These Logs Were Meant for the Fireplace, but She Found Another Use for Them When the Fire Went Out
Firewood loses its purpose once the weather gets warm enough to leave the fireplace unused. The logs stay stacked until winter, but one interior designer saw a way to turn them into part of the room’s decor. Instead of removing the wood from the hearth, she dipped its cut ends into metallic gold paint and put it back on display.
Jessica from Twine Interiors used ordinary logs and branches, leaving their rough bark untouched while coating the exposed ends in gold. The project required no cutting, sanding, or construction, just a container of paint large enough to accommodate the wood.
Once dry, the logs were stacked inside an unused fireplace, with gold surfaces appearing between dark bark and pale cut wood. What had been a pile of fuel became a decorative feature for the months when no fire was needed.
Ordinary Firewood Became the Starting Point
Jessica chose Modern Masters Shimmer Metallic Paint, a water-based decorative coating with a gold finish. The paint would cover selected portions of the logs rather than conceal their bark and natural shape.
She selected a mixture of rounded branches and thick logs instead of relying on split wedges. Before painting, she brushed away dirt and loose bark so the coating could adhere to the exposed wood.
Metallic Gold Paint Covered the Cut Ends
The gold paint was poured into a plastic measuring container wide enough to accommodate the ends of the wood. Using a container instead of a brush allowed each piece to receive a thick coating in one dip.
One branch was lowered into the paint until its cut end and a short section of bark were covered. After lifting it from the container, Jessica held the wood above the opening while the excess paint dripped back into the mixture.
The dipping depth varied across the logs, leaving some with gold confined to the end grain and others with paint extending farther along their irregular surfaces.
The Painted Logs Dried Before Going Into the Fireplace
Jessica arranged the coated pieces on a plastic-covered bench and left them to dry for a full day. Thick branches, short logs, and forked sections formed a row, with their gold-painted ends extending beyond the edge of the protected surface.
She placed additional wood beneath some of the painted sections to catch dripping paint, producing splattered gold marks on those pieces.
The painting process took about an hour, excluding drying time.
Gold-Dipped Firewood Filled the Empty Hearth
The finished wood was stacked across the hearth inside an unused fireplace, beneath light-colored cabinetry and a dark reflective backing. Gold-painted ends face outward among the brown and gray bark, while ferns fill the space behind the logs.
A curved rattan chair with a patterned cushion and white textured throw sits beside the fireplace. The gold finish introduces a metallic accent without changing the rustic appearance of the stacked wood.
Close-up views show the difference between the painted surfaces. Some pieces have flat gold ends, while others retain angled cuts, broken branches, and uneven bark beneath the coating.
The mixture of log sizes keeps the display from resembling a uniform stack of purchased decorative wood. Each painted end catches light from a different direction, while the dark sections retain their original texture.
Jessica created the display for warmer months when the fireplace wasn’t in use. The painted logs should remain decorative rather than being burned, since water-based craft paint is not a guarantee that coated firewood is safe to combust.
Would you display gold-dipped firewood in an unused fireplace, or keep the hearth empty until winter?
Project and photographs: Jessica, Twine Interiors.