25 Fireplace Makeover Ideas for Small Apartments
No landlord who likes power tools, no budget for a contractor, and a fireplace that hasn’t changed since the building went up. That’s where most small apartment fireplaces start, and it’s a fine place to start. You don’t need a renovation for a fireplace makeover that changes how your living room feels at night. You need to know which fixes your lease allows, and which ones are worth the effort in a few hundred square feet.
The 25 ideas below are sorted by the Landlord Ladder in idea #1, so you can skip straight to the ones you’re allowed to do. Nineteen of them are reversible, which means renters can do them with a quick text to the landlord or with no ask at all. Some take ten minutes and a mirror. A few are weekend projects for owners, or for renters with permission in writing.
Each idea comes with a quick visual you can screenshot. Where a real flame or a gas unit is involved, you’ll also find the safety line that matters, so nothing pretty ends up next to something hot.
1. Sort Every Idea With the Landlord Ladder Before You Buy Anything
Permission decides your fireplace before style does.
Most small apartment fireplaces are rented, sealed, or gas, and each of those changes what you’re allowed to touch. So every idea in this list sits on one of three rungs:
- Rung 1, no ask: you can undo it in under an hour and it leaves zero marks.
- Rung 2, quick ask: reversible, but it touches a surface. Text your landlord a photo and one line first.
- Rung 3, written OK: paint, lime, gas, or anything permanent. Owners, or renters with permission in writing.
🪜 The Landlord Ladder
Undo it in under an hour. Zero marks.
Ideas: 3, 4, 5, 11, 12, 13, 14, 18, 19, 25
Reversible, but it touches a surface. One text first.
Ideas: 2, 6, 7, 10, 15, 16, 20, 22, 23
Paint, lime, gas, or anything permanent.
Ideas: 8, 9, 17, 21, 24
Know your rung and half the shopping list writes itself.
Safety note: anchor tall furniture to the wall, keep candles and cords away from fabric, and use a licensed electrician or contractor for hardwired lighting, ceiling mounts, or anything structural. If your fireplace works, have it and the chimney inspected before you change anything around it.
2. A Renter Friendly Fireplace Makeover With Peel and Stick Tile
Black glossy tile, chipped corners, grout gone gray. That’s the surround in plenty of older rentals, and because it’s usually flat, it’s a strong candidate for peel and stick tile.
The fix covers the old tile without removing a single piece. Matte stone looks and small hex patterns pass for real tile best, both in photos and up close.
Two catches. Most vinyl peel and stick isn’t made for heat, so on a working fireplace look for a heat rating on the box or skip this one. And test removal first. One renter who tiled her rental surround with peel and stick floor tile found the adhesive grabbed only lightly, which made it easy to take off later but meant the vertical pieces needed extra hold.
Wipe the surround with a degreasing cleaner and let it dry overnight.
Dry fit full tiles from the center out, so the cut pieces land at the edges.
Score cuts with a utility knife against a metal ruler, then snap.
Press every tile with a small rubber roller, corners first.
Cover raw edges with thin trim held by removable mounting tape.
Peel one test tile after a week, before you buy the rest.
3. Lean an Oversized Mirror on the Mantel Instead of Drilling
Glass gives a small room twice the light for zero holes.
- Size: aim for a mirror about two thirds the width of the mantel. That ratio fills the wall without crowding the edges.
- Shape: a round or arched top softens a boxy firebox.
- Grip: a strip of museum putty or two rubber bumpers under the bottom edge keeps it from sliding.
- Lean: keep the angle shallow so the top rests flat against the wall.
After dark, lamp light bounces off it twice and the corner stops feeling like a cave.
4. Fill a Non Working Fireplace With Stacked Books
Sealed fireboxes make free shelves, and your TBR pile finally gets a spot with a view.
Confirm the fireplace is truly retired first. Some decorative apartment fireplaces still have an open flue, and you’ll feel the draft if you hold your hand at the opening. Ask your landlord if you’re not sure.
Confirm the fireplace is sealed or retired for good.
Vacuum the soot and lay a cut board on the firebox floor.
Stack hardcovers flat, spines out, in two columns.
