New This Week: 3 Living Rooms Focus on the Fireplace
Get crackling with inspiration from 3 spaces that center on the hearth
With all the snow getting dumped on the Northeast and rain soaking the Northwest of late, it’s not quite time to say goodbye to a good crackling fireplace. These three living rooms put the hearth front and center.
2. Scandinavian
Designer: Allisen Larsen of Introspecs
Location: Sherwood, Oregon
Size: 600 square feet (55.7 square meters), including dining area
Homeowners’ request: Brighten a Craftsman-style, earth-toned home by layering a lot of whites and soft grays.
Fireplace focal point: The original corner fireplace was wood-burning with a lodge-like flagstone surround and a short, chunky wood mantel. Designer Allisen Larsen brought in a custom gray concrete slab surround for a clean, simple look, and added a gas insert. A custom steel support holds a custom gray-stained white oak mantel. The homeowners’ kids use the concrete hearth with chiseled facing as a performance stage.
Designer: Allisen Larsen of Introspecs
Location: Sherwood, Oregon
Size: 600 square feet (55.7 square meters), including dining area
Homeowners’ request: Brighten a Craftsman-style, earth-toned home by layering a lot of whites and soft grays.
Fireplace focal point: The original corner fireplace was wood-burning with a lodge-like flagstone surround and a short, chunky wood mantel. Designer Allisen Larsen brought in a custom gray concrete slab surround for a clean, simple look, and added a gas insert. A custom steel support holds a custom gray-stained white oak mantel. The homeowners’ kids use the concrete hearth with chiseled facing as a performance stage.
Other special features: Teak root coffee table. Antique black light fixtures. Custom gray-stained ash wood flooring. Custom built-in for TV.
Designer secret: “One of the things that makes this space so successful is the natural layering and visual balance through the different finish selections,” Larsen says. “We chose a midtone gray flooring and soft white walls to provide the foundation for the room. Most of the furniture, finishes and fabrics follow that guideline, which gels the whole space.”
Also on the team: Base Modern (fireplace mantel and steel parts); Smithcraft Construction (general contractor); Santos Painting; Pioneer Millworks (flooring and installation); Caleb Vandermeer Photography; Infinity Stone (custom concrete fireplace surround and hearth)
Andes corner sectional with chaise and ottoman: West Elm; Dana leather chair in Denim: Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams; Bella wool rug: 9 by 12 feet, West Elm; coffee table: teak root, Vanillawood; log side table: Lincoln sugar pull-up table in white, Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams; Conical drum pendant: 30 inches, Rejuvenation; paint by Benjamin Moore: Vapor (walls) and Simply White (beams and trim); dining table: Big Sur natural oak table, 65 inches, Crate & Barrel; Eames molded plastic wire-base side chairs in white and black: Design Within Reach; throw: Icelandic sheepskin in white, Design Within Reach
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Designer secret: “One of the things that makes this space so successful is the natural layering and visual balance through the different finish selections,” Larsen says. “We chose a midtone gray flooring and soft white walls to provide the foundation for the room. Most of the furniture, finishes and fabrics follow that guideline, which gels the whole space.”
Also on the team: Base Modern (fireplace mantel and steel parts); Smithcraft Construction (general contractor); Santos Painting; Pioneer Millworks (flooring and installation); Caleb Vandermeer Photography; Infinity Stone (custom concrete fireplace surround and hearth)
Andes corner sectional with chaise and ottoman: West Elm; Dana leather chair in Denim: Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams; Bella wool rug: 9 by 12 feet, West Elm; coffee table: teak root, Vanillawood; log side table: Lincoln sugar pull-up table in white, Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams; Conical drum pendant: 30 inches, Rejuvenation; paint by Benjamin Moore: Vapor (walls) and Simply White (beams and trim); dining table: Big Sur natural oak table, 65 inches, Crate & Barrel; Eames molded plastic wire-base side chairs in white and black: Design Within Reach; throw: Icelandic sheepskin in white, Design Within Reach
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3. Modern
Designers: Matthew Elliott and Eric Reinholdt of Elliott + Elliott Architecture
Location: Brooklin, Maine
Size: 296 square feet (27.4 square meters); 18½ by 16 feet (5.6 by 4.8 meters)
Homeowners’ request: A large gathering space for family and friends that connects to a deck and screened-in porch.
Fireplace focal point: An L-shaped sofa allows the option of viewing the fireplace or the water vista. Openings on either side of the fireplace bring in light and connection to a meadow that wraps around the house. The fireplace is the Phenix Green model by Bodart & Gonay. The surround and hearth are Absolute Black granite.
