What is the substrate above the fireplace? You can adhere stone veneer directly to untreated & unpainted brick, block or concrete. All other substrates require the use of lath and a thin scratch coat of mortar. Thinset can be added to the mortar to help in the initial adhesion of the stone, but is not required. We've never used it and have had no problems with adhesion. We always use lath in our stone applications. Thinset alone on plywood, wallboard, rigid insulation, etc. is not recommended due to the possibility of cracking or poor adhesion. Being in an earthquake prone area, I would high recommend the lath no matter what the substrate.

I really like oakleyoak's pic, too. We are in the process of completing our own fireplace. I would think rustic fieldstone (mortared) would give a nice old world look. Or you could try a stone done in a dry stack effect (just looks like stones stacked on one another). But the mortared irregular fieldstones might give a nice effect. Our own fireplace is very rustic but with a different look. We have a raised hearth and used shadow ledgestone done in a dry stack (no mortar), it is a stone veneer and looks very rustic. Surrounding the firebox we have tumbled multicolor slate tiles, then an oak mantel/surround in a craftsman style. The drywall above the mantel is tapered back to the other walls. Hope this helps. Amy

I’m glad you were able to get in touch with someone at RomaBio. It’s good to know that they’re responsive to customer inquiries! With that said, I think I’m changing my recommendation to Annie Sloan Chalk Paint, which is so easy to work with and is available in smaller, “craft-sized” cans. (I think RomaBio is only sold in gallons.) In fact, in most cases, little to no prep. work—sanding OR priming!—is needed. She has instructional videos detailing numerous techniques, one of which just happens to be How To Paint On Marble With Chalk Paint, though I don’t think she’s doing a wash effect in that one.

Katie, beautiful house. let me post a bunch of photos so you can see what you prefer. Some are w/the stone you've chosen, and other pics are other surround ideas. here is the shiplap w/diff color/size stone veneer hard to find your smaller size fireplace paired w/shiplap and larger stone. I think a smaller stone might look better, but here are options: This is the only large stone I actually like w/this size fireplace. I like it because of the heavy mortar wash around the stone, I like like the silver/white colors, along w/a few charcoal color stones. This seems to be a big contrast. It might look better if the shiplap was painted dark charcoal or black? Or have you thought about doing the entire thing like this? not really a fan of this color or style. meh also meh don't really care for this one. I was trying to find a white stone, but found this what appears to be a limewashed rock, or, this white quartzite. I think I like a smaller, whiter stone if you want to go this route. here are some w/other tiles and marbl.e I kind of like this look, but using a diff tile, maybe a mosaic marble tile I like this option. the marble herringbone mosaic but with a diff hearth. Or, could you have solid pieces of stone cut and fit around the box? maybe a slate or a basalt or a large format tile? I like a dark stone like basalt or soapstone, but you could choose to do a marble of some type too. Shown here w/a dark mantle. ( I think a whiter stone would have looked better) and if you just did a smooth coat of cement or stucco, or even a Roman plaster Maybe some larger, patterned tile? (I'd use a solid hearth tho) this one is kind of cool.