I think those black things are the seams we aren't supposed to notice.

Noticed the seam, still looking for the bookmatching...

Talk to the fabricator about what he meant by "very small seam no one would notice". If it is those black things I think everyone will notice. Even if they were aligned it would help but far from unnoticeable. If an architect was involved in the project get their help. Tactfully show the Owner the fireplace and see what they say. Let us know what their response is, but save us any profanity.

I am not sure what you mean by "bookmarked". There is a term that describes when a material is sliced then opened like a book where the pattern in the material matches where the one edge of one piece meets the one edge of other piece, it is called "bookmatch". I do not see where this occurs in the fireplace in your images.

Sometimes in the big picture of things, a faux pas in the design or craftsmanship, if not overly intrusive, can be acceptable, and does go unnoticed by those that occupy the home. Let your client guide what action should be taken. Perhaps the philosophy of, “A doctor can bury his mistakes, but an architect can only advise his client to plant vines.” — Frank Lloyd Wright, can be applied here.

Is that black stuff temporary?

It actually looks fine to the level of the bottom of the firebox. Maybe you could reach a compromise and redo below that.

This doesn't look like a great slab for bookmatching. The veining isn't striking enough.

Personally I also think it's a shame to deface what is supposed to be an art piece with outlets for a TV. I would not have spent $15,000 on this only to cut into it with utilities and a bracket for a technology that's constantly changing. All around I think I'd revise the bottom and be done with it, it's not worth wasting more marble to cover with a TV.

A show piece should be just that , I agree this is a mess but the client is the one that calls the shots. The T.V. mounted on this beautiful piece is just bad , what a shame.Sure hope you have not paid the whole bill

Sorry to say, but even without black lines, I am questioning whether design was appropriate for this fireplace with cathedral ceiling. Also maybe it just photo but outlets for tv are so high not sure how it would be useful...

There are no marble slabs long enough to make it from that floor to that peak, so this fireplace is getting seams somewhere. Perhaps the black pieces are some sort of spacer that will be removed when the thinset sets up. If that's the case and the black pieces are pulled and the slots filled with matching grout, the fabricator has met his oral obligation of "a very small seam that no one would notice". He told you that you were getting seams; any responsible fabricator would.

Not an appropriate design from the beginning is the first fail, and root failure of the whole situation. Failing to attend a meeting of where the template was laid out on the slabs and the seams discussed is the second fail. On a statement piece, that hands on involvement is an absolute MUST. That was your responsibility.

You might as well have used 2K of marble tile on this job if that TV is going there. I would not be a happy client to be talked into something that doesnt work design wise, and then wasn’t even pulled off either. I would expect a bookmatched seam right in the middle with great butterfly patterns resulting from that book-match. That’s the whole point of choosing a book match. And to ruin it with a TV there? Nope. Nope. Nope.

Start over with a different design that works. No charge to your customer. Consider it tuition in lieu of a design education.

"I would not be a happy client to be talked into something that doesnt work...No charge to your customer. " <<< This, coming from a customer -- me -- who definitely drew the short straw with a fabricator that $crewed up and told me a redo was impossible.

My guess is he didn't show show you the templating to sign off on?

What are the black things? I'm not understanding why book matched slabs were chosen, if the featured book matched part was not going to be the major feature of the fireplace. Did the fabricator not understand that the surround was supposed to be bookmatched? What did your design show? What did your client expect?

We’re not hearing back from dummblonde designs. Ummm

There is no bookmatching going on. And if there were, why in the hell would you cover it with a television?

You screwed the pooch on this one. If I were your client I would be livid.

Here's mine. It's granite but there's no reason why the seam is so prominent. In fact, when the clean up the thing it should be less prominent (there's a little excess glue on the surface). The seam is inline with the top of the firebox.

Then you should have advised your client of the situation.

What Sophie said.

Customers don’t need a designer to do something something messed up. They can do that all by themselves. They need a designer to keep them from messing something up. You are supposed to take their ideas and translate the wants behind them into something better than that knew they could have.

