Help - what to do with my fireplace??
Hi all,
I am doing a major remodel on a small home in the mountains. We are keeping the original fireplace and converting it from wood-burning to a gas insert. It originally had a big, heavy brick hearth but we jack-hammered that off and also the brick mantle that stuck out at the top (it was too high). So, it will be a smooth face when we're done, from ceiling to floor, and it sticks into the room about 4 inches. The first two photos are before we added drywall up to the ceiling; the third photo (sorry about the drywall boards stacked in front of it) shows it after we added the drywall above.
I plan on doing some treatment all the way to the ceiling and adding a thick, reclaimed wood mantle. I'm waiting to hear from the gas-insert installer if we need to have a hearth; if we do, I'll put some kind of thin hearth that is flush with the wood floor around it. This is an open area, with kitchen, dining area and family room all in one space. Because of the layout, the dining table will have to be in front of this fireplace so I want the floor (hearth to wood flooring) to be flush so people can scoot their chairs back and not hit the lip of a hearth.
Question is - what shall I face this sucker with?? I originally thought porcelain tiles, but then I went to a local stone yard and stone is now an option. Also, I could just stucco it. Because we're in the mountains, the vibe of the house is "Pottery Barn rustic". The doors, windows and trim will all be stained and I have natural cherry cabinets in the kitchen with black leathered granite countertops. (in the second photo, I'm taking the photo from the kitchen area; when I took these photos it was still an empty space. Ha, everything is still in progress but we're getting there and a decision on the fireplace needs to be made soon!).
I've been reading some threads on houzz and you all have great ideas so I'm tapping the houzz community's creative juices - any suggestions?
Comments (12)
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What to do with my fireplace
Comments (2)Check the link, may help. The price is low, because shop just oppened. And what is unussual, the consultant is normal HUMAN, he will help you somehow. Here is a link that might be useful: Crownstoves This post was edited by David1990zx00 on Sun, Nov 16, 14 at 6:10...See Morewhat to do with my fireplace, ugh!
Comments (8)Our last house , built in 1918 had a rather ugly fireplace as well. The mantel was brick, formed by the mason staggering and turning the bricks as he reached the appropriate height. It was probably thought to be quite fetching in 1918 and probably continued to be so until someone applied a lot of white paint. They probably thought it was lovely. I thought it was an eyesore, but I had no idea of how to approach it. What I really would have liked was to sand blast the thing to bring it back. NOT POSSIBLE! However my tile guy offered a suggestion which we took. We knocked off the staggered brick mantel and scuffed up the paint with a mini-grinder , removing about half the paint in the process. We then applied a thinset mixture and faced the fireplace with brown marble, replaced the hearth with the same marble and set in place an old reclaimed mantel with side posts. Fantastic! The trim on the mantel matched the trim in the rest of the house so well that when we put the house up for sale 3 years ago, several viewers mentioned how lovely it was that we had kept the original mantel when we redid the fireplace. So don't give up hope, it is possible to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear....See MoreHELP. What do I do with this fireplace?
Comments (28)Smooth stucco if budget rules. Otherwise, it'd be worth consulting a structural engineer about the options for removing it and replacing it with other supports. Some cities keep copies of original house plans- it may be worth checking with their building permit department to see if there's anything on file that would clarify how the fireplace and support were built originally....See MoreHelp...how do I decorate around my bull on fireplace?
Comments (0)I need help with what to add to my mantle that will go with my bull! I have a few things to the left but I don’t care for it. Any suggestions?...See More
jazzamina
6 years ago
PROBeth H. :
6 years agolast modified: 6 years agoI actually just ordered a bunch of samples from them. here are some other colors (the smaller ones are from the Zelliege line. glazed terra cotta tiles)
and, these are only 18 a sf, which is pretty reasonable.
https://www.cletile.com/collections/brick-tile-glazed-glazed-thin-brick
Tilebar.com also carries similar tiles. called Credenza. check that site as well. 5 samples for $5!
btw,,,the bluestone is like a slate,,,,with a bluish black tone.
these are slate. black slate. Ostrich I believe
jazzamina thanked Beth H. :jazzamina
6 years ago- PRO
Beth H. :
6 years agolast modified: 6 years ago spottedappy
6 years agoSo if I understand correctly you are just going to tile or put stone over top of the brick? If thats the case, maybe a dark ledgestone with a rustic live edge mantle would be nice. A black or charcoal to tie in with your counters would look great. We did a similar fireplace in our open concept new build in a dark ledgestone to tie in with our black island......absolutely love it! Also depends on your wall color and flooring, you don't want it to be too dark. If you do choose to go stone, there are so many different colors you can choose from if you don't want to go too dark.
jazzamina thanked spottedappyjazzamina
6 years agojazzamina
6 years ago
Beth H. :