Feeble Fireplace Falling Flat! What to do with this?

last year

My fireplace is a mystery to me and I am lost for how to make it look right. I've thought about adding a mantel or finding matching brick to continue the stack all the way to the ceiling. Those both don't feel like enough though somehow. It's a small living room and difficult to layout furniture so keeping the fireplace as low profile as possible is ideal.

Maybe the thing that gets me hung up is that I can't quite figure out how this fireplace was MEANT to be originally. Why would the roman brick stop halfway up in house that was built in 1953? Any thoughts out there? Do we think there was a mantel once before? But why then the exposed (now painted) brick above which is just plain builders brick and quite shoddy. Also the roman brick stack isn't even as wide as the builder's brick stack, so weird! And then let's talk about the hearth...flush to the floor? Why? I'm

perplexed.

So my post is really two pronged. A- what do we think this fireplace was supposed to look like back in the day and B- what might you suggest for how to make it look presentable in a subtly nordic mid century styled home.

I'm stuck!

Thank you in advance to anyone with thoughts or ideas!

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Comments (5)

PRO
BeverlyFLADeziner
last year
If you plan to keep the red brick it needs to be scrubbed clean

The stacked bond of the brick doesn't work with staggered stone/brick installed on top. You could cover it in drywall or remove it from the wall and then replace it with drywall.
- What style are you going for?
- Do you want a mantle?
- Have you looked at any fireplaces that were attractive to you?
I would use an inside mount screen for the hearth.
maiwyck1 thanked BeverlyFLADeziner
PRO
lisedv
last year
last modified: last year
If you don't want to remove the bricks in the upper section, perhaps you can install a mantel and surround( on the bottom part) and paint both upper and lower bricks the same colour like the picture on the left.

OR

Install tiles over the entire fireplace something like the picture on the right.
maiwyck1 thanked lisedv
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maiwyck1
Original Author
last year
Thank you for your thoughts! i quite like that lower left reference where the natural wood makes almost a box around the existing brick. I havent seen that before. I imagine i could even drywall the upper portion to hide that brick? i dont think they can be removed as they are a part of the actual chimney stack.
maiwyck1
Original Author
last year
The inside mount for the heart is a good idea too to keep it all as flush to the wall as possible.
PRO
Patricia Colwell Consulting
last year
last modified: last year
Wood burning or gas ? I would start by removing what ever that is above the brick . Then add a nice mantel and clean the brick and done . IMO 1953 the brick on the bottom was probably not red but maybe that sort of yellow brick. Not sure what Nordic MCM is . The front hearth is the piece on the floor and inset is great . This is probably more the color the brick would have been in 1953