Beautiful Home!

As I look at all the beautiful photos sent, I have to chuckle as I look at the mortar color is neutral. I cannot understand why they ever chose black!!!

As I mentioned above, that if the mantle were black, I think you may like the way it works with the black grout. :)

Just a thought, afterthought, looking at the photos again, it was mentioned to wrap the mantle, I agreed too, but changed my mind - I'm concerned at the sides - that it would interfere, and protrude and be too close to the window sides and interfere with the clear smooth view of the windows. Hope that made sense :)

I tried to find photos with dark stone , not too many.
http://houzz.com/photos/25756

For what is it worth, I love the fireplace once i saw it with the room. How about no mantle as the size of the stone work is so big that the mantle is over whelmed by the it. A large and long abstract would balance out the height of the stone. I also like your dining room.

Since your husband loves it, I would keep it. I think your solution (or at least an amicable compromise) would be a large piece of art that you like and that your husband can at least live with. Now, put some downlights in the ceiling and train them on the new art. The stone will still be there but the eye will be drawn to the artwork. For the artwork/print, I would go with something with a lot of white or light colors since I think the key would be to lighten the place up. Good luck with it...and good for you for thinking outside the box by changing the grout color -- not sure that would work, but it's a good thought.

Wow how ugly

lose the candles and get a nice piece of veritcal art in the space.... may lighten everything. the lighter grout ( natural ) would be nice too.

Btw, I doubt this is grout. Mortar is used surrounding the stones/rocks. You can change the colour of the dark mortar by removing ca. 1/4" layer of existing mortar, using a chisel and hammer. A new mortar, using powdered pigment mixed into a new mortar to suit your choice of colour can then be applied between the rocks. You would have to do some tests to check if it's the colour you wish first. It has to be completely dry first to see the end colour. (This info, thanks to the masons who renovated our house a couple of years ago.)
It would be a good idea to ask a mason in your area if he could do this for you. It will involve a lot of workmanship.

I personally like the fireplace stones. I think the mantle could be the full width and a darker blackish ebony color to compliment the mortar. You could try to make the mortar paler with acid but its a big job and pretty high up too... I would stick with the black and use dark wood or black accents throughout the space. Since you have stated this is not your forever home I think the money spent on this feature would be better saved for the next home. Also, the stone sets off the natural surroundings seen in the windows beautifully. It could be a selling point for the next buyer.

I saw an article in Better Homes and they redid a fireplace just like this by having it professionally cleaned and the stone "etched" to lighten it. http://www.bhg.com/decorating/fireplace/styles/before-and-after-fireplaces/#page=36

Sorry to be negative but there is no way you have 30' ceilings. At most 20' but my guess is 18'
I'm with your hubby. They look rustic and suit the house.
At least they aren't the 70's sparkly rocks..

Not sure if anyone mentioned this, but you don't know "Ugly Fireplace" until you have this thing in your house!!

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/what-should-i-do-with-this-faux-fireplace-dsvw-vd~1273312

Count your lucky stars honey.

Looks like this is an old post.

I swear.....they need to retire posts with no updates for "X" amount of months! WTH?

I totally agree, bungalowmo! How the heck do they get dredged up in the first place??

I agree with you. You should consider taking the stone out. I have removed this stone more than anything else in my projects including my own home.

Who should tell him, Bungalow? You or me?

If you search out the faux fireplace by paradox44 you will see her fireplace that she does not like. At the very bottom of that long post are some more recent photos of tall fireplaces that may inspire you. They are all different kinds of stone and each is unique. I think your fireplace is very beautiful and maybe you can see it differently after looking at some others. Good luck.

I REPEAT - OLD POST. Dead. Buried. Over and Out.

I guess I am one of few women that love this fireplace and the windows. I do like rustic look though, I agree with LB designs and she gave you some good examples of what to do...I would up date the fireplace ( just did that myself this week with a beautiful flat face large window it's beautiful and REALLY changed my old look! ) The Mantle is wrong, maybe something more rustic, plank wood wrap around, and large art work. not your forever home, work with it!

I would cover all the rock in drywall, install a a slightly more traditional fireplace mantel, then do a nice marble or granite fireplace surround and hearth. Then I would hang a big bold piece of art above the mantel!

Karemore55......I'm just sitting back enjoying the show!!

Bungalow, I am too!

You were on Towanda's DR thread, weren't you? We should start passing out mojitos lol!

Yes, this is an old post, but it is still the same ugly FP :)

Please stop this madness - and I agree, it's not as ugly as some.

Marcy would you please up-date us and let us know what you did. Thank you.

Here it is again!

Wow! What a grand amazing focal point that beautiful fp with windows!! What a gem!

UUUGGHHH what were people smoking in the 60's -70's? I really dislike that type of stone and have removed it many times in clients homes from that era. I think your husband hasn't learned the " Nobody is happy unless Momma is happy rule" its not as big of a job as he would imagine with the right pros doing the work.