You are supposed to have the education, knowledge, and experience to keep clients from going through with their dumb ideas. You’re not supposed to just give in and do their dumb ideas.

Step up and fix this. You own it. You talked your client into this. And yourself into a leaky rowboat in a corner. Start bailing yourself out and grabbing the oars. That’s why your client is paying you instead of just goofing it up themselves.

The problem is not the TV above the fireplace. The problem is the horrible black things and that the stone on the bottom doesn't line up.

Perhaps they're "bookmarks" as stated in the discussion title.

good point. yes,,they seamed together two pieces.

. I think what everyone is saying is the cost for doing that if a TV is going to cover a good portion of it. and why wasn't it laid out like this

"You are supposed to have the education, knowledge, and experience to keep clients from going through with their dumb ideas. You’re not supposed to just give in and do their dumb ideas."

Amen.

I've thrown customers off their own jobs and owners out of their own shops.

Have you had any conversations with the stone fabricator? What ARE those black things! Without them, the seams wouldn't be noticeable since nothing was book matched to begin with.

I had to have the electrician move the stupid receptacle he placed over the fire place (prior to the stone going in). I'm not having a TV on my granite (in fact, not having one in either the living room or the music room where the fireplaces are). I do have a TV in my MBR, but it's not over the fireplace either (that one has a neat dark gray tile surround).

DummBlonde designs, many of us are curious as to what the black lines are. Are they temporary?

I think people are confused and responding to your misuse of the design of bookmatched marble. That, obviously, isn’t bookmatched. So that’s one thing that’s throwing people off.

The bigger issue, of course, is what the fabricator used for those black strips. You didn’t answer peoples’ questions about the material the fabricator used. What is the black stuff? The fabricator needs to fix that.

Did you pay extra for bookmatched marble, or did you just pay for the slabs needed to cover such an expanse? If your client paid for bookmatched, which would cost more due to the skill involved, there’s an additional problem.

DummBlonde- Yes, there are a lot of negative comments on this forum...it won't change.

Short of redoing this with slabs that match up, I don't see how they can just make it look better? Removing the weird black things would make it look better for sure...as they just highlight where the seam is. But the seam still doesn't match. The fabricator obviously did not know what they were doing!

you asked for advice. You still haven't answered anyone regarding the black strips. did he put them there to hide the joining of the two pieces? Did you ask him why and why they don't line up? you need to provide a bit more.

Were you onsite when they cut this? did you know how it was going to be fabricated? the guy telling you, "oh don't worry about the seams",,,, do you think that was smart, knowing that it was a 15K job? don't you think it would have behooved you to see exactly how he was going to piece this together??

as for Sophie, she's seldom wrong. her delivery is never tactful, but that's just the way it is. Stop zeroing in on your feelings, and 'negative energy' and pouting because someone is giving you hard advice. No one 'put you down' to make themselves feel better. That's an absurd statement on your part. You asked what you can do. She told you what to do and you're upset at her advice. Because maybe she's right?

Your original question that you posted was, “What should I do?”

Like I said before, I don't think there is anything wrong with the appearance above the lower level of the firebox. It does not look bookmatched, if it is I am assuming it would be on an axis of the red line. I can't see it when I divide it in half vertically.

With a TV on it the upper part looks like a marble sheathed fireplace, and thats what it is. Much of the bookmatching would be hidden anyway.

It's not what you wanted or proposed to the client. I understand that.

I don't understand why this cost $15K, but I don't know what a bookmatched marble mantle is supposed to cost vs a non matched marble.

I don't think I would do this over if there is going to be a TV on it. Certainly not in this species of marble. It's not worth it. You need a marble that looks like a Rorschach test when book matched to carry this off especially if it's going to be partially obscured by a TV or a piece of art. You need to be able to read the design clearly for it to be effective, or worth the money.

I would come to some sort of compromise with the fabricator and the client over this rather than redoing it. Why instead of redoing it? See above. If you redo it it's only worth doing with a stronger patterned marble.

