DIY Fireplace hearth and surround - finishing tile?

6 years ago

We've lived in our house two years and still have not completed our fireplace surround. The time has come and we're stuck again. This is our inspiration photo as to the type of mantle and coloring of the surround we like: https://www.houzz.com/discussions/5443989/back-with-another-dilemma-this-time-a-fireplace-surround#n=5. We have a wood-burning, modern type fire box, with a raised hearth. I'll attach photos, but due to the lighting they're pretty bad. We are budget oriented and my husband is completing the project himself. I had chosen some light colored tiles for the top of the hearth, and my husband isn't sure how to finish them. Bullnosing them is fine, but the look is so thin. Bringing the wood frame of the hearth up doesn't seem great as it will be bound to get dirty. Does anyone know of a good way to make this work? Also, in the photos I'm attaching, you'll see some chunky gray rock samples. My husband would like to just buy a slab of that as that seems the easiest way to do the hearth That plan seems so dark to me, and I already live in the PNW where winter is so gray and hoping to keep the colors in the living room lighter and warmer, but if anyone has any photos of fireplaces they love with a dark gray stone hearth, I'd love to see them.

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corimike
Original Author

6 years ago

Here's what we ended up doing on our fireplace:

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Comments (10)

everdebz
6 years ago
Your other thread I posted same photo -- wood is only on vertical of hearth.
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PRO
Skippack Tile & Stone
6 years ago
What of the inspiration photo do you plan to copy? It doesn't seem close to you material selections. As for the hearth, you can tile the face and sides with the tiles to make it look more solid. To mitre the tiles may be difficult as a DYI; there are metal trims available such a Schluter that offer what's needed.
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corimike
Original Author
6 years ago
My husband can reproduce the wood surround and mantle. I don't think we plan to do the shiplap. The materials selection you see are just some lighter tiles that we were auditioning for the surround immediately touching the firebox, and the top of the hearth.
PRO
Skippack Tile & Stone
6 years ago
The surround and the hearth are the same material in the inspiration; why not select something that can work for both areas if that's the look you're hoping to achieve?
corimike
Original Author
6 years ago
Thanks, I guess I haven't strongly considered that having both the hearth and surround elements the same was a big draw to us in this design. I was more feeling like it was the colors with the lighter tile, wood, and mantle. This gives me something to consider as I continue to look for materials.
Sammy
6 years ago
Well done. Thanks for posting the finished project!
motupeg
6 years ago
I like it. I hope that you will enjoy it.
Anna Alex
4 years ago
@corimike can you tell me how you ended up finishing it? I see the photo and it looks great! We’re having the same dilemma now with ours
corimike
Original Author
4 years ago
Did you see the photo of the completed project? It's in the comments. We basically built out the box around it and the hearth, put tile around the fireplace edge and large tiles on the hearth, built a little mantle which we stained. If you have a specific question let me know!