Hi, I'm not a designer either but I don't know that any kind of mantle will add to the look. The marble is beautiful, why distract from it? Why do you want a mantle? I'd just hang some great art over the fireplace. I think a mantle would chop up the look. How tall are your ceilings?

You might be right. A 75" TV is going over the fireplace (It's really the only place for one). I will likely have a soundbar sitting on the mantel. But it's over $700 for the mantel (custom, metal finish to match the fireplace door). I was thinking 2" thick, 8" deep, and a little wider than the surround. LMK what you think.

Don't have any help, but just wanted to say I love La Jolla and am wishing I was there now!

Yikes, a 75" TV. How far down will that come? My concern is the heat. I see on their website that they recommend a metal mantle to function as a heat shield. If that is the case, then I would definitely get it but mount it right on top of the marble to not chop up the wall. The goal would be to have it virtually disappear. Not really what you want when you spend $700 but that's probably cheaper than buying a new TV when the old one melts.

I agree with @Inside Out Staging and Design about the placement and width, no wider than the surround.

I think it's going to be really nice. Are those your finished floors? If not, why not, they look great!

Yes, I think I need a mantel to be a "heat shield" for the TV, but practically speaking, the fireplace is gas and will have a restrictor to reduce the heat output b/c the door is designed to be closed when the fireplace is burning. So I don't envision much heat from the door, but the metal mantel should block most of it. I can change my mantel order to have it not extend past the edges of the marble surround (thanks for the advice). Yes, it's an uneven construction design, there are French doors just a few inches to the left, and then the hearth extends several feet to the right, enclosing gas pipes. I've got Shaw light oak 7.5" wide engineered hardwood planks going in on a diagonal lay, we plan to just use colored silicone where they meet the marble to avoid quarter molding or baseboard. Thank you.

Geez, post a picture of the full wall and give the dimensions on the marble so someone can mock this up for you. You are flying blind without a drawing.

Maybe your mantel should be the same marble

You could have created a mantle from the marble before you had it installed.

Most of the sleek setups with TV and fireplaces have a TV and soundbar that is recessed into the wall cavity so there is no need for a mantel

OK, good idea. I did this designing all myself, including top drawing.

I think the mantel metal and fireplace door metal being an exact match, each 2" thick, should look good.

Middle pic is finished marble hearth / surround rebuild.

Bottom pic (old) doesn't show how high the wall goes (vaulted open beam ceilings), but it shows blue-dot tape outline of 75" TV, however now I'll be able to lower the TV, so it'll just be a few inches above the mantel, which will likely sit right on top of the finished marble surround (ignore that old TV). Thanks.

I think stainless is s good choice.

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Beverly, I'd just add the 2" thick metal mantel essentially sitting on top of the marble surround, matching width, sticking out 8" (or 10"?), and then 6" or so above the top of the mantel will be the bottom of the TV. Thanks for the feedback.

Here is what I ended up with (need to baseboard walls, and another silicone bead where engineered hardwood meets marble). Mantel is essentially sitting on marble, and is just a bit wider than marble surround, and is the same metal (and 2" thickness) as FP door. Looks great (except for scratches I noticed on door after I looked at it with my glasses on, after the installers left). Time to work on the TV mount (for 75"). It will be rare when I have the gas fireplace burning anyway, and when it is, the TV will likely be pushed up against the wall. Thinking I need to leave 6" - 8" above the mantel for soundbar clearance.

Nice!! Thanks for posting the final product. Looks really good.

backtracking a bit before the mantel but looks great with the gas fire burning through the broken blue glass.