We have reused brick on our fireplace; this would be a great way to change it up without it looking so painted. Bookmarked!
I think that is just the lighting, all of the mortar is intact.
Lots of houses on Cape Cod have giant, prominent fireplaces. Thereās no windows on that side, so I donāt think it distracts from the views.
āOdd and strangeā yes, well, a lot of this house is odd and strange. It was built in 1970 and they got a little creative.
Wow, thereās a name for this! Thanks, I did not know that. Funny that you say it is more outside - the outside portions of the chimney are built with perfectly normal, regular sized brick. The atrium on the other hand:
[atrium 1](20170609_113702 | wayside61 | Flickr)
[atrium 2](cape08 | wayside61 | Flickr)
is all made with clinker bricks. That is all going away.
It might be possible to knock off the pieces that really stick far out, but it would be impossible to reach any semblance of flat. That would make it more practical to sheetrock over or stucco around.
Hmm interesting. A lot of my brick is really dark and non-uniform in color. Iād be concerned with how that would look with just whitewash on it.
I think a stone veneer would look cool:
but Iām not sure this can be done without removing all the brick, and I think that is getting hugely expensive.
Love that stone fireplace you linked. IMO, it would suit the character of the house so much better than the brick. I know, it is $$$ā¦ but if you are going to be staring at this fireplace every dayā¦ 
Anyone have a guess as to how much it would cost to veneer over the brick with stone? Maybe @coralbrook can weigh in since she has done stuff like this.
Update. We (me!) are finally making progress on choosing a designer/contractor. The folks that we most considered are the ones who took measurements on their first visit, so we had a reason to have a second meeting. Itās been a mix of Apples and Oranges. Two design build firms, one kitchen designer, one contractor with good ideas and designs. We are leaning toward the last. I have mixed feelings on the design build firm that didnāt measure. But I realize that mostly I want an interior designerās vision.
I can pick cabinets and etc., but Iād like someone who can help us pick paint colors for the adjoining rooms. Should we replace all the 6-panel doors on the same floor? Should we get rid of all brass hardware? Whatās current now?
So, who, or what web sites would you turn to for design?
You should be able to put stone veneer directly on the brick. Iāve got a contractor who doesnāt this all the time on the outsides of chimneys without any issues. No idea what he charges his clients to do it though.
I think Houzz is the best place to look for what appeals to you. I donāt think thereās anything wrong with brass hardware. Itās classic. It goes with my 1920s house, so even my new French doors have brass handles. Doors - same thing. It depends on what the style of the house is. Our 1920s house has doors like this: https://www.wayfair.com/home-improvement/pdp/shaker-solid-wood-5-panel-wood-slab-interior-door-kiby1011.html
@Mom22039, brass is back in but itās a different brass then the old stuff. Itās brushed now. Personally, I like brushed nickel and used that in my kitchen and both bathrooms.
My contractor has a designer on staff and she was invaluable. She came with cabinet samples and we went together to the wholesale supply stores and the stone yard. She also created computerized designs with everything I chose so I knew exactly what everything would look like before construction began. She brought samples of paint colors too. I wouldnāt do any project without a designer now.
I love the contractor we are working with and he was recommended by our kitchen designer. She has been much less reliable, and frequently doesnāt return calls or emails. It was one of those āfrog in the heating waterā situations for me and by the time I realized it I didnāt have time to start over. Still, her designs have been good.
There are so many places to get inspiration. Certainly look around online, but also go visit tile stores, fancy kitchen stores, and even Loweās to see whatās out there. My taste is not so conventional, (or so Iād like to think, lol) and it has been interesting to just consider what I really like, and listen to ideas from other people. My MIL has had some great ideas.
For paint, splurge on some samples and paint lots of test patches to help you visualize.
Our cabinets will be all installed by the end of the day! Waiting to hear back from the countertop person. Butcher block will be installed Monday or Tuesday. Ceiling is being painted today. Things are finally moving fast! Just when I was used to washing dishes in that hideous garage sinkā¦
For normal brick, but my case is complicated by the clinker brick. Even if you chip off the pieces that stick out a lot, it still doesnāt give you a flat surface.
I suppose with enough mortar it would work.
Our design inspirations came from open houses of newly built higher end homes around the area. We probably annoyed the heck out of those realtors as we clearly did not want to buy their $3M homes on postage stamp lots. But we got some good ideas re: paint choices, solid surfaces, bath fixtures, and especially lighting. Some of the light fixtures were the same as the ones Iāve been admiring online but had no idea how they would look IRL. Some were by some brands I have never seen in stores but was able to order directly through the maker or at a local lighting store.
For a large remodel job, a designer is a must, especially for updates that change the layout of the place.
Well for both the cover it with wall board, and the cover it with stone I think you might have to chip off the pieces that stick out a lot. Thereās usually an optional lath (metal screen), a 1/2" scratch coat mortar and the setting bed mortar is 3/8" to 3/4" thick. I also see that some companies say for interior uses you can use cement board as a backing.
We found our designer through word of mouth. We have a high-end painter who lives down the street and he recommended her. I watch a lot of HGTV, and follow cbās projects and realized there is a lot that I donāt know that I donāt know. I had a friend re-do her kitchen and I liked all the finishes that she picked, but didnāt like the end result, and I didnāt want that to happen to me. Plus previously when I went to the tile store, with so many options, I would get dizzy. I sent her pictures on HOUZZ so she got an idea of what my tastes were and then she would bring me samples.
@notrichenough - forums at Hearth dot com have some threads about veneering over a brick fireplace.
Fireplace
I have never installed stone over brick. I have installed tile over brick. First, the bricks sticking off will have to be chipped back. Then the tile guy applies a thick layer of mortar/cement that creares a flat surface. From that point on you are just installing tile.
Installing the big thick river stone will add a lot of bulk to that massive fireplace. My opinion is you need to straighten out upper part that is slanting to the left. Taking brick off is easy. Whatās behind it is hard:)
Tile installers charge more for fireplace tiling because they have to set several rows across bottom and then wait for the thin set to dry before they can do next rows. Repeat many times. Lots of waiting for thin set to dry because of the weight adding up
The River Rock is more expensive for material and if itās real stone it might be way too heavy to install onto your existing brick. Maybe there is a lightweight faux version thatās easy to install over brick.
Inspired by NRE, I am researching stone veneeringā¦ we have a granite tile fireplace in the library that would look so much better with some sort of stone around it.
@BunsenBurner - wow, that forum is huge. Thanks for the pointer!
Ahahaā¦ I got sucked in when I was researching WTH was wrong with our gas fireplace that would not fire up.
So, what started as a simple āupdateā of painting the kitchen island and replacing cabinet knobs has now become a bigger project. Now, we have had the kitchen island rebuilt to add more storage and enlarge the surface. Iāve chosen Taj Mahal quartz for the new countertops and island top. Thinking of tumbled marble for the backsplash and a tile mosaic for the cooktop area. The island will be painted a cream glazed color. The wall cabinets are a mocha brown and weāll be wiping a black glaze over it to deepen the color.
Demo of the existing granite is scheduled for next week. Our contractor says its almost impossible to save it. Iām curious to know if any of you have differing opinions.
^ Save it for what?
Iām sure you could get some large pieces, at least. Trying to get an entire slab out might be hard depending on how it was installed and how many openings have been cut.
Do you mean save the countertops for the cabinets that have not changed their footprint? You will not save a whole lot since you will still be paying for labor.