I am new to this forum but hoping someone can help me out. I am building a new home in the SF Bay Area and have an exterior courtyard outside my family room. I had spec'ed an indoor/outdoor gas fireplace for this space thinking that such a thing should be easy enough to customize. It's just a view-thru two-sided fireplace right? No such luck! Heat-n-Glo makes a unit that is designed for indoor/outdoor use but other two-sided fireplaces are indoor only. The only problem is that the Heat-n-Glo is a bit small and it's very traditional. I was looking for a linear, modern burner. I've called a number of manufacturers and spoken to a number of fireplace showrooms and no one can help me. Does anyone here have any design ideas, models recommendations or custom shops they can recommend? Many thanks!

First off, how far away are you sitting from that tv? It looks quite high especially on top of that center channel. Of corse, your space may work if far enough away. And a nearby closet is a good spot, or a nearby stand or bookshelf. Run the wires behind the wall to hide as much as you can.

@Terra S - I love how your fireplace and TV wall turned out. We are looking at replacing our off-center fireplace with a linear one. If you could answer some questions, I would really appreciate it. I see that you ID'd your tile, What about your hearth - what is that made of? Also, if you have details on what fireplace you used, I'd love to know that as well. Thanks in advance!

it's a mixture of lava rock and another type of rock. I'd be more of a fan if it was really tall (and I lived in the mountains) Or, was this cool dark color. (the copper hood and wood slat bench make the space) BTW, you could easily make it look like this. Romabio Masonry lime tinted a brown/black, and a very dark mortar for the joints. (which you could also 'paint') I still like the mortar wash option But, if you want to keep it as is, here's how to spruce up the stone. (Because right now, it's just not nice looking) Clean it w/a good stone cleaner. redo the mortar joints (repipe it ) and then apply an enhancing sealer to the stone. you should get pretty close to this look Looks better w/the appropriate lighting and the wood ceiling. The rock itself isn't anything to leave earth for. it's not some iconic mid century design. It's just something done in the 60's. if you like it great. But if you want to pay homage to more of a mid century look, there are better options. Do a roman brick like mentioned above, or even a glazed brick If it was mine, I'd do something darker like this (stacked brick) Bring in the right design, and this is gorgeous. more of a modern look w/3D tiles and black surround try a basalt or slate tile (I think the darker ones look so much nicer than lava rock) redoing it w/something a bit more linear: And, if you remove the stone, you can restyle it anyway you want. Here are the thinner bricks in a matte black w/a vertical paneling above the natural wood mantle. imagine it w/o your popcorn and the eyeball light and vertical blinds! so much better