Books in any firebox you might ever light.
Paperbacks pressed against bare, sooty brick.
Filling it edge to edge. A dark gap keeps it reading as a fireplace.
Soot smell clings to paper. Wipe the bricks with a damp rag and let them dry before the first book goes in.
5. Swap the Brass Screen for a Slim Black One
Plenty of fireplaces get blamed on the brick when the real problem is a shiny brass screen from a few decades back. Swap it and the whole wall looks newer.
A slim, flat black screen, single panel or folding three panel, stands on its own with nothing to install. Fine mesh reads lighter than heavy scrollwork in a small room.
If your fireplace works, sturdiness comes before style. NFPA’s home heating safety tips call for a sturdy screen that keeps sparks inside the firebox, along with a three foot clear zone around it.
📌 Good To Know
On a sealed fireplace, a screen is pure decor, so choose by look. On a working one, choose a sturdy screen that covers the whole opening first, then think about style.
Measure the opening and add a couple of inches on each side before you shop.
6. Build a Slide On Hollow Mantel That Never Touches a Drill
Hollow boxes fool the eye. A three sided box built from straight pine boards and stained dark reads like a heavy wood beam, yet it weighs a few pounds and slides right over the shelf you already have.
One renter project published by The Home Depot used the same idea: a hollow mantel resting on the existing brick supports, with no hardware drilled into the fireplace face.
Before you cut
On move out day, it lifts off in about the time it takes to carry it to the car.
7. Wrap the Chimney Breast in Removable Wallpaper
Pattern does the heavy lifting here, and the fireplace itself stays exactly as it is.
Run peel and stick wallpaper up the chimney breast, mantel line to ceiling, and stop it at the outer edges of the surround. In a small room, a small scale print or a soft stripe keeps the wall from shouting. Keep paper well back from the firebox opening, and on a working fireplace use it above the mantel only.
Before committing, stick a test strip behind a framed print for two weeks, then peel it. Flat rental paint sometimes lifts with it.
Beige chimney breast, beige walls, and a fireplace that disappears into the room.
A small scale pattern runs up to the ceiling, the surround stays untouched, and the wall finally has a focal point.
A few rolls, one afternoon, a very different wall.
8. Paint the Surround, Then Use High Heat Paint Inside
Two paints, two jobs. Use the wrong one in the wrong spot and you’ll be repainting by spring.
On the outside surround, a masonry primer and regular latex paint hold up fine, since that brick only gets warm. Inside the firebox, where flames actually touch, only high heat paint made for that use belongs.
| Outside surround | Inside the firebox |
|---|---|
| Masonry primer, then latex paint | High heat paint made for fireboxes |
| Gets warm | Takes direct flame heat |
| Matte or satin, any color | Flat black is the usual pick |
| Rung 3, written OK | Rung 3, written OK |
Painted brick doesn’t go back to raw brick, which is why this one sits on rung 3. One brick supplier puts a pro paint job at roughly $350 to $650, so doing it yourself saves real money if you have patience for mortar lines.
Matte reads more like stone. Satin wipes clean faster around a sooty opening.
9. Limewash a Brick Fireplace for Soft, Patchy Color
Bare brick only. Limewash soaks into raw masonry and won’t grip brick that’s already been painted, so check yours before you buy anything. Painted brick needs a mineral paint made to look like limewash, or a full strip back to bare brick.
The payoff is control. Rub it back and red brick peeks through. Leave it alone and you get a soft, chalky white. A 50 pound bag of hydrated lime for mixing your own runs about $20 to $30, and premixed limewash saves you the measuring.
Scrub the brick with a stiff brush to knock off dust and loose grit.
Mist a few square feet at a time so the brick is damp, not dripping.
Brush limewash on, working top down in small sections.
Rub back with a damp sponge wherever you want red brick to show.
Wait a full day before judging. Wet limewash dries much lighter.
It spatters more than wall paint, so cover twice the floor you think you need.
10. Slide a Plug In Electric Insert Into a Dead Firebox
Flicker without a flue.
- Measure first: width, height, and depth of the firebox opening, then shop for an insert that fits inside those numbers.
