Fireplace Paint Colors

See a Painted Brick Fireplace in Your Own Room

Upload a photo of your living room, describe the fireplace color in a sentence, and see white, black or gray brick next to your own mantel, walls and furniture before you pick up a brush.

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Painted Brick Fireplace Before and After

AI-generated sample edits. The before photos are AI-generated sample living rooms; the camera angle and light stay the same and the fireplace color changes. Each caption names anything else that changed. A render shows a color idea, not how real paint behaves on brick.

Living room corner with a red-brown brick fireplace and hearth, a rustic wooden mantel with two candles, beige walls, a window with blinds, a gray-blue sofa, a floral rug and a wood floor, before — Red-brown brick to white: all the brick above and around the opening, and the hearth, now read white with the mortar lines still visible. It is not an even white: light gray-blue patches show on the brick, mostly toward the top. The wooden mantel, the candles, the firebox opening, the beige walls, the sofa, the rug and the floor look the same. The sofa cushions and their throw-pillow pattern, the rug pattern and the grain of the floor were redrawn slightly.

The same room with the brick fireplace and hearth painted white, with the wooden mantel kept — Red-brown brick to white: all the brick above and around the opening, and the hearth, now read white with the mortar lines still visible. It is not an even white: light gray-blue patches show on the brick, mostly toward the top. The wooden mantel, the candles, the firebox opening, the beige walls, the sofa, the rug and the floor look the same. The sofa cushions and their throw-pillow pattern, the rug pattern and the grain of the floor were redrawn slightly.

Bright living room corner with a tan and orange brick fireplace and hearth, a wooden mantel on brackets, white walls, a plant in a pot, a light blue armchair and a wood floor, before — Tan and orange brick to black: the brick, the mortar and the hearth now read black, with a little brown still showing in a few bricks. The wooden mantel and its brackets, the firebox opening, the white walls, the armchair, the plant and the floor look the same. The brick courses were redrawn a little larger than in the before, and the leaves of the plant and the floor grain were redrawn slightly.

The same room with the brick fireplace and hearth painted black, with the wooden mantel kept — Tan and orange brick to black: the brick, the mortar and the hearth now read black, with a little brown still showing in a few bricks. The wooden mantel and its brackets, the firebox opening, the white walls, the armchair, the plant and the floor look the same. The brick courses were redrawn a little larger than in the before, and the leaves of the plant and the floor grain were redrawn slightly.

Living room with a dark red brick fireplace and hearth, a white mantel and white side pillars, framed art and decor on the mantel, cream walls, a table lamp, two brown leather sofas and a wood floor, before — Dark red brick to gray: the brick above the mantel, the brick beside the opening and the hearth now read a muted gray with a green cast. The color is mottled, with darker blotches, and it is darker toward the top. We asked for a medium warm gray and it came out cooler and greener, so describe the undertone you want. The white mantel and pillars, the framed art, the cream walls, the lamp, the sofas and the floor look the same.

The same room with the dark red brick fireplace and hearth painted a gray-green, with the white mantel kept — Dark red brick to gray: the brick above the mantel, the brick beside the opening and the hearth now read a muted gray with a green cast. The color is mottled, with darker blotches, and it is darker toward the top. We asked for a medium warm gray and it came out cooler and greener, so describe the undertone you want. The white mantel and pillars, the framed art, the cream walls, the lamp, the sofas and the floor look the same.

How to Preview Fireplace Paint Colors on Your Own Photo

Take a clear photo. Stand back so the whole fireplace, the mantel and the wall around it are in the frame. Turn the lights on, avoid a bright window behind the fireplace and keep the lens level.
Open the paint tool in Custom mode. Upload the photo and describe the change in one sentence: “Change only the brick fireplace: paint the brick, mortar and hearth bright white. Keep the wooden mantel, the walls, the furniture and the floor exactly the same.” Name the mantel and the firebox opening, because the AI can recolor anything it reads as part of the fireplace.
Compare two or three colors. Render white, black and gray, download the results and look at them with your wall color and your furniture. Then paint a test patch on one brick before you commit.

The same photo works for other rooms. Compare the idea with an accent wall, with painted cabinets or with trim and mantel colors, or use the interior paint visualizer for the whole room. For brick on the outside of a house see the brick paint visualizer.

Fireplace Paint Colors to Try

White

This Old House calls white the most popular choice for a painted brick fireplace. Light colors can brighten a room and make it feel larger, it says. Our white example came out slightly mottled, so expect to judge the real color on a patch.

Black or charcoal

Dark colors create a cozy feel, according to This Old House. Black brick against white walls makes the fireplace the focal point, as our second example shows.

