Basement Corner Fireplace Remodel with 3D Foam Brick Wallpaper Panels
My next project after my storeroom workshop was remodeling my basement man cave corner fireplace. The fireplace had a small, skinny orange oak mantle and frame surrounding tan colored porcelain tile. You know how Kiersten feels about orange, so this was a project I could get done quick.
Similar to my wife's quick fireplace project I looked at possibly replacing the entire mantle, but that would require repairing drywall and other things that would take more time and be costly. So, I decided to follow along with the rest of the house and paint it white. Being a thin mantle, it took longer to tape than paint.
The tiles looked drab with the fresh coat of paint so I decided to paint the tiles white too. I researched painting tiles and most people had success when they lightly sanded it before. I would not recommend painting tiles that get walked on. I finished it and just wasn’t happy with the look. (Unfortunately, we didn't get photos at this stage - just picture a lot of matte white blah.)
I googled other ideas and found stick-on brick-looking slabs that could go around the fireplace. Kiersten's peel and stick fireplace project turned out pretty good, so I figured it was worth a shot. Especially for a basement fireplace.
When searching for tile or brick options, I found some white brick-looking panels made out of a 3D foam. The foam was soft so I thought that'd great for having kids running around. I thought having a white mantle would be too much white on the fireplace. All of my frames in my man cave are black. So, I discussed with my wife the idea of repainting the mantle black. She liked the idea so we stopped by Home Depot for another can of paint - Blackout by Behr.
Thankfully I had left the blue tape on so this was a quick color switch. I put on two coats and then did a little touch up. My white sticky tile bricks arrived from Amazon and I spaced them out and began sticking them around the fire place starting on the top corner. I had read on their reviews that if you cut out pieces and put it together like a puzzle it would look more realistic. Plus, you could have all full-size bricks.
I didn’t like the look of just square sheets on the wall. I puzzled them together by simply cutting them out with scissors. The kit comes with sharp razor blades, but sharp scissors worked just fine. I could check if it fit before peeling off the back and could make some adjustments. After I got done with the fireplace surround, I decided to add them to the rest of the wall above the mantle to create more of a focal point in the room I feel like it gives the look of a real chimney.
When sticking them on the wall I would just peel part of the back off so that I could make sure I lined up the first layer. It would be difficult and hard to make an adjustment if I tried doing the entire thing at once. When I got to the far-left side it was difficult to use big pieces of the sticky tile so I just cut out full size individual bricks and half size ones and placed them on it. That was easy and actually was easy to place together. You do have to be careful because the sticky part is really sticky.Almost like you’re working with hot glue and can’t move it much once you place it. I have no fear of these ever coming off. (Except what is going to happen when we do want to take them off.)
Unlike real bricks if you look closely you can see some same repeated pattern. If I was going to do it again, I would be way more careful making sure I intentionally mixed up those patterns. The sheets come 2 feet by 2 feet and I should have cut a few in half to mix up the pattern. I’m happy with my outcome and most people don’t notice it unless I point it out.
To finish it off I put up my favorite framed jersey. This was one of the easier projects I've completed. It was finished in a weekend including allowing the paint to dry twice.
Need a Fix Up? Here's what we used:
3D Brick Wallpaper Peel and Stick Panels (affiliate)
Behr Marquee Semi-gloss in Blackout
ScotchBlue Original Multi-Surface Painter’s Tape (affiliate)
Pro-grade Paint Brush Set (affiliate)
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