motherbear Bear in mind the code for wood around the actual fire box. Ask in a quality paint store. There are gray stains & wood bleaching products out there. An experienced cabinet shop could do the finish you want. YOU HAVE TO DO YOUR RESEARCH!!

smorey1 Highly interested in the concrete tiles? How does one maneuver the corners?

2Stone Designer Concrete Depending on which 2Stone tile you use the corners can be butt jointed or 1/2 mitred. Here is a picture of 1/2 mitred corners with our board form tile. If you would like more information on any of our products please feel free to email me directly and be sure to check out our facebook page and website. lise@2stone.ca

Capua Custom Tile & Stone Hello Dentalgirl, I wasn't involved in this project so I can't say this with complete certainty, but I believe that that fireplace was cast in-place. The "planks" which you are seeing is the imprint left from the dimensional lumber used to build the form, and the variation of color comes from the tannins transferred from the lumber into the concrete also.

2Stone Designer Concrete 2Stone Designer Concrete has just come out with a concrete tile product that will mimic the look of traditional "cast in place" board-form concrete. We are currently in the works of selling it online. It will be user friendly and cost effective

Check out a photo we took last week of our first job done with the tile:

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=367282059994296&set=a.327748583947644.79981.273102716078898&type=1&theater

Also check out our website for more info www.2Stone.ca and please contact the studio for more info

miele Thanks for the quick response !

2Stone Designer Concrete 2Stone created this same look by using concrete tiles, light weight and easy to ship. Can be installed by any tiler. A photo of one of our past projects can be found on our FB page "2Stone Designer Concrete" ( we haven't gotten professional photos yet unfortunately)

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=367282059994296&set=a.327748583947644.79981.273102716078898&type=1&theater

also check out our website and send us an email for more info and photos

bepsf Not really - The wood impression comes from the formwork used when the concrete was poured...
...when concrete floors are poured, they don't need formwork - and I don't know that there's a way to do spamped concrete w/ a wood impression as it would be difficult for the strips to like up, unlike "stone" impressions where a random pattern is expected.

Kelly Porter An arrangement of candles at different heights is always a great way to add warmth {and flames} to an unused fireplace. An arrangement of colorful vases would work well, too.

Annie Thornton I believe this is just concrete that was framed with wood when it was poured. It leaves the grain on the drying concrete. I love this look.