BASEMENT UPDATE: PAINTING THE STONE WALL + FIREPLACE

I am pretty sure all of my room makeover projects include white paint at one point or another and it’s usually on the walls! So, this project wasn’t going to be any different!

I love the uniqueness of the stone wall in this room and the texture it brings to the space, but the colour is “blah” for a lack of a better word and makes the room feel heavy. For me, this was an easy fix, 𝕡𝕒𝕚𝕟𝕥 𝕚𝕥 𝕨𝕙𝕚𝕥𝕖! I knew painting the stone walls, the fireplace, and the other walls white would create the fresh + bright space I wanted.

check out this before photo.

what you’ll need

› Brush (to scrub stone)

› Small Bucket (for cleaning with water + soap)

› Drop Cloth (to cover floors)

› Primer + Paint (clearly) I used Concrete & Masonry Primer in White from Sherwin Williams and for the paint I used Sherwin Williams, Extra White, Acrylic Latex Paint.

› Painter’s Tape

› Paintbrush (to cut the corners and edges)

› 31mm Paint Roller

› Paint Tray + Liners

ready for a quick + easy transformation?

Let’s start with CLEANING! For us, cleaning was super important because I did not know when the last time this stone got a cleaning and I didn’t want to start painting on top of dust and dirt. I wanted to ensure the primer would stick and give us the good base we needed. Before you get started on painting your brick or stone, make sure to use plastic or a drop cloth to cover the floors. I filled a small bucket with hot water and a little bit of soap to clean. Make sure not to over-do it with the soap because you don’t want to have excess on the tiles. Using a hand brush with coarse bristles, I soaked it in the tub of water and then scrubbed the stone + brick clean. I didn’t get too intense with this, I just did a light clean to get any dust, dirt, and debris off. After cleaning, I waited a full 24 hours to make sure the surface was 100% dry before applying the primer.

Next up, PRIMING. I used LOXON Concrete & Masonry Primer in white from Sherwin Williams, a specialty primer that is recommended for porous above-grade masonry surfaces. I used a paint sprayer to apply the primer, however, I would recommend just using a roller or brush or a mixture of the 2 instead. The paint is thicker than your standard paint and when using the paint sprayer, I noticed that it didn’t spread evenly and it felt as though the paint was being used up rather quickly. Also, it was spraying all over our first coat of paint on the ceilings because I was in no mood to protect them SO…if you do plan on using the paint sprayer, make sure to protect all the surfaces you don’t want paint on. After I finished with the paint sprayer, I used a paint brush to spread out the excess paint and get into the nooks and crannies. When it came to the stone above the fireplace and the brick on the fireplace, I used the paint brush to apply the primer because it was a smaller area and there were a lot more crevices.

𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘢 𝘩𝘶𝘨𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 ↴

After letting the primer fully dry, it was time to PAINT. I went with Extra White by Sherwin Williams, which is a nice bright white. This time around I didn’t use the spray gun and instead opted for a combination of paint brush and roller. First, I cut all the edges of the wall and fireplace with the paint brush. Once that was complete, Nelson used the paint roller to paint the surface and I followed behind with the paint brush to spread out the paint and get into all the crevices of the stone. We did 3 coats total; however, it did look fantastic after 2 coats. We waiting a few hours in between coats; just make sure your 1st coat is dry prior to applying your 2nd coat.

NOW, was that not the easiest transformation!