[snowman]

I will try to dig up some photos of some of the stone fireplaces my father did. He was a stone mason. Built a fireplace for one of the ten richest people in the world, and then by word of mouth built a number of them for their friends in some of the most expensive homes in the world. You know the ones you see in the great majestic mansions on tv. I was just part of the cheep slave labor, ie picking up rocks out of the field and throwing them into a pickup truck, cleaning up, mixing mud....you know typical slave sort of stuff.

The two stone fireplaces shown so far are much better than most, especially the one by dmoolenaar. Yet they lack that certain "look" of being natural. The art is making the fireplace look "natural" yet not like a pile of rubble. Nature is very ordered, in some ways. Frank Lloyd Wright had the touch, he made his work look "natural" and desirable, comfortable to look at.
dmoolenaar's work is much better than 99% of anything you can usually get. That extra 1%, the artists touch that makes something worth 1000 times as much as the "normal" is what is lacking. The reason I am bringing this up is that I want to talk about "what makes that last 1%".
dmoolenaar work is so good that I can't use it for a good comparison, its better to use something that’s really bad to point out what’s bad and then to try and show an example of real "art".

Here is what I mean. If you simply took a pile of stones and dumped it, added cement, you have a "pile of rubble" or the typical stone fireplace. If on the other hand you carefully place each stone in a way that every stone looks like it belongs that way, like you might see in a setting of a natural gorge, you have a pleasing work of art. That involves placing every stone so that its grain matches the adjacent stones grain, placing every stone so that it looks like it was once part of a bigger arrangement of the same stone, that somehow weathered and settled into its current placement. Making sure that no stone "looks out of place", eg a big black stone in the middle of white stones or some degree of the same thing.

I think most fireplaces should be stone, or some non combustible material or they do not look natural. Wood trimmed fireplaces, and I have 3 in my house, lack a certain look of authenticity, I mean wood burns, so why would you build a fireplace out of it!

I will try to get some photos of some of these fireplaces in time for you to at least look at them to see what I am talking about. If I do not get them in time for your application, here is what the apprentice of a very very good fireplace builder (I am an electronics engineer) noticed in his long time as a slave laborer.

1. A fireplace should always be made of a non combustible material. Its practical as well as more natural.

2. Brick, marble, granite, or any exotic stone will do an excellent job.

3. Brick, marble, granite can be made very formal, yet natural. By that I mean a brick fire place should have straight well organized lines and should never be sloppy. Sloppy includes having mortar running out of the joints and bricks not in good alignment. Authentic peasant isn't pleasing to most. Elegant, well defined is the way to go with brick or marble or the like. And even then, say its limestone, the stone should be laid out in a way that looks like it belongs, not just random placed stones. a plain white stone should never be laid adjacent to a stone with a well defined pattern in it. A swirl should never be places next to a piece with clear straight lines.

4. Natural stone is the most pleasing, yet most difficult to build. You need an artist to do it. You must look at several of the works that the person did and expect the same from him in yours. Look for this basic principle. Does every stone look like it belongs? If not, how far out of place are they? If you see something like dmoolenaar's fireplace you have someone who is exceptional. If your very lucky you will get someone who can do that last little bit that truly makes it a work of art. You will know, because they Always have that WOW factor when you look at them. Not that its pretty darn good, but just WOW! Like a good wine, you know one when you taste it.

So my bottom line is as follows:

1. Choose a non combustible material, its just more natural.

2. If you can't find an artist, and they are very hard to find, choose an elegant structured design as many people can build it. Still be picky, look at their portfolio, does their work really look good, or just presentable. Look for mismatches, much like a good shirt pocket, does the pattern match? trekkor's Granite fireplace is an excellent example of this type. Note how the center pattern "fits" the overall fireplace and nothing seems out of place.

3. If you find an artist, go with a natural stone (any kind of stone) fireplace. A good fireplace is a work of art and should be central to your room.


PS I did not mean to demean dmoolenaar's work in any way. It is excellent and in the top 1%. It is in the work of art catagory, so its subjective as to whats really best. I am afterall comparing it to the Best in the World.