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Painted Brick Fireplace and Column Opening in Sammamish, WA

This Sammamish living room changed in two big ways in 2022. The dark red brick fireplace and its raised hearth were painted white, which brightens the whole wall beside the built-in shelves. And the wide opening between the living room and the hall is now framed by two square columns under a trimmed beam, so it reads as a finished, built-in feature rather than a gap in the wall.

City
Sammamish, WA
Service
Living room remodel
Scope
Brick fireplace and hearth painted white, hall opening framed with square columns and a trimmed beam, finish painting
Year
2022
Photo dates
July 25 to September 28, 2022 (first to last photo)
Same project
The home office in the same house was refinished at the same time
Contractor
Volcano Builders, WA license VOLCABI792C6
Approximate investment
About $10,000

Every project is priced in writing, line by line, for your home.

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Living room with the brick fireplace and hearth painted white, a wall clock above and built-in shelves to the right
The finished fireplace wall in Sammamish, brick painted white
Before

Before the work

Living room with a red brick fireplace, a wall clock on the brick and white built-in shelves beside it
Before: the red brick fireplace wall in Sammamish, July 2022
Living room with the red brick fireplace, a square post and a stair rail at the hall opening
Before: the hall opening with a single post and the stair rail
After

The finished living room

Living room with the brick fireplace and hearth painted white, a wall clock above and built-in shelves to the right
The finished fireplace wall in Sammamish, brick painted white
Close view of the white painted brick fireplace and raised hearth beside white built-in shelves
The painted brick and hearth up close, next to the built-ins
Living room with a row of windows to the garden and the white fireplace in the corner
Looking across the room to the windows and the white fireplace
View from the hall through a wide opening framed by square columns and a beam into the living room
From the hall: the column opening frames the living room
Two square white columns with trimmed bases under a beam at the opening beside a floor lamp
The two square columns and the trimmed beam
Square column and beam at the edge of the living room looking toward hall doors and a wood floor
From the living room side, looking toward the hall doors
The project

How this Sammamish living room came together

The goal

The living room had good bones: a brick fireplace, built-in shelves and a wall of windows onto the garden. But the dark red brick made the fireplace wall feel heavy, and the opening to the hall was marked by a lone post beside the stair rail. The goal was a brighter fireplace wall and an opening that looked designed.

The challenge

This was a lived-in house, and the living room work ran alongside other work in the same home, including the home office. Dust had to stay in the work area. The photos from late September show the hall and the doorways around the new opening sealed in plastic, with the floors papered, while the columns and beam were finished.

The solution

At the opening we built two square columns with trimmed bases and capitals under a cased beam, so the living room and the hall now meet through a framed passage. On the fireplace, the red brick and the raised hearth were painted white from floor to ceiling, which ties the fireplace to the white built-ins and trim around it.

The result

The fireplace wall now reads light instead of dark, and the columns give the room a clear entrance from the hall. The finished photos were taken on September 26 and 28, 2022, two months after the first before photos on July 25. The built-in shelves, the windows and the wood floor in the hall stayed as they were, so the change came from paint, trim and the new columns.

Keep reading

Part of the same project: Home Office Cabinet Refinish in Sammamish, WA

Questions

Questions about this project

Can you paint a brick fireplace?

Yes. On this one the red brick and the raised hearth were painted white, which changed the whole wall without tearing anything out. Brick is porous, so it has to be clean and sound before paint goes on.

What do columns at an opening add to a room?

They turn a plain gap in the wall into a framed passage. Here two square columns with trimmed bases and a cased beam mark where the hall ends and the living room begins, while keeping the opening wide.

How much did this project cost?

About $10,000. Every project is priced in writing, line by line, for your home.

How do I get a price for a living room project like this one?

Book a consultation. We walk the room with you, talk through the fireplace, trim and openings and send a written, itemized price before work starts. For what moves the price, read Remodeling Pricing Guide for Seattle and Bellevue, WA.

Next steps

Before you book

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