Bedroom Fireplaces..

[parkview094]

Hello All,

Wondered whether I could get some opinions on a domestic 'discussion' we are having... :wink:

We have 2 bedrooms with original cast-iron fireplaces:



..which are currently painted.

Would a cast iron fireplace have ever been painted originally? We're trying to decide whether to have them stripped and blackened, or just repainted. I'm on one side of the fence, the wife on the other

What are folks thoughts?

 

[jocelyn plummer]

Personally I would keep them painted. I have lived in Listed properties with fireplaces in bedrooms and the surrounds have been painted in an eggshell or chalky finish.

It might be worth considering the impact of black in the bedroom décor.

 

[plasticpigeon]

Yes that looks nice to me. I'm sure I've seen painted fireplaces in places where the decor is supposed to be period, although so long as you don't rip it out, I'd have thought painting it whatever colour you like would be the thing to do! I have one painted all white which doesn't look good, but a white surround and black inside looks good. I might even just paint the inside of the one in my house black as it ius much easier than stripping the whole thing.

Have a look at this old place sold near me. I bet the decor is pretty old, and almost all the fireplaces are painted.

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/house-prices/detailMatching.html?prop=28487763&sale=50460044&country=england

 

[mims&pip]

I agree with Jocelyn and Plastic.....I quite like it as it is with the black insert :wink:

This house - 1850s with 1920s addtion - sadly has no bedroom fireplaces (although we intend to replace these, despite planning to sell up) and previous Victorian houses we've owned have either had marble or slate fireplaces in the bedrooms or else we've again had to replace those ripped out by POs. In our last house, however, which was actually Georgian, we did have one such similar to yours that was painted but with a black lead insert.....

Mims x

 

[noj]

If you're happy with black for the insert then it's really worth the effort of stripping and treating with a graphite grate polish - the sheen is just so much nicer (IMHO) than paint. It just looks 'right'...

Stripping with klingstrip worked really easily on the one I did recently (far much less effort and clean up involved than stripping beams!)

 

[88v8]

The iron surrounds in our previous house, some were there and some I put in, all were painted by PO or myself, but with black inserts. I also blacked the fireback of one bedroom fireplace that PO said had never been lit, using black emulsion.

In the main, I used eggshell, but the fireplace in the main bedroom was more ornate, and I picked out some of the mouldings in gloss of the same shade.

It depends. If your décor is 'house' with wallpaper etc, then I think painted is better. If it's 'cottage' with predominantly black n white, then perhaps I'd go for blacking it, depending on the black n white balance in the room. Bearing in mind that the fireback will be black, it's too easy to end up with a not particularly attractive black lump.

Blacking was only universal, back in the day, because the fireplaces were used and there was no other finish that would survive the heat. Once they became decorative rather than functional, it became more of an aesthetic decision.
Unless of course you're gong for a strict period recreation, in which it has to be back to black.

In relation to using an iron fireplace, I would just mention that with a gas burner, bog-standard white eggshell survived the heat perfectly well on the fireplace in our bathroom, for 18 years. Gas burns much cooler than coal.

Ivor

 

[Penners]

Come on - be realistic! You know perfectly well that it's going to end up the way that your wife wants it! Just give in gracefully and earn yourself some Brownie points.

 

[CliffordPope]

Light it and see which bits get hot. Then you will know what not to paint.