Women are the shakers & men the pepper. But, men are fussy! If he's happy, he'll work on keeping the woman happy.

I know what you mean, but the rock actually matches very well with the natural green backdrop you have there.

A lighter grout would ruin the natural look of it. I'd keep it as is, but get some new candles. I know you like color, but white would stand out much more than the purple and also match the wall colors.

Some frames photos would also break up the mass of the rock. Again, white frames. Adds a modern feel while playing nicely with the rest of the room. If you don't like family photos, try some landscapes. Color would be okay, but I'd prefer the contrast of black and white photos.

Yes.

@happyleg Happy wife.. Happy life!

Update the insert, Paint all trim/window frames white, paint the mantle white and add a tall mirror or art piece on the mantle.

Ummmm can't say I blame you, such a feature, I'd been inclined to cover it, perhaps wainscot like in pic

Love the brick.

I am wondering why you cannot whitewash the rocks to lighten them up. I can see why your hubby may be against actual paint. Even having half rock and half wood because it is a huge area that you can do lots with. Here are a some ideas. . .

It was suppose to be new.

There is a product out there specifically for dyeing mortar. It would look much better than paint because it soaks into the mortar and will still have it's normal look but in a different color. The product is called Instant Mortar Match. If I didn't explain it well, you can always give them a call to find out more details of how it compares to paint.

How about this, it is beautiful and wild on both sides. It is like owning your own mountain, except it does not take up as much room. I think it is the bit of wilderness your hubby loves, maybe you can learn to accept, as long as he doesn't bring home a moose head. lol

You are perfectly correct in wanting to remove it. It is not stonework, it is stone wallpaper, not a bit structural. You sit there in constant fear that a 30' wall of stone is about to fall down on your family. How unsettling.

This may be grounds for divorce.

If your husband does not want to part with it, hire a stone mason to take it down, restructure some of the pieces and lay it back up in a structural manner, so that it will appear to be stable.

Otherwise, get drapes for the windows and extend the rods across the chimney as well, so while you sit below, you can pull the drapes off the windows and over the rocks, and relax.

@Cascio...this is an old post but regardless, your premis that because stone is not structural it should be removed is silly. If all stone that is used in homes should be removed because it's not structural...there would be very little stone used at all. Secondly, why would you assume or worry that this stone was not installed properly? Even if you don't like the style, It looks like it has been there for quite a while, and the workmanship on the stone is visually not poorly done.

It's hard to tell if this fireplace fits in with the style and location of the home or not. Is this like a rustic, mountain setting home in Colorado or somewhere like that? Just trying to ascertain if this makes any sense or not. If this is indeed a rustic style home, then I would just work with it. I would stain that mantel a darker color, I would take all of that little stuff of it and sit a very large (tall) rectangular piece of art/picture on it. I'd update the dated fireplace cover, and decorate the lower step with large rustic faux floral/greenery arrangement in tall container of some kind. If, on the other hand, this stone doesn't make any sense in this home, then you have no choice but to figure something out to fix it (like some of the ideas already provided here). Whatever you do to a home, you always need to keep in mind resale, and that fireplace is something people are going to have a strong reaction to either way ... either they like or they're going to really hate it ... and people want turnkey houses these days. If you don't want to take on the project of fixing that fireplace, neither will anyone else.

Honestly, I don't think it's ugly at all. It's got great texture and presence. There are elements that tip the scale in a more masculine direction instead of being balanced. Here are a few things I'd do, please forgive me if I'm repeating anything others have posted. :)

-Mantel: Your mantel is too small and dated. I would remove it and opt for one that is larger and runs the full width of the fireplace. Something clean and modern but retaining some rusticity (pic below)

-Add a mirror: I would add a very tall mirror with a simple frame in something other than a wood tone (maybe a burnished silver?), or with a interesting shape. The one I added below mimics the window-like partitions. The mirror will become the base for layering art and accessories. It will also reflect the wall color and art from the opposite side of the room, breaking up the expanse of stone that you see.

-Lighten the grout: Here's great article, you can see the before and after, http://www.younghouselove.com/2014/01/how-you-like-me-now-grout/

-Another possibility, and I know your hubby will want to have me shot....paint the trim white. I know, I know, paint the wood!? But the combination of wood and stone automatically adds more masculinity the space and makes it feel a bit dated. By painting the trim you'll add some softness and make your wall color pop. Doors, windows, staircases, can stay in the wood tone, but all the window and door trims and baseboards could be painted white. You can also see this illustrated in both pictures I included.

This post is almost 2 years old...

well when you're right, you're right, but you know us, we been arguing about toilet paper for 2 years now, waiting for the 20,000th post, so what can you expect? lol

Kivi, or should I call you Mr. Negative:

At no time did I say that it was not properly installed, only that the design had no structural quality and was a huge mistake. I am a lover of the old stone wall, built by a craftsman.

The lady was uncomfortable with the stone, but the husband was determined to keep it. I was offering a compromise

As Vince Lombardi said: A measure of who we are, is what we do with what we have.