Need some ideas for a fireplace facelift project
 

First home improvement project for the winter. Home is a contemprary design. In the family room PO's had an ornate mantle and marble tiles around the fireplace and hearth. Hearth is elevated about 1 foot and 16" horizontal. Faux chimney is approx 8' across. Ceilings are vaulted to a 26' peak and as such I don't want to create a stone obolisk going that high.

I want to do something less formal in keeping with the casual architecture of the house. The floors are a concrete finished in what can best be described as distressed leather finish. Wife says she wants the flooring to remain. I want a simple clean design and lower/eleminate the mantle as I plan to mount a TV over the fireplace and don't want it 7 ' above the floor over where existing mantle is.


any suggestions/pics of what you've done appreciated.


some pics taken this Xmas:


.http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1262990249.jpg


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If it were mine, I'd do a dry stack

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1262990591.jpg

You can't go far wrong with the French country house look:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1262990875.jpg

We looked at some smaller drystack stone. I really liked it but going up 26' is pretty overpowering. Only going up to the mantel looked unbalanced.

That's beautiful but a bit formal/traditional for the house, Dot.

I don't have pictures of it, but when we purchased our house, the fireplace was red brick, painted white. My wife did not like it. I purchased slate tiles and built a frame around the fireplace, below the mantle and layed the tiles (zero grout lines). She has been happy with it since.

Sounds similar to what I did in our bedroom fireplace...slate surround and raised hearth. It was also done in a formal pink marble by PO. Just too formal for the style of the house. We want to do something a little lighter colored in the family room above...perhaps even travertine in a light hue.

I live in a ski resort town so most of the fireplaces I design tend to be pretty massive and real stone. Here's one I recently designed for a client for a retrofit. Totally different setting than your house, but I had easy access to the pics on my computer. . .

Tom

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My grandpa used to own a brick company in Denver, so I'm a fan of brick. Here's a pics from my house - taken about 2 minutes ago!

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1262997570.jpg

Sorry, last one. A contemporary house I designed recently.

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Tom...nice fireplace in your great room. That modern is really sweet...floors scored concrete? Fireplace stainless and black granite?

I really like the dry stack. Mine came in wood, and I like it enough to not change it.

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Heres one I did for a customer. Cultured stone. Wasnt finished at this point. Still had to put trim around the firebox.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1263002626.jpg

Yes, the floors are concrete. It's a little "white" for my personal taste (and wouldn't be white for long w/my 2 boys, 3 cats and 1 dog!) but the owner loves it which is all that matters! The fireplace is a stainless faced gas insert with a cantilevered metal hearth and metal mantle. It's really cool! The whole house is cool!

Good luck w/the remodel!

Oh yeah, one more thing. . . check out the book:

Fire Spaces: Design Inspirations for Fireplaces and Stoves; A Schiffer Book for Designers (sorry, tried a direct link, but it wouldn't post)

It has a TON of images to look at of all different aesthetics and types etc... Pictures are worth 1000 words! Maybe your library has it.

Don't put the tv over the fireplace...

You will have to much going on in one space

Almost the only place to put one. Opposite the fireplace is open area to kitchen/dining area. Wall to the right of fireplace is series of 4 glass doors (you see 2 in pictures). Wall to left of fp is 1/2 bath, mech closet and foyer to front door and its elevated walkway (great room is sunken).

Nice stonework Vinny. I've looked at a similar product and liked it.

Stogie...beautiful wood. Redwood or cedar? We considered doing wood (rough cut cypress)or stone to match the outside. Our house is unique for the locale...looks more like a ski lodge or hunting retreat instead of the typical southern home.

Thanks. It is cedar.

Only place at my Parent's house, here is a crappy, out of focus pic, it is molded concrete, or something like that.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1263008906.jpg

Dueller, your fireplace screen isn't doing you any favors. It's the only arch in the room and it's not proportionate to the firebox.

Taking that away will give you a better idea of what you have to work with, when viewed from all angles.

I think dual mantles, in a simple obelisk style, like the Idaho contemporary might be the place to start, but that is just my opinion. Put the TV between 'em, in a height that is comfortable for your viewing habits
(and I love that cantilevered hearth, which would work in your favor, too!)

Agreed HO...it was from our old house...wifey sticks it up when we build a fire because of her paranoia;)

O like the cantilevered hearth, too.

+1

I would go to the ceiling with a creamy handset travertine overlay. 3 feet or so above the mantle I would do a square (cause I don't see any other radius in pics) 4" deep inset for a piece of art. Doesn't have to be huge - just enough to break the high ceiling effect and give visual interest. Install in the inset a couple halogen/led lights to light up the artwork or just the inset itself. I think it would look great.

A relatively simple way to change the design would be to replace the marble with a ceramic tile that more closely matches the floor or a warmer color scheme you would like. You could possible strip the mantle, and do a dark stain with a distressed finish- or completely replace the mantle- home depot sells kits of different styles that might work for you.

Be careful with replacing the mantle and putting a TV up there. In Virginia at least there are code requirements as to how high the mantle must be over the fireplace opening (18-21 inches I think) Then of course the heat of the fireplace and its impact on the TV.

Sounds like fun project!

