MCM fireplace- keep or change?
Michelle Chenevert
last year
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Keep or change bones of 60's southwest ranch kitchen?
Comments (96)lyfia, thanks, and we agree. The glass company said building codes only require us to use safety (tempered) glass for the two end panels; the center three could be annealed, if the glass started 18" off the floor. How crazy is that? We'd never want to take that risk, either. Yikes. Fortunately the bid for tempered glass was only about 15% higher than annealed glass (which really surprised me.) So we'd only consider tempered 1/4" if we use glass. Laminated glass (with the plastic skin in the middle) would be the safest, but it's super pricey. I think safety glass would be OK. Another option is 1/4" plexiglass, which I think would work as a substrate for the glass mosaic, as long as I didn't go too big with the panels. (I think big plexi panels might flex, which isn't good for a grouted mosaic...?) At some point I need to go ask the folks in the stained glass/mosaic forum here. So far the pricing for thick plexiglass seems comparable to tempered glass. There would still be small grouted glass pieces on one side of the divider (we could put it on the low traffic side) but I don't think the surface would be risky for kids, since all the sharp edges would be embedded in grout. And it would be pretty hard to break. We considered colored plexiglass panes too, but it just seems so "mod" for the informal, earthy textures in the house. Colored tempered glass and frosted tempered glass are way too expensive (pushing $1000 just for the frosted glass idea, for five 5' panels.) I considered frosted films and frosted spray paint, but I think those ideas have a limited life span (especially if the house has active kids) since the spray frostings can scratch off. And DH keeps wishing for color, and he's got me agreeing. It has to be somewhat transparent or it blocks too much light. So, now considering a fairly open wooden framework, with smallish glass mosaic panels scattered. Still playing with ideas...!...See MoreMCM Fireplace -- Help me pick a mantel shelf
Comments (13)Question re mahogany: you might want to make sure that the mahogany you use is sustainably sourced...it's gorgeous but it's a major rainforest wood and is being poached, as it were, destroying habitat left and right. You can look for something that is called "FSC certified" if you're in question about the source of the wood. OR you can look on a craigslist for someone selling downed lumber that's been milled locally. I love using that kind of wood. Make sure it's dried sufficiently as well. This might get into the range of *you* having to do the sourcing; there are plenty of aspects of our remodel where we know that a contractor would have stopped *long* before we would have been happy...the truly custom sometimes involves extra *extra* legwork on the owner's part. I look so forward to re-doing our mantel--it will be locally milled walnut, I hope. Have you checked craigslist? You can even start looking in "services" for arborists who might know people who have recently cut down a walnut tree. Then it would have local resonance too, rather than being just another product....See MoreMCM inspired home- Polished concrete? Stone or brick for fireplace?
Comments (18)IMO wood look tile has had its day and in a MCM home it would not work in my head. I like polished concrete but no colored . Terrazzo would be the perfect choice but there are some good terrazzo look tiles . I think I would do huge formay tile that looks like concrete porcelanosa makes awesome huge format tile the only catch is you need to have the floor done to accept those tiles and a tile setter who has experience in laying them. They have some concrete look tile that is what I would use to avoing the cracking that happens with real concrete floor....See MoreFireplace Tile Dilemma - change it or keep it
Comments (10)I understand being disappointed, as you had a certain image in your mind, but I really do think it looks great as is. And I’m seeing some sort of cut out areas on either side? If so, you might be glad the fireplace sides are smooth. Not as busy a look so close to other room features. But … only you can decide this. If you think it will always bother you, get it fixed the way you want it....See MoreUser
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