definitely work. Maybe worth getting some paint swatches or mixing samples to color-match the darker brick.
That said, Midnight Hour is a beautiful shade, and looks great in your place –thanks for sharing. And we also need to put in our new floors –these homes are seemingly never finished! Oh, and you are welcome –just a habit I have, so it looks neater!
scott
I’d paint it all charcoal gray unless there’s a lot more exterior brick around the house.
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/d7/3f/c4/d73fc47d77a5339e4dc689ad95b0e25d.jpg
fogmodern
Thanks Scott –there is no other brick on the exterior, except for the fireplace itself.
scott
a better pic in my opinion: http://tinyurl.com/zh62v4n
fogmodern
Thanks again Scott, that IS a nice pic.
jenny
We had the same dilemma in our Eichler (we’re in the San Jose Fairglen neighborhood). The fireplace was painted white inside, but the exterior was unpainted. Our fireplace also has windows right against the brick. Since we had some framing and siding replaced (thanks, termites!), we had to repaint the whole exterior anyway. Our painter also urged us to paint the fireplace exterior, telling us it would look better. After much thought and even more discussion, we decided to just bite the bullet. Our painter was kind and had started painting the front of the house, giving us as much time as possible to make the decision. As for color, we chose one of the “original” Eichler grays (Benjamin Moore Chelsea Gray.
Of course, after the exterior was painted, it took us over a year to motivate ourselves to paint the interior brick the same color. We finally did so a few months ago, and seriously, it is amazing. I did wish we had been able to strip the paint off the interior, but once we started painting the interior brick, I realized that it was in bad shape (i.e. chipped and pitted) and would have look terrible. Having the same color inside and out and seeing it through the windows brings me serious Eichler-homeowner joy and pride. It really does emphasize thoughtfulness that went into the design of our house. Our painter was right.
Long story short: say good bye to the lovely unpainted exterior brick (it’s okay to shed some tears) and paint the whole fireplace one color. Totally worth it.
fogmodern
Hi Jenny! Thanks so much for your thoughtful input –you raise some great points, particularly as you are speaking from this exact perspective. I love that you thought so deeply about this (I totally get what that feels like) and emerged with a solution that works for you…even if it took you a while to fully realize it!
Cool that you picked an original Eichler color; a nice nod to the past. And you’re spot-on about matching the two surfaces –it does emphasize the architectural features, and leads your eye outside. We get the same effect with our siding, painted the same gray on both sides of the glass. Lastly, I hadn’t considered fireplace condition, so thanks for mentioning. Obviously, the results will never be that great if the fireplace is chipped/damaged.
Oh, by the way, we LOVE your neighborhood –we’ve visited once and will definitely be back.
Ivy
Jenny – did you paint the fireplace the color of the body of your house or did you paint it the beam color? Or an accent color? Or another color?
Thanks!
Ivy
jenny
We painted the fireplace, exterior walls, and the one spot where the exterior siding continues inside in Chelsea Gray. Chelsea Grey isn’t the darkest gray, but it is lovely. Our beams, posts (inside and out), and interior walls are painted in Benjamin Moore’s Simply White (also considered an original Eichler color). The only accent color is BM’s Turning Leaf (again, an original Eichler color), painted on the front door and on the beam above our garage. In our last Eichler, I experimented more with color and accent walls, but eventually landed on a muted palette before we sold and moved. Exercising this amount of restraint on color choices was very VERY hard for me personally, but well worth it.
Also, we do use our fireplace fairly often, so having a dark color to hide the inevitable smoke stains will help, I think. And it looks really good too because the inside of the fireplace is painted black.
I know it’s hard to say goodbye to the unpainted brick. (I may or may not have rubbed a cheek against it before it was painted. Shhh…) But really, emphasizing the indoor/outdoor aspect of our home is worth it!
jenny
Oh, and if and when you do end up painting the fireplace, be sure to use artist paintbrushes. You will need small brushes to get a clean line against the glass!
Jenny
I agree with the other Jenny! The architecture is the star here and, at this point, I think the best way to honor it is to make the interior/exterior cohesive, not live with discontinuity for the sake of preserving an original surface. Personally, I would paint the exterior brick (after mourning the loss and taking lots of pictures, ha!)…but I love the look of painted brick. You can’t be too hard on yourself when previous owners left you in a tight spot. Beautiful house either way!!! Best of luck!
fogmodern
Thanks Jenny! I think you’ve summed it up perfectly –it’s the fault of the previous owners, and Ivy shouldn’t be hard on herself, as her hand is being forced. Also agree that cohesiveness should be the goal. I do think it’s worth at least trying to strip the interior fireplace first. If that doesn’t work, Ivy should proceed with a clear conscience. Thanks again for your input!
Lisa and Kyle
Awww! Such a dilemma it is! We love raw brick…but I think it gets down to time, money and style. 🙂
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