# Fireplace Design Ideas



## KennMacMoragh (Sep 16, 2008)

Kind of stumped on a design idea for this fireplace. It's been this way for about 30 years but they don't like the drywall between the black slate and the white trim, they say it looks stupid. So they want to get rid of that little bit of drywall and give it more of a trimmed-out look. 









I don't want to touch the white 1x4 trim around the outer edges because that basically matches with the entire house and goes all around the living room windows. I can't think of a way to add trim between the slate and the existing white trim without making it look awkward. Don't want to make it look worse than it is now. 

Here is an example of another fireplace they saw at the doctor's office that they like. But there's no way to really apply this to what they have now.










Any ideas?


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## Tinstaafl (Jan 6, 2008)

How about replacing the drywall with appropriately sized bullnose in a contrasting color?


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## KennMacMoragh (Sep 16, 2008)

Tinstaafl said:


> How about replacing the drywall with appropriately sized bullnose in a contrasting color?


What do you mean? The white outer trim would have to stay, not sure how a bullnose would work.
I'll add another more zoomed out picture so you guys can see what's going on.









I'm thinking masonry up to the ceiling would be the only way to upgrade from what's already there, but blending it into the drywall would be a problem.


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## Tinstaafl (Jan 6, 2008)

The "backside" of the bullnose could butt (no pun intended) up against the trim without disturbing it. I was conveniently ignoring all of that space above; that in a sense would be a whole different project.

OTOH, there's a reason my wife makes all of the decor decisions in our house.


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## Mesilla Valley (Jun 10, 2020)

Horizontal boards to match the outside siding in the lower picture.?


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## Mesilla Valley (Jun 10, 2020)

And the ceiling.


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## Leo G (May 12, 2005)

Hard to tell. Is the fireplace surrounded by glass or is the glass in the background?

I don't see why you can't make the mantle setup work that you have posted in the first post. You just have to wrap the chimney with the mantle top.


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## Mesilla Valley (Jun 10, 2020)

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## ScipioAfricanus (Sep 13, 2008)

Get rid of the wood trim around the hearth and tile that space in the same slate as on the hearth. Nix the vertical trim around the fireplace surround and install wood legs in the appropriate species and color. Install a new mantel from new wood leg to leg and leave the rest alone.

Andy.


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## tang (Jan 5, 2009)

MDF mills and paints great, and the price is right. my last fireplace surround included fluted pilasters, arched freeze, and a deep cove polystyrene crown. The stone is light onyx. got a deal at five bucks a foot.


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## KennMacMoragh (Sep 16, 2008)

Mesilla Valley said:


> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


That looks cool but can we even do that? Fireplaces usually have clearance specs, you can only get wood so close to the fireplace. Looks like the planks are actually behind the fireplace touching it.



Leo G said:


> Hard to tell. Is the fireplace surrounded by glass or is the glass in the background?
> 
> I don't see why you can't make the mantle setup work that you have posted in the first post. You just have to wrap the chimney with the mantle top.


There are four huge custom cut windows on the same wall as the fireplace, so yeah you can say it's surrounded by glass. My worry is the picture framing around the windows fits the interior design of the whole house, so if I mess with it then it might look awkward. 


ScipioAfricanus said:


> Get rid of the wood trim around the hearth and tile that space in the same slate as on the hearth. Nix the vertical trim around the fireplace surround and install wood legs in the appropriate species and color. Install a new mantel from new wood leg to leg and leave the rest alone.
> 
> Andy.


If you were here, I'd hire you to draw up a design. The appropriate species and color you are talking about is clear vertical grain fir with a clear coat finish on it. And the clear coat has been darkened with 30 years of sunlight. I kind of see where you're coming from in a sense that if you try and match something that won't match, you'll be making it worse. So it's better to add a contrasting detail and turn it into stained wood rather than white paint. I might question though adding more black slate because I don't know if I'd ever get it to match the slate that's there.

There are no good designers around here unfortunately. The last one I used kept ordering the wrong tile and picked out some lousy faucets. But the guy that built the house 30 years ago, I still know him pretty well. He is 80 years old and retired but I might try and get him to come over, I know he would have a solution to it. 



tang said:


> MDF mills and paints great, and the price is right. my last fireplace surround included fluted pilasters, arched freeze, and a deep cove polystyrene crown. The stone is light onyx. got a deal at five bucks a foot.
> View attachment 509432


That looks nice, is it simply a kit? I'm not sure if a mantle kit would work because it would have to fit between the windows just right.


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## Mesilla Valley (Jun 10, 2020)

You can probably go up to your existing tile, check with manufacture of fire place insert.


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## Mesilla Valley (Jun 10, 2020)

That was a cast iron surround from the turn of the last century about 1906.


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## DenverCountryBoy (Jan 10, 2021)

What is the species of the floor inlay? Can you match that?


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## KennMacMoragh (Sep 16, 2008)

DenverCountryBoy said:


> What is the species of the floor inlay? Can you match that?


That is oak, they are just hardwood flooring planks. Looks real similar to the fir trim. But you’re right if I was going to do a stained wood mantle then oak would make more sense.


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## greg24k (May 19, 2007)

Tell them to go on Google and pick a few fireplaces surrounds that they like, this way you get an idea of what they looking for and design something similar to what they pick.


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## tang (Jan 5, 2009)

No, it's not a kit. I built it from a 3/4 MDF sheet.


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## jadadc (May 10, 2021)

For this kind of inspiration I always do some search on Pinterest, you can get really nice ideas.


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## KennMacMoragh (Sep 16, 2008)

I made some drawings to get ideas. So I'd leave all the existing tile and remove some of the old wood trim. 

I can do the new mantle painted white, probably use MDF. The other option is a wood finish, probably with oak to match the floor inlay. So far they like the white because it matches all the window trim.


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## Mesilla Valley (Jun 10, 2020)

Yawn


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