Rental House

Why I Painted My Fireplace Facade Black

This post is sponsored by Ace Hardware. All thoughts and opinions are my own and do not necessarily reflect those of Ace Hardware.

One Room Challenge, Ace Hardware, Clark+Kensington paint, Midnight Stroll, Faux Fireplace facade, temporary fireplace, black fireplace, domicile 37, eclectic decor, moody decor, The paint Studio

As you may know, my family room has been going through some transformation. To help me with this with transformation, I have collaborated with Ace Hardware. You may remember I worked with them on my bathroom makeover for Ace Hardware's 31 Days of Color Campaign and last month, when I painted my stools. I plan to work with them while I complete any transformation project that will be going on from now until September. My goal for this new place is to actually live in it and enjoy it. I do not want to spend my whole time living in this rental fixing it up the way I want. I spent 3+ years in my old rental doing that and I promised myself that would not be the case here. With that said, I have been participating in the One Room Challenge hosted by Linda from Calling it Home. During week 3 of the ORC, I shared some information on how I covered up my stone rental fireplace. Today, I am sharing how and why I decided to use Ace Hardware's, The Paint Studio and Clark+Kensington's, Midnight Stroll paint to finish off my fireplace.

To be honest, Ace Hardware is located in my backyard. No joke, it is literally within walking distance. As a busy mom to three active children, I find it convenient to shop there, especially when all I need are a couple of items. When I was painting my bathroom, I fell in love with their selection of paint and the homey atmosphere the store had. There are no long lines and the wait for mixing paint is always quick. When I painted my bathroom, I grabbed a handful of colors that intrigued me and some of those colors served as inspiration colors when I was contemplating on what color to paint my fireplace.

The initial decision to go "black" on my fireplace was a 2 month back and forth decision. My newly reupholstered couch was the deciding factor in what color I should paint the fireplace. I really wanted this room to flow nicely with my dining room and not to come off as too modern. My rental home was built in the 80's but has clean, modern lines throughout and is very asymmetrical when it comes to the overall structure. If you know me, you know I like a bit of imperfection and charm in homes and I wanted this fireplace to have a modern but vintage style feel to it.

As I was preparing for this makeover and how I was going to tackle this fireplace, one of the colors that kept coming to mind was black. It made sense to me to go with a neutral color, but for some reason I kept thinking that it was too predictable. The other colors that plagued my mind were a blush pink and a mint green (these were also the chip colors that I picked up when painting my bathroom). With a soft blush pink color, I thought of ways to create a monochromatic color scheme. With the mint green I thought it would make the room a bit more whimsical.

The more and more I thought about this makeover, the more I realized that I needed to go with a color that is versatile. I really do not want to have to repaint this if any of my main furnishing changed, so why not go with black? With that thought in mind, I headed to my local Ace Hardware store to pick up some paint. I grabbed every single black paint chip from the Clark+Kensington display that I could find and I chose the one that moved me the most. I ended up going with the color Midnight Stroll in an eggshell finish. I chose this color because it was black but had a slight brown undertone that I thought would complement the blush pink curtains that I had planned for this room. I went with an eggshell finish because I did not want much of any sheen on this fireplace. I discovered that the more of a gloss a paint finish has, the higher the chance you have at seeing imperfections. I also like the mood that is set with matte-like paint finish; it definitely gives off a different vibe than a glossy piece.

Why exactly did I choose to use Clark+Kensington brand paint on this project? I was first introduced to Ace Hardware's, Clark+Kensington paint when I painted my stools last month. In fact, I have used Clark+Kensington paint on some of my smaller DIY home decor items (seen here). What I really appreciate about Clark+Kensington is the ease of applying the paint and its thickness. It is also top-rated, delivers more coverage than most paint, and contains a paint+primer combination, which comes in handy when you are in no mood to paint. For this particular project, I was able to get full coverage in one coat. One coat of paint may not work for everyone, but it surely saved my life on this project. I was honestly shocked once the paint dried to discover that a second coat was not necessary. Do you know what is also pretty cool about Clark+Kensington paint? When you visit Ace Hardware from May 25-May 30 and buy two gallons paint of Clark+Kensington, you get one FREE**! Pretty awesome, right? I think so.

I absolutely love Ace Hardware's Clark+Kensington brand paint and I have no regrets in painting my fireplace this color. The mood has been set and the room is ready for it's BIG reveal. Clark+Kensington will work great in rooms that get a lot of light or high traffic areas, and also on large furniture pieces. Until next time...I have one room decorated, I am in the middle of finishing up another, and I have the rest of the home to still transform. Summer cannot come any sooner and I am hoping to knock out a couple of room transformations before then, so be on the lookout!

Stop by your neighborhood Ace for Buy Two Get One Free on Clark + Kensington.

**Buy two get one free on all gallons of Clark+Kensington® paint. Gallons only. Limit 2 gallons. Offer valid 5/25-5/30 at participating Ace stores. See store for details.