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charlene_elder21

Fireplace surround (quartzite)

last month

Hi- I just had this installed (yesterday)… they are coming back to add the hearth on the floor in front of the fireplace in 2 days.

Was going for a clean simple look since the men in my house purchased the ginormous tv and I had to remove my large ornate mantel.

The installers asked me if I’d like them to make a small lip/ledge at the very top above the tv or leave it as is. It would be similar to the mantel below the tv and only come out about an inch

Looking for suggestions. I love how it came out. But since they asked I am questioning if it looks unfinished now? I’d appreciate any suggestions.

Lip or no lip

Comments (8)

  • last month

    Honestly? It looks "unfinished" to me.


    Most slab fireplaces either continue up to the ceiling - or would be trimmed out if it stops short.




    I don't like quartz slabs on a fireplace - your quartzite looks much nicer - just an example of how some crown was added above the slab



    Will you take a photon from farther back? I'd like to see how tall the whole fireplace is in order to see where the slab ends. It's better if it is 2/3 of the height of the entire fireplace - or brought to the ceiling. If it's about halfway, the proportions may not look correct.


    How deep is the ledge above the fire place? I wouldn't want a "lip" that sticks out very much to finish the top.


    I also feel like the firebox should have been more proportional to the size of the TV above it. Obviously, it can't be the same size as the TV - but the TV is making the firebox look really small. Maybe if trim was added around the firebox, it would help.



    You could add a couple pieces of trim around your firebox - similar to below - but maybe have a second piece in order to make the firebox look larger.



    You could incorporate a piece of brass inlay in between the two pieces of trim around the firebox in order to coordinate with your tv frame.







    You could add a piece of brass inlay on the top of the quartz slab + add another thin piece of the quartzite over the brass inlay to finish the top of the slab?



    Plain picture moulding added above a stone slab fireplace with trim added around fireplace and fireplace box.



    The below fireplace looks nice with the large art + the moulding used on walls around the fireplace. You could use a simple picture frame moulding around the drywall above the area where the slab stops - use trim paint in order to make it look like painted wood instead of drywall (similar to the sides of the art in the photo below):



    I don't know if large art would look right due to your frame around your TV.


    Is your TV a Samsung Frame TV? If yes, will you add a photo with the TV turned on with art showing?

  • last month

    Thank you for your honesty. It already been glued to the wall, and it’s a wood burning fireplace- the box is what it is. I’ll be getting the floor piece on Friday because that’s what the code requires (a hearth incase the embers/logs fall over). Your options are great - but too late for me….as of now the option is lip at the top or no lip.

  • last month

    It’s a two story room

  • last month

    A lip like this

  • PRO
    last month

    I like adding the lip, and if possible would center the TV vertically between the upper and lower lips.


  • last month

    I think the lip looks better than leaving it. I'm sure it will be fine once installed!


    You have picture frame moulding on each side of the FP - you could add a similar sized one above the TV - it would work if you could have the current picture frame moulding moved up just a bit on the walls.


    Or - if you made the box wider than the side ones (so it doesn't look like the one on the FP was made the wrong size). Or - the box could be smaller in order to have the same amount of space left between the bottom of the box and the lip of the top of your slab as there is between the bottom of the box and the arched doorways + the same space between the top of the box and the ceiling? Consistent spacing helps different sized boxes work together.


    You can use the right type of wall tape (the blue one?) in order to map out the picture frame box(es) above the slab in order to see what would work best with the current side boxes (unless you want to adjust those).


    It's unfortunate that the side picture frame boxes on the side walls weren't raised just a bit in order to allow for the slab + lip + a little bit of room before adding another picture frame moulding box. It also would allow for a little more breathing room between the top of your arched doorway and the bottom of the box.


    The spacing below is consistent between the top of the boxes and the bottom of the boxes even though the box over the tv is wider and shorter than the ones on the side of it.



    Here are two boxes above FP that are wider than the boxes on the side walls.


    In the photo below, the person who DIYd the moulding boxes made all of the spaces above/between/below each box 6" to provide consistency (even though the individual boxes were different heights/widths):



    If there is enough room, maybe you could add narrow boxes for sconces on the area above the slab:



    An example of sconces above a fireplace mantel:



    The FP appears to be a lighter color than the walls (or your photo sure makes it appear that way). I might use a trim type paint on the moulding + the drywall over the TV = it will look like wood trim vs. drywall. I think that upgrade would look nice with your slab Using a different sheen vs on the drywall on the side of the FP makes it feel like the whole FP was done vs. not carrying the slab up to the ceiling. It will make that space (the overmantel) look special and finished.


    In the photo below, the homeowner added MDF + used trim paint to create an overmantel for the FP that continues up to the ceiling:




    here is the before photo:




  • PRO
    last month

    I suggest you add the same lip above the TV and add the same size mouldings as on other walls. Then paint the fireplace wall the same colour as other walls and paint all the mouldings the same colour as the wall.



  • last month

    @lisedv I like that👍🏽. The lip and hearth were installed today - thank you for your opinions- I’m thinking molding next