This $16 Trick Makes Your Living Room Look Custom Instantly

Taking a creative risk in your home can really pay off, especially for updating original features like tiles that have lost their luster. New Jersey designer Hollie Velten-Latrell of Spaces by Hollie Velten knew an unconventional palette would “peel off the outdated layers” from this formerly traditional fireplace “and give it a new look.” She nixed the green marble cladding, white surround, and brass screen. Now, the first thing you notice is the eye-popping pink designs on the hand-painted “marble” tiles. They’re framed by a pistachio painted mantle and walls — as well as a rosso levanto oxblood marble hearth. The result? Patterned perfection. Luckily, you don’t need the budget for two kinds of marble to pull off this look. In fact, DIY is what those fabulous pink tiles are all about.

Velten drew her inspiration from “eccentric” fireplaces in the iconic Bloomsbury Group meeting place Charleston House and the Chelsea Hotel, all hand-painted by artists. “We wanted to play with the shocking color pink in a sort of not totally sweetened way and have a hand-painted quality,” the designer says. A simple, repeating pattern like this dotted one is straightforward for DIYers to replicate — and if it actually looks hand-drawn, all the better. 

To get results worthy of a bohemian British country house, all you really need is the right paint. Chalk paint is ideal because it’s easy to work with and adheres well to stone. And at $16 a can, it’s inexpensive. It’s versatile, too: You can use it on porcelain and ceramic tile or painted brick. The Annie Sloan website has a step-by-step guide on how to paint marble with chalk paint. To re-create Velten’s bold pink, try Annie Sloan chalk paint in Scandinavian Pink. 

I asked Maureen Bane, a faux finishing painter in Maine and global technical adviser for Annie Sloan Interiors, for tips on how to free-hand a pattern like this that will last. She knows from experience, including painting her own fireplace using chalk paint. Her expert advice: Clean the surface and make sure it’s dry before you begin, then allow extra time to let your first thin coat of paint dry, ideally overnight. Normally you can layer chalk paint quickly, but a longer drying time helps the paint adhere to stone, Bane says. 

Finally, don’t worry too much and have fun. “A hand-painted line should look like a wonky or wobbly line,” Bane says. ”You do a better job when you talk yourself out of perfection. Perfection’s overrated.”