Other special features: Natural maple wood floor and red cedar ceiling.
“Uh-oh” moment: “The biggest challenge in this space was to find a way to include a fireplace in a house that was being designed to be energy-efficient,” architect Matthew Elliott says. “Using passive solar principles, we were able to take advantage of the large amount of glass, but we knew that an open fireplace would be a big energy drain. Having explored a number of options, such as wood stove and fireplaces with glass doors, we were not satisfied with the look of either of those.
“The owners wanted the feel of an open fire, which the wood stoves didn’t give, and the glass doors always felt like they detracted from the feeling we were after. Finally, we were able to find a wood-burning fireplace from Bodart & Gonay which has a glass door that can be closed to increase energy efficiency, but when you don’t want the glass to show, it slides up into the wall above the firebox, allowing it to totally disappear and give you the sense of intimacy with the fire we were looking for.”
Also on the team: Becker Structural Engineers; Peter Knuppel Lighting Design; Jon Woodward & Sons (general contractor); Owen Gray & Son (custom cabinetmaker); Burdick & Associates Landscape Design; Rob Karosis Photography
Doors and windows: Drewexim
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Designers: Matthew Elliott and Eric Reinholdt of Elliott + Elliott Architecture
Location: Brooklin, Maine
Size: 296 square feet (27.4 square meters); 18½ by 16 feet (5.6 by 4.8 meters)
Homeowners’ request: A large gathering space for family and friends that connects to a deck and screened-in porch.
Fireplace focal point: An L-shaped sofa allows the option of viewing the fireplace or the water vista. Openings on either side of the fireplace bring in light and connection to a meadow that wraps around the house. The fireplace is the Phenix Green model by Bodart & Gonay. The surround and hearth are Absolute Black granite.
Other special features: Natural maple wood floor and red cedar ceiling.
“Uh-oh” moment: “The biggest challenge in this space was to find a way to include a fireplace in a house that was being designed to be energy-efficient,” architect Matthew Elliott says. “Using passive solar principles, we were able to take advantage of the large amount of glass, but we knew that an open fireplace would be a big energy drain. Having explored a number of options, such as wood stove and fireplaces with glass doors, we were not satisfied with the look of either of those.
“The owners wanted the feel of an open fire, which the wood stoves didn’t give, and the glass doors always felt like they detracted from the feeling we were after. Finally, we were able to find a wood-burning fireplace from Bodart & Gonay which has a glass door that can be closed to increase energy efficiency, but when you don’t want the glass to show, it slides up into the wall above the firebox, allowing it to totally disappear and give you the sense of intimacy with the fire we were looking for.”
Also on the team: Becker Structural Engineers; Peter Knuppel Lighting Design; Jon Woodward & Sons (general contractor); Owen Gray & Son (custom cabinetmaker); Burdick & Associates Landscape Design; Rob Karosis Photography
Doors and windows: Drewexim
See more of this house
More
Design Debate: Is It OK to Hang the TV Over the Fireplace?
Houzz TV: Flickering Virtual Fireplaces to Warm Your Heart
Good Furniture Combos for Tight Living Rooms
Designer: Katie Schroder of Atelier Interior Design
Location: Denver
Size: About 200 square feet (18.5 square meters)
Homeowners’ request: “It was important to the homeowners that this space be ‘badass,’ as it’s one of the first rooms you see when you enter the home,” designer Katie Schroder says. “But they also wanted it to be comfortable.”
Fireplace focal point: Bumped out for architectural interest. Ann Sacks tile that looks almost like gunmetal. Reclaimed barn beam for mantel. Open shelves with storage below.
Other special features: Custom sectional sofa upholstered in moss-green velvet. Chair and ottoman in cognac-colored leather. “Perfect for reading a book while sipping cognac,” Schroder says.
Designer secret: “What made this room a success is that you don’t walk in and notice the TV,” Schroder says. “This fireplace [area] is so full of texture, rustic accents and great art that you can’t take your eyes off it. Don’t focus the room around a TV; it needs to focus on something architectural.”
Also on the team: Kevin Anderson of ArcWest Architects; Tim Saul of Saul Construction; Walker Fine Art Gallery; Emily Minton Redfield (photographer)
Tile: Mousharabia Fatima, 8 by 8 inches, Ann Sacks; Haywood chair, Cornerstone sectional in leather and Quito ottoman in leather: Century; rug: Langley, Highlands; shade fabric: Colorful Contrast in Citron Plum, Kravet
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