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10 Ideas for a Fireplace Facelift
From dramatic, artistic designs to small but unexpected details, these ideas for fireplaces are superhot
Houzz Contributor. Hi There! I currently live in a 1920s cottage in Atlanta that I'll describe as "collected."
I got into design via Landscape Architecture, which I studied at the University of Virginia. I've been writing about design online for quite a few years over at Hatch: The Design Public Blog.
Houzz Contributor. Hi There! I currently live in a 1920s cottage in Atlanta... More »
A fireplace is always a big design opportunity. Unfortunately, many of us are stuck with badly proportioned fireboxes, outdated retro fireplace surrounds or tacky blackened glass fireplace doors. If you're remodeling or looking to turn your fireplace into a focal point with impact, there are many possibilities, from classic to cutting edge.
What follows are 10 thoughtfully designed fireplaces. Some are highly dramatic, while others are subtle. Some required highly skilled craftspeople, while others required only tile installation or paint. What they all have in common is that they were all designed to fit into the rooms and the homes where they are located. I've arranged them (loosely) from the most dramatic to the least dramatic intervention — check them out and decide if your fireplace could use a facelift.
What follows are 10 thoughtfully designed fireplaces. Some are highly dramatic, while others are subtle. Some required highly skilled craftspeople, while others required only tile installation or paint. What they all have in common is that they were all designed to fit into the rooms and the homes where they are located. I've arranged them (loosely) from the most dramatic to the least dramatic intervention — check them out and decide if your fireplace could use a facelift.
Think beyond straight lines and boxes. This open fire pit design allows for the chimney to do double duty as a large industrial sculpture.
| Light up the surround. Designer Pepe Calderon used backlit onyx to create a glowing fireplace wall in this contemporary living room. |
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Create a large accent wall. A small fireplace can make a big impact when it's surrounded by an accent wall. This dynamic mosaic emphasizes the fireplace as a focal point.
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| Add texture. If your taste is more minimalist, consider adding textured tiles in a color that matches your walls. These are Bloom tiles from Modular Arts. |
| Go avant-garde with artistry. This fireplace surround transforms. Here it gives just a jagged peek at the flames through its opening; in the next photo, see how it opens to reveal more of the flames. |
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| Go coastal with driftwood and rocks. Interior designer Bruce Palmer designed this beachy driftwood and stone fireplace. "I found the pieces of driftwood on a beach trip. The house has tons of natural elements and twigs incorporated into the design, so I wanted to continue with that motif," he says. "I went to a rock quarry to pick out the pebbles, stones and the large round rock," he adds. "Then I met with the craftsman who did the ironwork. I told him I wanted it to look like the branches of a tree were holding the driftwood in place. This was a fun one!" |
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Match a long hearth and the surround. This fireplace surround incorporates the fireplace into the rest of the room. "There was an existing firebox set 5 inches off of the floor. We set the top of the hearth flush with the bottom of the firebox and extended the hearth the length of the wall to integrate with the built-in shelves," says architect Bill Bloomfield.
"The fireplace surround is honed Brazilian slate, which has dark green to gray milky veins," he adds. "This works well with the overall color palette, which are neutrals with green undertones."
"The fireplace surround is honed Brazilian slate, which has dark green to gray milky veins," he adds. "This works well with the overall color palette, which are neutrals with green undertones."
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Use unexpected materials. A unique fireplace does not have to be supersize or bright to make a big impact. This traditional fireplace stands out because the designer, Rodolfo Castro of Castro Design Studio, replaced the expected brick surround with fieldstone, adding more texture and variations in color tones.
Castro explains the logistics: "The stone is dry stacked with mortar — the mortar is used in the back part of the stone, so it does not show. The stones are 3 inches thick, so they can be stacked like bricks in front of the firebox, which is an Isokern unit."
Castro explains the logistics: "The stone is dry stacked with mortar — the mortar is used in the back part of the stone, so it does not show. The stones are 3 inches thick, so they can be stacked like bricks in front of the firebox, which is an Isokern unit."
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Play with traditional fireplace elements. While this Heath Ceramics tile resembles brick, its vertical orientation is unexpected.
Pay attention to what's inside the firebox. Of course, sometimes less is more. The white surround draws the eye into the firebox, keeping the focus on the unique firestones.
More: 16 Stunningly Beautiful Fireplaces
More: 16 Stunningly Beautiful Fireplaces
Ideabook published on Oct. 15, 2012.
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Love the Go avant-guarde with artistry - if I needed a fireplace.
http://www.sparkfires.com/fire-objects
-The hearth is too short/small to sit on, it's terra-cotta tile with wood trim.
-That's the main entry you see to the left, so I wouldn't want something folks could trip on
-We painted the brass accents with black fireplace paint
-Do I cheat and buy/make a huge painting to cover the hole, resting on the wooden lip?
-Or pay a drywaller to enclose it? Seems like such a waste of space.
-I like the idea of applying stone to the wall, but where do I stop? The mantel? The ceiling goes up 20+feet, and the wall to the R side is not very wide and contains a window.
I also think you could place a painting in the recessed niche, it just needs to practically fill it. The problem is that right now the things your have placed there are too small. I fear a mantel that sticks out beyond the shelf would be a little dangerous in the same way you worry about the house - I could see people rounding that corner and running into the corner of a deeper mantel.
I know that's just a bunch of small stuff there, not the best. My 7yo son wants a giant gold Buddha head there, but I haven't found one on the cheap yet.
I'd love to wall up the liv rm side and cut into the back side of that for shelves, etc (it would be right next to the front closet), but that sounds like a big deal, and I'm not sure a contractor would see my vision/not mess it up.
Also, I'm now wondering if some shelves within the niche might change the look up and make it better? I'm not sure!
Good luck.
http://www.socalfirepits.com/parts-and-acessories.html