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4.14.2015

Fireplace Facelift: A Rental Friendly 'Marble' Makeover


One of the things that I knew I wanted to change in my rental was the yellow tile surrounding my fireplace. I'll admit that once I moved in, the yellow tiles grew on me. They were more charming than I originally guessed, but I still felt that they weren't in keeping with my overall style and vision for the space. A couple of them were also cracked. (And yes, the ceiling fan is another thing I'd like to change!)


The tricky thing is that this is a rental unit, so I have to be realistic about what I can change and what I have to live with. I want to retile my kitchen backsplash eventually, so I'm saving the 'ask the landlord' question for that. Furthermore, I wanted marble and I know that it's not in the budget, and investing a lot of money into a rental doesn't make sense for me.

What I really needed was a rental friendly, non-permanent, easy, no-hassle, and inexpensive solution.
And that's when it donned on me, what about something I can peel and stick? So that's exactly what I did! I ordered up this amazing contact paper from my friends over at Design Your Wall, and went to work. A quick note about this contact paper. It is SO thick and durable, some of the tiles I had to unpeel and restick over ten times to get it just right, and the paper didn't rip, crinkle, or lose its stick. It really feels almost more like vinyl than paper. It is even wipeable! The pattern is also extremely realistic. 





The contact paper comes with a great grid on the back, so it makes it really easy to cut straight lines.

Next, just peel and stick! (and swear and get frustrated and almost give up). I'll be honest, I found this part difficult because part of my tiles are in behind the copper insert, so to peel and stick while getting it in behind there was very tricky. Thank goodness I could peel up and restick so many times!
I used the small triangle to help smooth out any air bubbles as I went. You should also make sure that your tiles are clean and dry before sticking.



I used the utility knife to reveal grout the small grout lines if the paper was covering it.




And voila! I can't believe how great this project turned out. I still need to add some caulking around the perimeter just to hide some of the pre-existing gaps, but I am loving the transformation! This really was the perfect solution! I don't think you can tell that it is paper at all unless you get really close. A big thank you to Design Your Wall for such an amazing product!

Now I'm thinking about what else I can marble-ize!
xox
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34 comments:

Veronica Lee Burns said...[Reply]

I am DEFINITELY looking into this!

Julia Ryan said...[Reply]

that is crazy good!

Patty Day @Pattys Epiphanies said...[Reply]

That's amazing! You are a genius!!!
xo
Patty

Unknown said...[Reply]

SUPER smart and what a huge change. Love this, Tiffany!

Unknown said...[Reply]

GORGEOUS! I wonder if this will work to brick? And stand up to the heat of the fire? Also... how much of the $60 roll did you use?

Tiffany Leigh said...[Reply]

@Brigid
Luckily my fireplace is just decorative so no fires here! I'm not sure that it would work on brick...I think it's better on a clean and smooth surface. I only used about 4 feet of the roll, but now I'm on the hunt for other things to marbleize! xo

Vanessa@decor happy said...[Reply]

That is amazing and so are you! What a difference!

Unknown said...[Reply]

amazing transformation! thanks for sharng

regards Birgit
http://mode-im-kopf.blogspot.co.at/

Lisa { Mom Wife Design Life Blog} said...[Reply]

WOW! What a difference the marble (contact paper) made it look!
So neat!

Showered With Design

Unknown said...[Reply]

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LiveLaughDecorate said...[Reply]

so clever! great job lady

Unknown said...[Reply]

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Anonymous said...[Reply]

Nice solution! Looks great. You have such a classy style, love it. :D

arrielle_p said...[Reply]

Looks so good! You did a great job in there. I have big mirror and a big painting on my fireplace too because for me big mirrors makes the room look bigger and brighter. :)

Arrielle P
Alveo Land High Park

Ashutosh Kumar said...[Reply]

O ho, love to see this marble makeover and and beautiful work on it.
vastu shastra in lucknow

Jona said...[Reply]

You did it so minutely and it looked so beautiful. have you done interior design for your whole apartment so minutely?

jordanRwood said...[Reply]

This is a great idea! The marble effect is such a desirable design, yet it's so expensive... this gives you the look but not the hole in your wallet! http://www.cubelofts.co.uk/

Unknown said...[Reply]

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Collene Mcculloch said...[Reply]

Talk about resourcefulness! Covering those yellow tiles with contact paper saved you from the cost of buying and replacing it with real tiles. And the transformation sure improved the look of your fireplace. Thanks for sharing that creative idea, Tiffany. Job well done!

Collene Mcculloch @ Brilliant Marble

Sarah said...[Reply]

This is a great product, love your blog! <3

Norma said...[Reply]

what has happened since????? don't leave us hanging????

Unknown said...[Reply]

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Pravin Dwivedi said...[Reply]

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Unknown said...[Reply]

Really awesome changing dear. I have 2 fireplaces in my home. one of them is made by limestone, which I purchased from architecturestoneelement. It is better & another one is wooden. Now I am thinking to apply your idea for the second one. Thanks for it & keep blogging dear & spread new ideas for designing.

Unknown said...[Reply]

This is brilliant!!Seriously, so good!!

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Brett Rogers said...[Reply]

You found an amazing marble dupe! I think this is pretty clever, and is fairly integrated to your gold and white vision. What concerns me is that since they are practically “paper”, won’t they be easily damaged once you light that fireplace? Well, I sure hope they don’t! Take care!

Brett Rogers @ Flame Furnace

Unknown said...[Reply]

Your home is looking wonderful such a nice interior decorator you are. Really you blog is telling too much of your hard work. Thanks and keep posting more with us.Sharing something for all about bathrooms as there are many innovative small bathroom makeovers sites with which we makeover our bathroom with creative bathroom ideas and bathroom design and get your bathroom looks wonderful.

Unknown said...[Reply]

You have done a very nice work. Here are some beautiful bath remodelling ideas.Have a look at them.

BaliWallpaper said...[Reply]

Hi, you're like an magic angel. Your idea truly extraordinary ... May God always gives you beautiful days. My wife was supposed to know this great idea .

sembada said...[Reply]

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Unknown said...[Reply]

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Anonymous said...[Reply]

Nice post, things explained in details. Thank You.

Painting Kirkland

Joe said...[Reply]

Nice and Great Work..!! Your home is looking wonderful such a nice interior decorator you are. Thanks for sharing the idea with us that how smartly you decorated your fireplace.

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