- Power: most plug in units run on a standard 120 volt outlet and top out around 1,500 watts of heat, about the same as a space heater.
- Plug straight in: skip extension cords and power strips, and run the cord out one side under a paintable cord cover.
- Summer mode: many models let you run the flame effect with the heat off.
Ask before installing if the firebox was sealed for a reason. Some flipped apartments close them off to run ductwork behind the wall.
11. Build a Reading Corner That Respects the Three Foot Rule
Chairs creep. In a small apartment the fireplace wall is often the only quiet wall, so the reading chair drifts a little closer every week.
If your fireplace works, give it a hard line. NFPA’s guidance is three feet of clearance between a fireplace and anything that can burn, and that includes the chair, the throw, and the basket of books.
Tape a line on the floor three feet out from a working firebox. Chair legs, throws, rugs, and book baskets all live behind it.
Angle the chair about 45 degrees toward the fire right at the tape. Put a swing arm lamp with a warm 2700K bulb on the far side, and a small side table within arm’s reach. If this is your first real reading spot, these small reading nook ideas for adults walk through chair height and lamp reach.
The payoff is sound as much as heat: the soft tick of the fire, a page turning, and nothing else.
12. Stack LED Candles in Three Heights Inside the Firebox
Real flame and a sealed firebox are a bad match, and a lit candle tucked inside is easy to forget at bedtime. Battery candles give you the glow without the worry. The U.S. Fire Administration’s candle safety tips point people toward flameless candles, and for real ones, a full foot of space from anything that burns.
- ▸One tall pillar, two medium, three votives. Odd numbers look less staged.
- ▸Warm white only. Cool white reads like a phone screen in the dark.
- ▸Pick candles with a timer so they’re glowing when you walk in.
- ▸Group them on a metal tray so they lift out in one move.
With the overhead light off, the firebox finally looks lived in.
13. Put Low Light Plants on a Non Working Hearth
Hearths usually sit in the darkest spot of a small living room, which narrows your plant list fast. Pick the tough ones.
Hearth plant setup
Group three pots at different heights, let one plant trail over the hearth edge, and the cold brick starts to look intentional.
Give the pots a quarter turn every week so they don’t lean toward the window.
14. Angle Your Furniture Around a Corner Fireplace
Corner fireplaces eat two walls and hand you an awkward triangle. You have two ways to play it.
Square to the walls feels familiar, but it leaves the fireplace off to one side and the seating staring at a blank wall. Square to the fireplace, with the rug turned to match the firebox front, makes the corner the center of the room.
Turn the rug square to the firebox front, not the walls.
Face a loveseat toward the fire and angle one chair at 45 degrees.
A sofa pushed flat against the side wall, facing nothing.
A TV fighting the fireplace for the same corner.
The angled layout almost always wins in a small space. A room with one clear front feels calmer than a room with two.
15. Run Peel and Stick Shiplap Above the Mantel Only
Floor to ceiling paneling around a small fireplace can swallow it whole. Keep the paneling above the mantel and the original surround stays readable, while the wall above gains height and texture.
Peel and stick shiplap and fluted slat panels go up without nails. Keep them above the mantel and away from firebox heat. The modern farmhouse living room ideas for small apartments post lists two rolls of peel and stick shiplap as part of its starter kit, and a chimney breast is an even smaller job.
| Shiplap panels | Fluted slat panels |
|---|---|
| Horizontal lines, farmhouse feel | Vertical lines, modern feel |
| Makes a narrow wall look wider | Makes a low ceiling look taller |
| Paint it the wall color to keep it quiet | Wood tone adds warmth on a white wall |
| Rung 2, quick ask | Rung 2, quick ask |
Horizontal boards widen, vertical slats lift. Pick by whichever feels shorter in your room: the wall or the ceiling.
16. Frame a Plain Box Fireplace With a Painted Fan Arch
Pinterest named Neo Deco one of its 2026 home trends: chevrons, fan arches, and geometric shapes edged in brass or chrome. A plain box fireplace makes a good stage for it.
- Renter version: paint a fan arch on a thin plywood or foam board panel and stand it behind the mantel.
