Updating 1950’s stacked stone fireplace - with photos
Clair
2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago
We’re getting ready to redo the den of our 1950’s ranch-style house and need some ideas/suggestions for our stacked stone fireplace. We don’t want to tear it out but want to update it. It was converted from wood-burning to gas logs but still has a lot of soot stains & the mortar isn’t in great shape. We’d like to preserve some of the stone but are open to covering some it. We also may hang our TV screen over it but haven’t decided whether to hang it there or on the end wall of the room. Any advice/ideas would be greatly appreciated!
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PROPatricia Colwell Consulting
2 years agolast modified: 2 years agoThat is not stacked stone but a nice 50S original FP . You can paint it I do that often but I need to see your space and also I think theose large concrete gabs will make the paing finish look bad I would remove the stone mantel and add a nice wood one quite thick and then a great piece of art above the mantelWhat you have is a great example of 50s brickwork this first pic is also a gret example of 50S fireplace front
This one is an example of stacked stone which IMO is already a dated look
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Comments (24)Current Resident - Very true on the stains...I considered sanding (sanding, and some more sanding) then trying a liming wax over the pine to tone down the orange a bit while still keeping the wood features. I didn't even consider that Sherwin Williams could match a stain to the steely blue I was thinking of for the lower cabinets. I will chat with them this weekend about that process, so thank you! Maybe it would be best to just have my contractor do the floor, butcher block counters, etc. and leave the cabinets until all possibilities have been considered. And the house has a mix of original finishes and updates. When my grandfather started to decline in mobility, the 1970s upstairs bathroom was completely renovated (we're talking white with gold vein floor tiles, yellow and green flower wallpaper, his custom built cabinets, etc.) were torn out for an accessible roll in shower to make it easier for us to bathe him. So that update is more modern (black granite, mosaic and subway tiles). The downstairs bathroom was renovated by my grandfather in the 70s, and has the harvest gold toilet, sink, ceramic tiles, etc. all still intact. It had pink and black tiles from the 50s before that. The den still has pine walls, cream and brown checkered tiles, a huge brick fireplace, and a wall of built in bookcases and cabinets. The entire upstairs (sans kitchen and bathroom) are oak floors with early american stain from the 70s, and the entire downstairs was some version of bright blue, orange or green shag carpets over checkered tiles in concrete. All the tiles have been covered with carpet - we have a split level ranch so the downstairs is rather chilly without carpet. The dining room is going strong with the Pickwick pine panels still... The four bedrooms have all been updated - one had panels and had been painted, the other three are plaster walls with swirls and have just been painted in neutral colors. Stairwells have pine all over and an orange and yellow glass pendant in the main one! So it's a mix!...See More1950s sandstone fireplace
Comments (19)I think it's one of those things that if you don't like it, it's not that simple to alter. People paint these and sometimes it works sometimes not. I think it works best when the entire room is painted out as a monochromatic white background but that's a very specific look too. Or you could painstakingly paint the grout a different color and faux paint some of the stone to blend it together. But I don't think you can disguise it or update it in a simple inexpensive fix. I think you need to work with it or remove it. I'd probably mirror the entire space above it wall to wall and mantle to cornice and hang art over the mirror. This is not a mantle for little tchochkes....See More1950's huge wall-to-wall stone fireplace - design dilemma
Comments (15)Really beautiful. Log burning? Other? Will you actually be using the fireplace? Painted or stained dark, it would be dreary and foreboding. Painted or stained white, it would be nothing short of cringe-worthy. Not sure you have the natural sun light at that end of the room for plants. Someone wanted to enable their pets and/or themselves to set atop that hearth to warm. If you don't want to do that, you might consider altering the hearth -- removing it and recreating it so the top of the hearth is floor level. If you leave the hearth as is, then you could panel that short wall left of the fireplace and build in interior lit cabinets with solid doors below the top of the firebox but glass shelving and doors above that to the ceiling, leaving the paneling and stone visible through the cabinet. Remember to have an electrical outlet in the corner vertical between the lower solid cabinet doors. Then set a comfortable chair and sturdy floor lamp/table combo in the corner in front of that. Either way, would not add a mantel to add clutter the top with items above it. If you do add a mantel or shelving, consider putting the full width of the fireplace wall. You could add art to the fireplace but instead of a framed picture or poster or print of painting, consider something else -- perhaps something that reflects your interests and hobbies made from pressed metal....See MoreHow to hang art on a stacked stone fireplace (no grout lines)?
Comments (39)I think if you hang it raised (or rotate it), it will be too close to the ceiling. The masonry hook is one idea, but it doesn't have to be higher. Try the museum wax or clear pushpins or other suggestions to keep it on the shelf, then if it just seems to unstable, do the hook, but at same level. PS, great art, and fine reasoning about the multi-object alternative....See MoreClair
2 years ago
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