Five Ways to Reinvent Your Fireplace
It’s finally fireside season! While you spend time in front of yours, or just dreaming of your future fireplace, I’m here to encourage you to dream big.
Fireplaces are possibly my favorite thing to design (like the one from this project which has gone absolutely viral on Pinterest) because they provide a blank canvas that can become a focal point for the home that expresses its point of view and personality. This is a design element to consider in terms of mood or emotion—do you want your home to be fun and playful? Or romantic and elegant? Cerebral or passionate?
Once you’ve identified the feeling you want to convey, you can select materials and forms that speak in that register. I recommend getting creative and going bold when it comes to fireplaces because they are a great place for a design element that stands alone and can do a lot of the talking for the rest of the house. Here are a few ideas to encourage that big main character energy.
1.
Play with Plaster
Plaster has made a comeback recently in many new finishes and colors because it’s a material that allows for so much creativity. Here’s a few ideas to consider:
Select colored plaster in moody hues
Form arcs, curves and reliefs: sculptural forms cohere beneath a plaster finish
Opt for movement and texture in your finish application
Swath an entire facade in one serene color or mix colorful plaster elements with equally interesting tile or stone.
Design: The Brain and the Brawn
2.
Rethink Brick
A brick fireplace is a common classic, but don’t count brick out if you want to make a bold statement. Here’s a few ways to rethink it:
Apply different patterns to one facade for a custom yet classic look.
Consider some asymmetry to modernize the material.
Carry the brick onto adjacent walls, hearths, and other architectural elements for a feature wall finish.
Install brick vertically for a modern take on a traditional material.
Design: Webber + Studio
3.
Let Stone Speak
Stone is a venerable fireplace material, possibly the oldest one, but a new perspective can still yield exciting results.
Colored stone offers fun and bravado
Don’t discount the drama of a slab, whether at the hearth or framing the firebox—the more rustic the better.
Modern shapes and asymmetrical forms can be a great balance against this old-world material.
Design: Rudolph W. Schindler
4.
Tap the Creativity of Tile
Tile provides the easiest way to pack a punch. Here’s just a few ways to use it to make your fireplace a statement piece:
Go bold with color, even or especially in contrast with the rest of the room. Why should your fireplace blend in when it’s perfectly positioned to stand out?
Embrace iridescence (as in the case of zellige) or even metallics. There are so many cool tile finishes in gunmetal, gold, and mercury right now.
Use patterned tile as an accent—adorn a hearth, or the inside of a firebox with something surprising and special.
Design: Jessica Helgerson
5.
Take a Twist on Traditional
There’s nothing like a traditional mantel to gather around. But a non-traditional treatment can elevate it into an artful experience.
Strip an old mantel whose character has become coated in too many layers of paint to reveal its elemental warmth.
Conversely, a bold paint choice can give an old mantel new life.
Interpret traditional forms into new materials for a look that is fresh and playful yet honors the past
Design: Matt McKay
Thanks for reading! I hope these ideas give you something exciting to dream about on cozy nights spent staring into the flames of a lit hearth.