The best colours to paint a fireplace surround

A fireplace has a way of stealing the show. When you enter a room, your eye is naturally drawn to the fireplace. The combination of the protruding chimney breast, mantelpiece and fireplace creates a beautiful focal point. That’s even more the case if it’s a working fireplace, you’re instinctively drawn toward those flickering flames.

If your fireplace looks a little tired or no longer matches your room’s decor, it could be time to update it. That doesn’t mean ripping it out and replacing it necessarily. Painting your fireplace surround can freshen up the whole room and give your characterful feature a whole new look.

Wondering what colour to paint a fireplace surround? We’ve got plenty of fireplace ideas from bold, eye-catching features to more subdued and comforting styling. Here are some of our favourites, along with a few practical tips on which paint to use and what to consider before you pick up your paintbrush.

Can you paint a fire surround or mantelpiece?

Yes, many fire surrounds and mantelpieces can be painted. But it all depends on what it’s made from. Fireplace surrounds can be made from all sorts of materials, including wood, metal or marble. The surrounding hearth might be brick, stone, slate or tile, for example, so the right preparation and paint will depend on the surface.

If you have a working fireplace or wood burner, there’s another important consideration: heat. Check how hot the surface you want to paint gets when the fire is in use. Make sure you use a paint that can withstand high temperatures and has a fire safety rating. This is particularly important if you’re painting behind a wood burner on the fireplace wall.

Our Claypaint is certified with a Class ‘0’ reaction to fire rating. It can withstand temperatures of up to 80°C without the paint being affected. It’s perfectly suited to bare brick, new plaster and lime plaster, while its ultra flat matt finish looks particularly lovely alongside the glow of a fire.

If you’re painting your fireplace surround, our Eggshell No.17 paint is a durable option. It’s ideal for wooden fireplace surrounds as well as other interior woodwork. Make sure you prepare the surface properly first, including priming the wood with a primer like our Multi Purpose Primer.

What colour fireplace mantel is most popular?

As with any interior design choice, you need to consider how you want the room to feel. Do you want to wow people with a bold statement colour? Do you want to emphasise the cosiness that your working fireplace evokes? Perhaps you want your room to feel calming and relaxed. Or for a cohesive scheme, painting your fireplace surround in the same shade as your walls creates an easy, flowing feel. Equally, you could opt for a fireplace mantel that contrasts with the wall to create an eye-catching focal point.

Before settling on a colour, take a look around the rest of your room. Consider the colours in your hearth, flooring, walls, furniture and soft furnishings. Your newly painted fireplace will be sitting alongside all of them, so thinking about the room as a whole will help you create a scheme that feels just right.

Contrast your wall and fireplace surround

A fireplace is already a natural focal point, so why not have a little fun with it? Painting the chimney breast in a bold colour can make your fireplace really stand out. Or, if your walls are already colourful, you could keep the fireplace surround in a contrasting neutral. Complimentary, yet contrasting colours, can look stunning.

In this cosy living room, the stone fireplace surround grounds the warm, terracotta orange wall colour, Flower Pot. Picture the glowing flames inside the black, metal log burner to complete that inviting and comforting place to relax.

The fireplace surround in this room below is far more ornate. Painting it in a warm white highlights the intricate design allowing it to shine, while the deep pink of Gosh Golly behind it on the wall makes the whole feature pop.

Try colour drenching

If you love a room that feels cosy and enveloping, colour drenching could be just the thing. Using the same colour across your walls, skirting, woodwork and even the ceiling has a cocooning effect. Including the fireplace surround in that colour drenching scheme ties everything together seamlessly.

If colour drenching the entire room feels too much, just apply it to the chimney breast, mantelpiece and fireplace surround. It creates a cohesive accent wall, and you can soften the look with a complementary colour elsewhere.

Here, the brickwork on the chimney breast is painted in the same deep blue as the other walls. Bobble Hat is a wonderfully rich blue that lends itself to a cosy evening snug.

And why stop at the living room? This bedroom is colour drenched in the earthy, yet vibrant golden yellow of Three Bears. Painting the mantelpiece in the same colour brings a sophisticated synergy.

Warm neutrals

Timeless, sophisticated and elegant, warm neutrals remain popular for good reason. These shades can soften the appearance of a heavy fireplace surround and also sit happily alongside natural textiles and wood.

This brick fireplace surround is painted in the soft off-white of Flutterby, which is also used on the walls. It creates a neutral backdrop for the metal wood burner, while the stack of logs gives it a Scandinavian-inspired aesthetic. And if yours isn’t a working fireplace, you can stack logs inside it for a beautiful, natural styling feature.

In this room, the easy-going neutral paint colour, Straw, makes the dark metal fireplace surround and wood burner stand out. A stark white wall against the black would be harsher, less welcoming and relaxing than the gentle colour, Straw.

In this period home, the ornate fireplace surround and panelled walls behind it are all painted in our soft beige, Donkey Ride. This neutral surround provides a gentle backdrop, leaving space for other features to make a statement. That could be colourful artwork above the mantel, textured soft furnishings or a patterned armchair beside the fire, perhaps.

Choosing a colour for your fireplace surround

A working fireplace invites people to gather round it. That could be you curling up in a comfy armchair with a good book or swapping stories with friends and family beside the warming flames. Your choice of colour for that focal point can make it a dramatic statement or a more gentle, cohesive feature.

And remember, colour isn’t the only thing to consider. Before painting a fireplace surround, make sure your paint is suitable for the job, too. Check its fire safety credentials and heat resistance, as well as its suitability for the material you want to paint.

Not sure which paint is right for your fireplace? Get in touch with our team, we’re always happy to help.