- Owner version: paint the arch straight onto the wall in a clay or umber tone.
- Either way: make the arch at least as wide as the mantel so it frames the fireplace instead of floating above it.
One shape, done big, beats three small trend nods.
17. Update a Small Gas Fireplace Without Touching the Unit
Painting the gas unit itself is the update people reach for first, and it’s the one to skip.
Gas inserts and apartment gas fireplaces come with clearances printed in the manual, and the glass front, louvers, and vents are part of how the unit stays safe. What you can change is everything around it: the mantel shelf, the wall finish, and the styling.
⚠️ Watch Out
Don’t paint, cover, or block the glass front, louvers, or vents on a gas unit. Anything inside the clearances listed in the manual, and any gas line work, goes to a licensed pro.
Find the model number on the rating plate, often tucked behind the lower louver panel, and download the manual before you buy a single material.
18. Style the Mantel With One Big, One Medium, and One Small Piece
Small rooms read cluttered fast, and the mantel is the first place it shows. Three pieces at odd heights, with a third of the shelf left empty, does more than ten small things.
Lean the big piece slightly off center and let the medium and small ones balance it on the other side. For a softer version with gold frames and linen, borrow from these light academia styling ideas for small apartments.
Edit once a month. Take one thing off and see if you miss it.
19. Keep the Seasonal Swap in a Basket Beside the Hearth
Four seasons, one basket.
Keep a lidded basket next to the hearth that holds whatever comes next, so changing the mantel takes ten minutes instead of a closet dig.
- ▸Fall: three small pumpkins and a bundle of dried grass.
- ▸Winter: a faux greenery garland and battery fairy lights. Keep real greenery away from a working fire.
- ▸Spring: one vase of grocery store tulips.
- ▸Summer: a bowl of shells, or honestly, nothing at all.
Each swap, the outgoing pieces go into the basket. Nothing seasonal ever needs closet space again.
20. Create a Faux Fireplace With a Freestanding Salvaged Mantel
No fireplace at all is common in small apartments, and the wall where one should be ends up blank. A salvaged wood mantel fixes that. Architectural salvage shops and local marketplace listings turn up old mantels after renovations.
Stand it against the wall, then strap the top to the wall with a furniture anchor. Tall, top heavy pieces tip, and the strap leaves only one small hole to patch later. Fill the opening with a mirror panel or a cluster of LED candles.
A blank living room wall with nothing to anchor the seating.
A salvaged mantel strapped to the wall, a mirror panel in the opening, and LED candles on the shelf.
Check the back for old nails before it goes anywhere near your floor.
21. Black Out Dated Brass Trim With High Heat Spray Paint
Shiny brass frames on glass doors date a firebox fast, and the fix is a can of high heat spray paint. It’s a rung 3 job, since paint on the fireplace is a permanent change.
Lift the doors off if they hang on pins, and take them outside.
Degrease the brass, then scuff it lightly with fine sandpaper.
Tape the glass edges carefully with painter’s tape.
Spray two or three light coats instead of one heavy one.
Cure it exactly as the can directs before the next fire.
Flat black is the safe pick. It sinks into the firebox shadow and makes the opening look larger.
22. Hang a Plug In Sconce or Picture Light Above the Mantel
Overhead light flattens a fireplace wall. Side light gives it depth, and two plug in options work in rentals.
A plug in sconce on each side of the mantel lights the wall and anyone reading nearby. A picture light over a framed print lights the art and leaves the corners soft and dim. Either way, use a warm 2700K bulb, run the cord down the wall under a cord cover painted to match, and keep cords off the hearth.
After sunset, the brick texture shows up in a way overhead light never manages.
23. Flank the Fireplace With Two Narrow Bookcases
Symmetry makes a small fireplace look bigger. Two matching narrow bookcases, one on each side, turn a lone firebox into a full wall. The narrow IKEA Billy, about 15 3/4 inches wide, fits the gap in plenty of apartments.
Keep them the same height, line their fronts up with the mantel edge, and keep them off the hearth.
⚠️ Watch Out
Tall bookcases tip. Use the wall strap that comes in the box, even in a rental. The hole it leaves is small and quick to patch at move out.
