Stone Fireplace Ideas

10 months ago

Currently building a new home and I am seeking advice for decorating beside a floor to ceiling stone fireplace in our living room. There will be an electric fireplace below and a TV above. I am leaning away from built in shelving beside the fireplace as I would prefer to not have to fill the shelves with items such as vases and pictures etc. I am thinking about a built in storage bench on either side which could be used for pillows/blankets. Above each bench I would put a larger picture/art and a horizontal wall sconce above each of the pictures. The wall to the left is 68" and on the right is 78". Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Featured Answer

Beth H. :

10 months ago

what kind of style do you like?

this one is a cement overlay (pretty easy and cheap to do) with floating wood benches and sconces. (if you want this, now is the time to hard wire for it)

same finish, diff bench set-up

ignore the windows, but here's another style w/larger stacked stone and a wood mantle. these benches are pretty easy to have made (have the tops hinged so you can store games or blankets in them)

a diff style, same idea

This is half surround w/the tv above. (if this is the only spot to place the tv, I'd do a double sofa like shown here)

becki owens did this one. I like the white stack stone and the black diagonal nickel gap off to each side. bring in walnut shelving or cabs like they've done here. I think sconces would have looked better, so if you want those, wire for them now!

Or, I really like this one w/the tile. even has the cathedral style like yours. love the black w/the leather sofas

I like this one too. you could have it come out a bit and incorporate a hearth and the bench seating. this is a zellige tile

benches you asked for. but notice how far the fireplace comes forward

If you like the black and white w/wood, this is also a nice option.

another style you could do w/benches or even a small storage cabinet. open shelving above

more natural oak wood shelves, bottom built in cabs. the surround is 4x4 zellige tiles

close up of the zellige tiles. they come in all colors. I love this look and for an electric insert, this would be perfect. notice how shallow this one is.

You could do a solid slab of marble or even porcelain (instead of tile or stone) for the surround.

this one has an earthy look. Venetian Plaster finish, rustic style of built ins. stone hearth, You could also do a wood mantle, or do the bench on either side

built in cabs

more of a causal style open shelving w/a lot of trim work instead of stone.

quartz surround, wood mantle, shallow built ins

As you can see, hundred diff ideas that would work. what are you leaning toward?

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Comments (14)

PRO
Patricia Colwell Consulting
10 months ago
I would put the TV above one side and some art to balance the TV on the other side and forget the TV above the FP
debbiehelmer thanked Patricia Colwell Consulting
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PRO
Diana Bier Interiors, LLC
10 months ago
Great ideas from Beth.

But why is one wall 10" wider than the other?
debbiehelmer
Original Author
10 months ago
Hi Diana. The wider wall is adjacent to the hallway. If we made it the same as the wall on the other side of the fireplace, then the hallway would be too wide and it would then shorten the master closet which is directly behind that wall. I would love it to be even, but it just wouldn't work.

Thank you so much Beth for all the great ideas. They are all nice. I do like the Becki Owens one and also the cement overlay ideas. I think hardwiring sconces would also add a nice touch. I'm just not sure if I should now be placing the TV off to the side of the fireplace instead of directly above. Any thoughts??
Beth H. :
10 months ago
without seeing the entire room, hard to say. some people loathe tvs over the fireplace.

as long as the tv isn't too high, i'm ok with it. just depends on how you want the furniture placement.

if the tv can go on other long wall, do that. I don't like the tv off to one side of the fireplace. it's looks 'off' to me.
debbiehelmer thanked Beth H. :
wsea
10 months ago
Looks like if you did a built in on the right it would be exposed on the side. does the right side have a wall to die into or is it open?
debbiehelmer thanked wsea
debbiehelmer
Original Author
10 months ago
Thank you for responding. It does not have a wall that it would join into
PRO
Norwood Architects
10 months ago
I like your idea of the storage benches. Just like the idea of benches there to provide additional seating when needed.
debbiehelmer thanked Norwood Architects
la_la Girl
10 months ago
last modified: 10 months ago
Not a pro but I‘d go with something freestanding on either side - if you change your mind down the road and want to remove what’s there, there’s often not flooring beneath and it becomes a bigger project

I often like cozy chairs flanking the fireplace looking back toward the couch, it can be nice for converstion and closeness to the fire - with the right scale & shape, they float nicely there
debbiehelmer thanked la_la Girl
Design Fan (NE z7a)
10 months ago
+1 to freestanding furniture/art on both sides rather than built ins.

If you have another wall, consider whether it is better to place theTV there rather than over the fireplace. Placing the TV over the fireplace is okay imo as long as the TV is not too high for comfortable viewing and the TV size you choose is not wider than the fireplace opening. People are buying larger TVs and they look top-heavy when larger than the fireplace unit below it.

Ask the mason to leave you some extra stones that can be used to fill in the electrical box that is framed in the stone chimney surround in case you ever change your mind about the TV location. Stone is hard to match.
debbiehelmer thanked Design Fan (NE z7a)
K Laurence
10 months ago
TV over the fireplace vs to the side depends upon your room & furniture arrangement. In our primary home I moved it from over the fireplace to a wall adjacent & since there was room all the furniture was moved in that diection where TV was mounted.. In our second home TV over the fireplace was the ONLY option even though room is very large.
debbiehelmer thanked K Laurence
debbiehelmer
Original Author
10 months ago
Thank you everyone.
Design Fan (NE z7a)
10 months ago
last modified: 10 months ago
Here is another option - closed cabinet storage (IKEA) on either side of the fireplace.
debbiehelmer thanked Design Fan (NE z7a)
debbiehelmer
Original Author
10 months ago
Thank you so much. I really like this look. Very clean