A fireplace typically commands a prominent place in a room, but it becomes a huge eyesore if you don’t like the way it looks. The fireplace and mantel are the same as any other feature in your home: they can always be remodeled to better fit your lifestyle. We’ve got some wonderful fireplace remodels from our design team at Mosby Building Arts that illustrate just how much you can do with this feature.
1. What if the fireplace is simply in the wrong place? Just move it! In the project above, the fireplace was blocking the view of the backyard. The homeowners wanted a wall of windows, which prompted plans for designing a new wrap-around fireplace tower that multitasks as a divider between the kitchen and living room and anchors the entertainment center.
2. This hearth breathes new life into a historic townhome. The position of the fireplace is the only thing that remains the same. A new gas-burning firebox gets an elongated cultured stone surround, complemented by a minimalist mantel and new built-in cabinets suited to today’s lifestyle.
3. Another fireplace face-lift trick is to change the surround material. For this project, the brick was replaced with stone tile, and the surround was shortened to create wall space above the mantel. This adjustment made the room appear taller.
4. A fireplace update can be as simple as painting the wood surround and altering the wall behind it. In this example, removing the wall paneling and painting the surround a semi-gloss white completely changed the look of the fireplace and the room it’s in.
Remember: When the fire’s out, the frame remains, so you better love it!
Scott Mosby is CEO of Mosby Building Arts and writes a blog on home improvement: mosbybuildingarts.com/blog/.