With the existing fireplace and the modern structure of the house, I wouldn't try to get too "English Manor", which some would do, but it would be the proverbial "turd in a punch bowl". Maybe something that would be a focal point (which is what you want) but more subdued. Batchelder tile is very nice revival site Revival Tileworks portfolio :fireplaces and also Google Weaver tile for something that is nice to gaze at with the fire and give a rustic feel without compromising the feel of the Home. Lots to check out Jim, let me know if you need some expertise, I know many people who deal in this stuff,

The mantel itself is very nice custom made piece. It just isn't keeping with the architectural design of the house. You can't really see the detail in the photos but it is ornately carvede wood work...ditto for the trim around the marble surround. It would be beautiful in the right setting...just a little too ornate for the house or our taste.

Craigster...hoping you would weigh in given your design expertise. As you can see from the outside of the house, ornate interior architecture is disconsonate especially with all the skylights/oddball geometric windows.

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Nice house. Does any of that outside stone work appear inside?

thanks...

No...stonework does not continue inside. Everything is essentially monochromatic. Although the concrete floors would be complimentary to doing some type of river stone. We considered just doing a riverstone hearth horizontal surface and making the opening just a sleek obolisk. Also considere going to the ceeiling with it but the faux chimney is 8' wide and 26' tall. Seema to be overpowering withthat much inside stone.

Jim whats in your garage that your 911 got snowed on?

we had a bowl game week party with a 12' wide projection tv screen, bar set up etc. Its a 2 1/2 car garage with a workshop area but also full of motorcycles, go karts etc.

So basically your toys... Got in the way of your toys... Rough life...

Here is mine... I just need to have the wires changed out so they do not show and my fireplace would be perfect...


http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1263018109.jpg

sorry... not a very clear photo

Tell us more about that fire place, would ya. Gas?

Jim, With the contemporary structure of the house and the setting I would try to go with some natural materials used in a linear/geometric pattern without any ornate curves, arcs, etc. I would make the mantle of natural finish wood, heavy in appearance (10'w x 10"h x 18"d). I recommendd the Batchelder because it's interesting and their are friezes that you could use in addition to field tile to give it an interesting look.

Group 2 on the link shows a pine tree "mural" on the left but I would pick one to go above the opening in your case. The colors are subdued but interesting and you can leave the chimney to display some vertical artwork (Put the TV somewhere else, you want this to be the focal point of the room because of the fireplace, not because the LSU game is on) :)

+1 -- nice design, Tom.

I've been looking to do an 'art fire' type of gas fireplace like that. Very nice.

Lots of interesting designs here: contemporary fireplace designs - Google Images

I like the french look as well, muted and refined, but it wouldn't go well with a contemporary. The last pic is a nice design. I think muted is the key word here. If anything should be exagerated it should be the fireplace itself(black granite, etc.).

First thing to check is that the framing and clearances are safe and will satisfy manufacturers/code clearances.

You're trying to make "a box on top of a box" style natural to the room.
Without other reference features, it will look out of place.
-Mabye the top one is smaller for a "stacked" look?
-Mabye the tv could be hidden behind doors, and/or moulding added around to pickup the wall-ceiling/roof transition?

Here's another example:
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1263057423.jpg

12own...beautiful fireplace surround...though muted and tasteful still a bit more ornate than I'm looking for.

I have a picture from a book I'll scan and post to show you where I'm leaning.

Craister/john...you guys have an idea of what I'm looking for. Thanks for your input. And you've convinced me not to make the tv the focal point but rather the f/p. I've thought about using a stained natural wood mantel but our furniture/accessories lean towards eclectic and we have a few pieces of wood of differing tones so we were trying to avoid yet another wood grain. E.g., not seen is an antique pine hutch that I salvaged when gutting a kitchen in an antebellum home, an oriental teakish desk, a mahogony table in the dining area, a weathered wooden porch column used as a stand for metal art, etc. Plus we're planning on hardwood floors in foyer, dining area and kitchen while leaving the sunken great room in the concrete.

Here's a few pics of something I saw for hiding the tv above the fireplace with art. Although I like the stone I think I want to carry the wall colored sheetrock up the wall to keep things simple with some type of light colored stone around the f/p itself...but black would be dramatic. But I kinda like the idea of two columns on each side of the f/p going up to the ceiling...perhaps 8-12" wide and 6-8" deep all the way up.

Something like this but not in stone:


http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1263073778.jpg

Then to hide the tv the art flips up...either manually or motorized.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1263073824.jpg
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Not so sure I like the flip up....but with columns I could mount a track vertically on the interior sides of columns so the art could be raised above the tv. I have plenty of height so it would just look like a piece of art above the tv when tv was exposed.

I still think I want a mantel above f/p and below tv/art. I can envision it looking like the art is resting on mantel when tv is covered.

My biggest problem is figuring out the scale of the mantel, columns and hearth...although the hearth is eesentially going to be 8'x 12"x 16" deep based on what's already there and not easily changed.

Thanks everyone...still looking for additional input. Especially on materials for surround and scale.

Hey Due,
I wouldn't put the TV over the FP, but then, I wouldn't put the TV in the room et all. Here's a clients home that has a FP that may suit you? My Canadian two pennies would be take it up to the ceiling.... go big or go home.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1263100146.jpg

These may give you some ideas, also clients joints:
hope it helps?

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Several of our higher-end, contemporary properties feature very wide gas fireplaces where there are no fake logs (or doors/screens). Instead, they use a gas rail burried beneith colored quartz and/or "aquatic glassel" so the flame appears to be coming from the glass itself. Pretty trick.