http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=natural+wood+mantle&id=BC5151A5F2DBF6F82DDD05078F576F5D549FF82F&FORM=IQFRBA#view=detail&id=D1CDF670D7210617646BDB5783236CC8C2B4B41B&selectedIndex=165 the other wood looks nicer but this is the idea of what it might look like

My friend and I went to a home tile store and the guy let me go into his back room and paw through his left overs. 8 SQ FT is not much you might ask about over runs in a tile store. I bought some gorgeous stuff for about 5 dollars a sheet. Course I am into mosaics and most of my tiles were all glass. This store had a HUGE room stacked with this stuff. Not enough to do a regular job but certainly enough for a small project. My friend bought some gorgeous greenish stone tiles for her kitchen back splash. The funny part is the sealer was expensive the tiles were cheep. I use Tile Lab for grout sealer and I think it seals stone. I would have to look it up. We put her back splash up in an afternoon. We did not grout but put the 4 by 4 tiles really close together. We used lots of silicone in the back and ran a bead along the bottom edge to seal any moisture from getting behind the tile. It was a fun job and looked so pretty when done. We will do her bathrooms some day. Here is a link that might be useful: This is my kitchen. Keep scrolling the thumb nails to the right to see all of it. NOT suggesting you go this insane. LOL

Errant, I've seen pics where slate was used for a hearth, but I've not given it close consideration. Are you also suggesting slate for the unfinished portion below the arch? I know there are slates that have orange in them that could tie in with the brick. I'm going to look into it. Ingrid, I know what you mean about the medieval look. The house has that late '60's Spanish or whatever revival vibe. The arch is a recurring theme in this house, mainly with cabinet doors plus some of the fixtures have the iron scrolls from that era. I'm not a goth fan, but I've been here 8 years and the arch has grown on me. The Cobble Brown goes more with the walnut floor, and I have just enough left over from my laundry room to do the hearth. The house also has a brick entry, so my thought was to use something similar to tie it into a material already used somewhere in the house. But I see how it could look more cohesive with the fireplace to use something like the Terrace Beige.

A hearth pad needs to have an R-Value that is prescribed in the installation instructions unless you are placing it directly onto a concrete slab with no combustibles under the concrete. Here is an explanation. https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/hearth-design-for-wood-pellet-and-coal-stoves.147795/ Steel is a poor insulator - even brick would need to be more than 4" thick to get an R-value of 1. Sandstone is only .079 per inch.