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Home Decorating Design Dilemma living room

Help with fireplace update/mantle and black box dilemma

4 years ago

The black stove/box will not come out of the fireplace. It’s very tacky in person! What can I do to distract from the ugly thing?? Does this fireplace even need

a mantle?? If so what style/kind does it need?? Redoing this fireplace is out of the question. Please help!!

Featured Answer

suezbell

4 years ago

There is a RustOLeum muted gray spray paint intended for BBQ grills. You might consider painting it with that or a similar product designed to withstand high heat.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Rust-Oleum-Specialty-High-Heat-Ultra-Silver-Spray-Paint-12-oz/196486786?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=2419&adid=22222222227066487799&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=192936394920&wl4=pla-306315930177&wl5=9011064&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=113134491&wl11=online&wl12=196486786&veh=sem&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI0pqIu6ve5AIVRR6tBh0Oyw_0EAQYBiABEgLbwPD_BwE

No fireplace "needs" a mantel if you don't want one; however, if/when you remove it, do expect to find some brackets that were holding it that will need to be removed if you remove the support board, too.

You might be able to remove the mantel shelf and its supports and leave the board that is flat against the chimney and, perhaps, cover it with a new fireplace surround or build the surround beneath it and paint that board either the same color as the chimney or the same color as the surround.

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Comments (6)

grapefruit1_ar
4 years ago
I really like your mantel! The side-boards seem out of place. Can they be removed?
sunny1785 thanked grapefruit1_ar
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The two looks you posted are very family room casual - is that where you are going? The mantel you have is pretty formal in design, so I am wondering if your decor and the rest of the woodwork in the space are equally formal? I don't see either one of those working in a more formal space. A wonderful textural slate could be terrific, though.
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Take a look at the surround & hearth of any wood burning fireplace. You will see a little or a lot of black soot. Our outside FP is white painted brick, like our house. It is IMPOSSIBLE to keep it looking pristine, wood is generally dirty, and again, the smoke & soot. Now, it doesn't really bother me OUT THERE (and we clean the firebox & hearth pretty frequently) but I can assure you I wanted no part of that dirty wood & soot anywhere near my marble! :) Marble doesn't take kindly to the type of cleansers/scrubbing I do on the outside FP. Now, maybe someone with a wood burning white marble FP will chime in and say I am nuts and their FP has no problems at all with dirt & soot...and I will stand corrected. :) But I wasn't willing to take a chance on messing up my marble. One of my friends has a slate surround...that might be a better choice for wood burning?
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looks nice. you need a taller plant in the corner, and larger artwork that is lowered over the sofa some similar layouts this would look nice in your room. all of the accessories, the wood really warms up the space, some diff textures, and the correctly hung art.
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When you say gas insert, to you mean a metal box you insert into the fireplace, or some type of gas logs or gas burning fire. Inserts are necessarily going to decorate the fireplace, rather they are made for efficiency. Gas logs and other gas burning effects can be more decorative, but less efficient. So it might be helpful to clarify which you are planning on installing...and if you have already chosen the gas appliance, it might help to post pictures of it since it will make a big difference in how the overall treatment needs to be done. Here's some examples of a gas insert, gas logs and gas burning fire. Example of gas insert. Notice all the black metal that is necessary to close off the fireplace. This is not a decorative solution, but more for efficiency. This is an example of a gas log with a screen and andirons. This will better preserve the look of the fireplace and provide more decorative appeal, but less heat. Gas burning twigs and black reflective glass. This is a very unique gas burning effect. Not considered an insert, but a gas fire.
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rnonwheels
4 years ago
Make the Black box a focal point and paint it in a silver grey or cream. I would also paint the two vertical beams to match your white trim, they are too heavy looking and odd in the vertical dimension. I think after that consider also painting the mantle to match.
sunny1785 thanked rnonwheels
sunny1785
Original Author
4 years ago
The beams on the side can’t be removed but could definitely be sanded and painted trim color. I’ll definitely be doing that soon!
suezbell
4 years ago
If you remove the two vertical boards, you'll likely expose the uneven corners of the stone. You could, however, minimize their visual impact by painting them a more medium shade of gray -- more the color of most of the stone.

You might also consider keeping your mantel and painting it that more medium shade of gray as well.

There may well be fire codes requiring your mantel to be the height it is. If it doesn't break any building codes, you could create a box shelf to attach to the board vertically attached to the stone.
calidesign
4 years ago
I wouldn't try to change the mantel or the wood. It fits with the style of the fireplace. I would look for a free standing decorative fire screen to place over the black box.

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