Gray and gray-green

A mid gray sits between white and black and works with warm woods. Our gray request came out gray-green, so describe the undertone you want, and compare it with your sofa and walls in daylight and lamp light.

Warm brown tones

One DIY blogger, Pretty Handy Girl, painted her brick a warm brown with a hand-tinted mortar color and tested her colors on a board first. It is a way to keep the brick look while changing the color.

Before You Paint Your Fireplace

Clean the brick first. This Old House says to scrub the brick and mortar with a wire brush, vacuum, then scrub with a TSP cleaner, rinse and let it dry fully. Sherwin-Williams says to deep-clean soot and residue with a degreaser and to test the cleaner on a small spot.
Prime with a masonry primer. This Old House says brick and mortar are porous and absorb paint unevenly, and primer seals the surface and helps the paint stick. Sherwin-Williams says to use a second coat of primer if you are painting a lighter color and to let it dry overnight.
Use the right top coat. This Old House recommends acrylic latex made for masonry or brick, applied with a brush at the edges and a roller, with at least two coats and sometimes a third. Sherwin-Williams recommends satin, semi-gloss or gloss because they are easier to clean of soot.
Heat: Bob Vila says interior latex is rated at roughly 180 to 200 degrees Fahrenheit, which it calls adequate for a fireplace surround, but that the inside of the firebox needs a specialty high-temperature paint. Pretty Handy Girl reports that her latex and acrylic paints held up after several fires in gas logs, and says to use heat-tolerant paint on bricks inside the firebox. Check the can and your fireplace maker’s instructions.
Want to see some brick? Bob Vila describes whitewash and the German smear technique as translucent finishes where some of the original brick color shows, and says neither needs a primer. Our render shows solid paint only.
Test first. Pretty Handy Girl painted a test board with several color combinations before she committed to the fireplace.
Think about the room. This Old House says to consider your decor and the style you want. Painting brick is hard to reverse, so look at the render, then try the color on one patch.

Fireplace advice here is drawn from This Old House, Sherwin-Williams, Bob Vila and Pretty Handy Girl, which we opened directly. These are general painting guides, not instructions for your fireplace, so follow your paint maker and your fireplace maker.

Fireplace Paint Colors FAQ

Is the fireplace paint color visualizer free?+

You need a free account to generate. New accounts in most countries get enough free credits for up to 2 renders, and free renders carry a small watermark. After that, paid plans on the pricing page give you more renders without the watermark.

Do I need to sign up?+

Yes. Rendering requires an account so your credits and results can be saved. You can sign in with Google or a one-time code sent to your email.

Can it change only the brick and keep my mantel and walls?+

That is the goal, and the best results come when you name the parts to keep, for example “change only the brick fireplace to matte black, keep the wooden mantel, the white walls, the chair and the floor the same”. It is an AI edit, not a mask, so check the result. In our examples the mantel, the walls and the furniture looked the same, but the brick pattern can be redrawn slightly and the color can come out patchy or with a different undertone.

What is the most popular color for a painted brick fireplace?+

This Old House says white is the most popular choice, though other colors work. Black and gray are common alternatives. Try them on your own photo and look at them with your wall color.

Can I paint the inside of the firebox?+

The guides we read say the firebox needs different paint from the surround. Bob Vila says it needs a specialty high-temperature paint, and Pretty Handy Girl says to use heat-tolerant paint for bricks inside the firebox. The render on this page only shows color, not heat safety.

Is a white wash different from painting brick white?+

Yes. Bob Vila describes whitewash and German smear as thin, translucent finishes where some brick color shows through, while solid paint covers the brick. Our render shows solid paint. If you want a see-through look, describe it in your instruction and compare.

Will it match a specific paint color?+

You can type a color name or a description, but the render is an approximation. Screens, lamps and daylight all change how a color reads, and brick takes paint differently from a wall. Test a patch before you buy gallons.

Sources

This Old House: how to paint a brick fireplace (cleaning, primer, paint type, coats, colors)
Sherwin-Williams: how to paint a fireplace (degreaser, masonry primer, sheen)
Bob Vila: best paint for brick fireplace (heat rating, whitewash, German smear)
Pretty Handy Girl: painting a brick fireplace (a DIY example with test colors and heat notes)

Related Color Visualizers

Interior paint visualizer – walls and whole rooms
Accent wall visualizer – a feature wall color
Brick paint visualizer – painted brick on a house
Trim paint color visualizer – mantel, trim and baseboards
Cabinet paint color visualizer – kitchen cabinets
Interior door colors – painted doors and frames
Bathroom paint colors – walls, vanities and tile
Kitchen island colors – islands and cabinets

See Your Fireplace in a New Color

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