As for putting a TV on top of it because the client wants:

If the client wants something that I think it a bad idea, I talk them out of it. I would have said Yes to either bookmatching this, or to putting a TV over it, but I would not have said yes to both. Ultimately that's what you should get paid for, not for just doing what the client wants you to do. In retrospect you should have talked them out of one or the other. All you have do do usually is say "It would not be worth the extra money to do it, it will not have the proper impact" something like that. Most clients will get that something is not worth the money.

The only thing I would not do in this case is have it bookmatched in the same marble that's already been used and hang a TV on it. It's not going to be worth the money or effort. Choose a different marble or a different spot for the TV.

OP: you asked "what should I do?" - so people didn't know exactly what kind of help you were seeking. Anyway, like pal, I think it looks fine until you get to the black lines. If those can be removed, then I think it will look much better. If they are in some way structural, permanent, or necessary please let us know. Maybe you'll get some ideas about camouflage. I'm not saying that would be ideal, but let's at least explore exactly what you're trying to do.

We may never know what those darn black things are at this point. Super curious though.

Bookmatched, or not. Overall - it's a bad design. It also doesn't seem to go with the flooring. The client was looking at this as being an impact or statement piece. It was your role to guide him / her. It was also your role to help pick the fabricator. I have to say that even if the marble didn't have the black strips - it still wouldn't be a good look.

I have only ever hired a licensed interior designer once and it was not a good experience. I had planned to take a leap of faith for new build and go down this route once more. However, this post reaffirms my reluctance to Do so.

PG, you have no idea of the qualifications of the designer here, so I don't think you should make a decision not to use a "licensed" interior designer based on this poster's dilemma. Unfortunately, not all pros are licensed or have the same qualifications.

From your instagram account, it looks like you were there for this, and I see those black lines in this photo. What does your boyfriend/client say about it?

PG, just check their license, education, industry affiliations, portfolio, and website. Not everyone is a wannabe that puts striped pants with an abstract swirled shirt. If their portfolio intrigues you, that’s a start. Talent will out. There isn’t enough education and practice in the world to make my BIL a Designer.

Is it an optical illusion or is the fireplace not centered on the peak? It seems to be slightly off to the right in location in the photo. This may be yet another reason to not introduce a strong symmetry on the face of the fireplace and leave well enough alone--except for the mysterious black things.

I know sometimes it's hard to let go of an initial idea.

Dummblond designs:

Many times a few of us can tell by the nature of a question that the asker is in over their head. That isn't necessarily the case here, but those folks and you get information that they don't like/want to hear, but must. It may seem tactless or even rude, but we can't help ourselves. Our obligation to the truth and readers exceeds that of our obligation to preserve your feelings. It's what makes this site valuable.

Introspection can be painful, but it's critical to your future success. Take a double shot of Dr. Sophie's bitter medicine, please. You will not regret it, I promise.

Yes just because someone has a license does not mean they have good taste or share your taste, necessarily. And for good or bad there are some very well-known decorators (look at Architectural Digest and Elle Decor etc.) who have very little in formal credentials at all, they just have talent, while there are designers that have every technical qualification in the world that have horrendous taste.

OP's Instagram quote starts "Imperfection is beauty..." so...?

Well that mysterious black line isn’t Cindy Crawford’s mole to lend wabi-sabi to the whole.

Was the black line part of the design? Do you have a rendering showing what was intended here? Because right now, I don't think anyone knows what you expected to happen, or how that differed from the result . If a forum full of people is confused as to what the intent was here, then it is fairly reasonable to say that perhaps your instructions to the fabricator were not clear either. And that is part of why you attend the layout of the template onto the slab. Facilitating communication and clarity is a major component of designing.

Can I also just say that I find the nom de guerre offensive?

nom de guerre

Well the nom de guerre is very telling, in this case.

It's like vultures up in here....

What I want to know is where the stockings are going to be hung??

They make televisions with hooks at the bottom just for that nowadays.