Features News
Fireplace facelifts add new spark
del.icio.us
Digg
NewsVine
FarkJournal staff and wire services
Designers often say a fireplace is the focal point of a room. But if yours leaves you cold, take heart. Giving it a facelift can be easier and cheaper than you think.
Redoing an outdated hearth or adding a mantel yourself can make a big difference for not a lot of money.
“It’s like getting a new haircut or getting a new dress,” said Jayne Kessel, a Rapid City designer with Jayne Kessel Interior Design.
Home improvement stores carry inexpensive mantel kits, or you can go for a natural look. “You can go out into the woods and find your own mantel, if you want,” she said.
If your fireplace is dirty to the point where you can’t clean it, is the wrong size or scale (think small fireplace on a big wall) or just doesn’t seem to blend in with your environment, it may be time for an update, Kessel said.
“Just tweaking it a little bit with new pieces can make a big difference,” she said.
Paint may be the answer for multicolored brick that can be too busy for some decors. Although people can be resistant to painting brick, it’s OK, Kessel said. “If you check magazines, especially from the East, you’ll see they’ve been doing it for years.”
One of Kessel’s more challenging fireplace redos started with a homeowners’ very large fireplace wall that came into the room and was covered in dark, heavy slate.
“After repeatedly being told that they couldn’t do anything with it, my clients persevered. We put our heads together” to find a solution, she said.
They opened it into a three-sided fireplace with a bench for seating, a matching wooden hearth and mantel. The fireplace was covered in 24-by-6-inch buffalo stone tiles, a natural material with a lot of grain.
“A stone fireplace here is a very easy thing and it’s a look you’ll find in the area,” she said. Kessel recommends using some of the newer stone tiles “if you’re looking to get a fresh look and still be natural. The cut gives a fireplace a sleek look,” she said.
Josh Baker, president of Bowa Builders in McLean, Va., has seen hundreds of facelift candidates. “A lot of the time, the brick is not attractive. Certain styles have changed, or you see an entire wall of brick. For a while there were also these firebox cubbies for wood storage. People tend to be getting away from that.”
In one home, he says, a floor-to-ceiling brick fireplace with two built-in niches was completely transformed: The firebox was given an earthy fieldstone surround; on either side, identical wood cabinets and doors were added, with a small window cut over each cabinet. One cupboard now houses the sound system; the other conceals access to the woodpile outside the house. Total cost: $10,000.
Dated brick is not the only problem Baker cites. “Particularly in ‘70s and ‘80s houses, you had big, thick rustic beams applied to the wall as a mantel shelf, and those are out of favor,” he said. “We take them off and replace them with something traditional, or nothing at all.”
Decorative woodwork often is good solution, whether it’s a simple, ready-made mantelpiece or elaborate custom work. “In a more masculine den, we’ll stain the millwork. For a traditional look, we’ll paint it,” Baker said.
Designer Chad Alan of Washington likes to use mirrors to cover the fireplace surround, the space between the firebox opening and the mantel. “They provide a flash of light, they reflect color, they look really great and they don’t cost very much,” he said.
Kessel also has seen mirror applied to the inside of a fireplace, and candles placed in front. “It was beautiful,” she said. Other creative option might be painting the inside a bright color, such as turquoise, and putting art pieces inside, she said.
As for decorating the mantel, “I think balance and proportion are key, but that doesn’t mean it has to be symmetrical,” said Kessel. She suggests leaning a picture or group of pictures, against the wall to form a casual grouping.
Homeowners have found that even small changes can make a huge difference in a room.
Tom and Sandy Ross Jones couldn’t bear the “old-fashioned” floor-to-ceiling brick fireplace of their ‘50s rambler in Alexandria, Va., rambler, despite the attempt by an earlier occupant to disguise it with white paint. So as part of a 2003 renovation, they had contractors sheath the brick in drywall, paint the whole thing celadon green to match the adjacent living room walls and add a sleek black granite surround and hearth. Total cost: under $1,500. The makeover drew raves.
In Old Town Alexandria, spouses and political duelists Mary Matalin (the rabid Republican) and James Carville (the die-hard Democrat) sought interior drama from designers Ed Bouchard and Bud Yeck of the Mill Co. The makeover included refacing all the fireplaces, including something muscular enough to anchor a vivid coral living room, which is featured in the January 2008 edition of Architectural Digest.
The designers swapped out a “typical Colonial wood surround with dentil molding” for the high drama of a limestone mantelpiece with an undulating crosspiece to “improve the architecture of the space,” Bouchard said. The stone mantel cost $4,300; a new granite surround and hearth, labor and other items brought the total to $10,400.
“It’s like a great piece of jewelry that makes an outfit. It is hugely dramatic,” Matalin said. “Designers say start with the rug. I say start with the fireplaces.”
The opinions above are from readers of rapidcityjournal.com and in no way represent the views of the Rapid City Journal or Lee Enterprises.
Rapidcityjournal.com provides this community forum for readers to exchange ideas and opinions on the news of the day. Passionate views, pointed criticism and critical thinking are welcome. Name-calling, crude language and personal abuse are not welcome. Moderators will monitor comments with an eye toward maintaining a high level of civility in this forum. Our comment policy explains the rules of the road for registered commenters.
If you don't see your comment, perhaps...
Terms of Use | Privacy Policy