Style the shelves lightly: books on two shelves, objects on one, and a few empty spots so the wall can breathe.
24. Color Drench the Fireplace Wall in One Moody Shade
Dark paint makes edges disappear, which is exactly what a cramped fireplace wall needs. Paint the wall, trim, and surround in one deep shade and the fireplace stops looking like a box stuck on the wall.
Several of Pinterest’s 2026 trends, Vamp Romantic among them, point toward darker, layered rooms, and a color drench is the fastest way in. It’s rung 3, so get the OK in writing and ask if you’ll need to repaint before you move out.
Pair it with one warm lamp. Dark walls go flat under a cool bulb.
25. Move the TV Off the Fireplace Wall
TVs above fireplaces look right on paper, because the wall seems made for one. In a small room, it usually isn’t.
A screen that high means looking up all evening, and over a working fireplace, heat rises straight into it. TV manuals list an operating temperature range, so check yours before you mount anything there.
Set the TV on a low console beside the fireplace, at seated eye level.
Let the fireplace be the one thing the seating faces.
Mounting it above the mantel, where you’ll crane your neck.
Hanging it over a working firebox without checking its heat limits.
The fire gets the view. The TV gets a side seat.
Frequently Asked Questions
How can I update a fireplace in a rental apartment?
Start with changes that leave no marks. Lean a large mirror on the mantel, swap the screen, fill a sealed firebox with LED candles or books, and style the mantel with fewer, larger pieces. For a bigger change, ask your landlord about peel and stick tile on a flat surround or a slide on hollow mantel. Both come off cleanly when you move out.
How much does it cost to update a fireplace?
It depends on how far you go: restyling, refinishing, or remodeling. Angi puts the national average fireplace remodel at $1,200, with most projects landing between $400 and $2,000. One brick supplier estimates a professional paint job at about $350 to $650. Renter fixes like a mirror, a new screen, or LED candles cost only the price of those pieces.
What paint is safe to use on a fireplace?
Use a masonry primer and regular latex paint on the outside surround, where the brick only gets warm. The inside of the firebox needs high heat paint made for that job. Never paint the glass, louvers, or vents on a gas unit, and check the gas fireplace manual before painting anything around it. Let every coat cure fully before you light a fire.
Is limewash better than paint on a brick fireplace?
Limewash soaks into bare brick and lets some of the original color show through, so it looks softer and more textured than paint. Paint gives even coverage in any color and works on brick that’s already painted. Limewash won’t bond to painted brick, so check yours first. If you want to keep the brick’s character, limewash is usually the better fit.
Do I need a permit to redo a fireplace?
Cosmetic work like paint, tile over an existing surround, or a new mantel shelf usually doesn’t need one. Installing an insert, running a gas line, or changing anything structural often does, and the rules vary by city. Call your local building department before you buy materials. Renters also need the landlord’s written OK for anything beyond reversible styling.
What can I put inside a fireplace that doesn’t work?
A sealed firebox can hold stacked books, birch logs, a cluster of battery LED candles, a plug in electric insert, or low light plants in saucers. Clean out the soot first and make sure the flue is really closed, or you’ll feel drafts and smell old smoke. Keep real candles out of it. Flameless ones look close and carry no fire risk.
How do I make a small fireplace look bigger?
Pull the eye up and out. Run wallpaper or paneling above the mantel to the ceiling, flank the fireplace with two matching narrow bookcases, and lean a mirror about two thirds the width of the mantel. Painting the fireplace and the wall around it the same deep color also blurs the edges, so the whole wall reads as one larger feature.
Start on Your Rung
Renting? A leaning mirror, a cluster of LED candles, and a chair set three feet back will change the room tonight, and every one of them leaves with you when you move. Owners get the bigger levers: limewash, paint, and a color drench are where a fireplace makeover earns its weekend.
Either way, pick one idea this week, not five. Small rooms show every extra object, and a fireplace wall looks best with fewer, better pieces.
Save this list to your small space board so the Landlord Ladder is waiting the next time you sign a lease, or the next time a cold night has you staring at that empty firebox.
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