It's Fireplace Weather: Terms To Know

Now that summer is officially over and we have begun our journey into autumn, it is feeling a little like fireplace weather. And over my decade of working in interior design, I have noticed that often people might speak about their fireplaces but don't know what to call parts or areas, while others use different terms for the same object. So in an effort to offer some clarity, let's walk through some of the major parts of a fireplace.

The central and most important part of a fireplace is of course where the fire itself is located, the firebox. This is sometimes referred to simply as "the box." Fireplace boxes can be lined with brick, fireclay, metal, pretty much anything that is fireproof (obviously).

The next area of importance is the hearth. This is the area in front of the firebox and it too needs to be fireproof if you have a live fire. This ensures that popping embers from the firebox will not start a fire. For this reason, a hearth needs to be at least 18" deep. If you have a gas insert instead of actual burning logs, the hearth should still be made of a heat-resistant material since many of today's gas inserts give off a tremendous amount of heat that can still cause damage.

A hearth can be flush with the floor or as close to that as possible. Or a hearth can be raised. In the case of a raised hearth, the structure can turn into a bench!

Now we come to the fun parts of the fireplace: the fascia of the mantel can be clad in a myriad of stone or tile choices (again, any non-combustible material that covers at least 6" from the edge of the firebox), and of course the mantel shelf (people often refer to this simply as "the mantel") can be wood or metal. The shelf is a perfect spot for collectibles, art, and holiday decorations. See my previous post about Mantel Inspiration for a brief overview of what can be done to incorporate rich design into your fireplace.

If you don't have a mantel, you can add a floating shelf which offers a very sleek take on a standard fireplace.

On very traditional fireplaces, the mantel sides can also feature carved or fluted panels which are referred to as legs or pilasters. And the last large piece of a fireplace is what is called the breast. This is the structure that covers the chimney and flue. This is another perfect area for some extra embellishmnet. Traditional fireplaces might feature a material on the fireplace breast that is the wall material in the rest of the room. But modern fireplaces can be clad in tile or stone, often all the way to the ceiling.

But wait, there are some areas of your fireplace that you can't see! The chimney is the structure that rises from the fireplace itself and the flue is the duct, pipe, or opening that allows smoke to rise up and out of your home. If you have a gas insert, the flue can be directed either up or off the side to vent outward but if you have a log-burning fireplace, smoke only rises, so it is imperative that your flue go straight up. You most likely also have a flue cover that allows air to flow up when opened. Because burning natural materials coats the inside of your flue with creosote (a tarry by-product of burning wood), it's good to have a professional chimney sweep clean your fireplace at the beginning of every cold season.

Happy designing!

From Brick To Stone: A Fireplace Make Over By Fiorito Interior Design

One of the components of a recent remodel for some clients was a fireplace in a family room/kitchen area. As you can see in the image below, the fireplace had an ugly brick face--but what you don't see is the brick mantel and floating shelves made of the same brick, removed by the contractor in preparation for a gorgeous new gold and grey stacked stone face. We also removed an unsightly pellet-burning stove that sat outside of the fireplace.

Once we picked a stacked stone we liked that had a nice amount of warm and cool colors, a pleasing rustic profile, and a uniformly slim cut...

... my client and I were able to go to a stone yard and pick out some slabs of slate for the raised hearth. We tried some of the lighter tones to see if they would play well with the gold in the stacked stone, but none of them felt right. As you can see in the finished fireplace at the bottom of this post, we chose a light grey which seemed to ground the entire façade quite well.

The end result looks so much more sophisticated yet retains a casual, organic warmth. You can see in the first photo at the top of the post that we installed some recessed ceiling fixtures to wash light down the front of the fireplace breast, to highlight the beautiful rough texture  and bring out the lovely, almost sparkly gold tones.

This fireplace is adjacent to a kitchen remodel I created for my clients which will be featured here soon. Stay tuned...

Happy designing!

Fireplace Weather

It's that time of year again when the chill air prompts us to clean out our fireplaces and ready them for the coming winter months. Fireplaces are a marvelous focal point for a living room or family room, or even a dining room or master bedroom. If you are lucky enough to have one (or several) in your home, this is certainly the time to build a roaring fire and curl up with some hot chocolate and a good book.

But often people buy a home with a tired old brick fireplace (whether raw or painted), or with a chimney breast that bears the mark of a previous owner's well-intentioned but clumsy attempt to add more "rustic charm." So I often have clients come to me for a remodel or re-build of their fireplaces; this fun and functional element of a room should be special. Take a look at the before and after transformations below and see what I mean...

I had clients who were very unhappy with their fireplace wall. They desperately wanted to be rid of some 1970s wood paneling, and who can blame them. The fireplace itself was faced with an odd material of rather sharp stones that had never been grouted. And the bench hearth only accentuated the whole mess.

I designed a total remodel for the wall that included new bookcases and storage flanking the fireplace. The clunky bench hearth was removed and the firebox was built out flush with the bookcases to accommodate a new gas-flame insert. English walnut marble and specialty tiles bring a classic sense to the fascia while a new wall color and ceiling spots add a warm glow to this rejuvenated family space.

Brick fireplaces were once popular but when they fell out of favor, homeowners painted them white, hoping to fade them into the wall color. While that may have removed the sight of the undesirable brick, it also removed the focus from what should be the focal point of a room.

In this case, my client wanted me to completely redesign and refurnish his living room and make his his fireplace once again the special element in the room. To start, I clad the existing brick fireplace breast in a stacked stone veneer. Properly placed recessed ceiling lights reveal the rich texture of the stone as well as my client's art collection in adjoining areas. The far wall received a grasscloth wallpaper treatment that echoes the horizontal lines of the fireplace. An area rug in a quartet of green shades anchors all new furniture, featuring strong lines and cube-like shapes, and arranged to take advantage of the fireplace focal point. Custom cocktail cubes of beechwood and ivory chiffon marble sit in front of the slate grey sofa, and an Asian-inspired bamboo console table stands behind it. Accessories and art placement complete this sleek, modern living room with a slight nod to the mid-century past.

This client had purchased a lovely home in a neighborhood surrounded by gorgeous redwood trees. While the beautiful location feels like a state park, the contemporary home was not the right venue for a rough quarry rock fireplace. The previous owners built the fireplace breast (which canted in on all sides, like a pyramid) out of scale with the wall and room which features a spacious ten foot ceiling height.

After demolishing the existing flagstone facing, we rebuilt the box to extend up to the ceiling line and faced the entire creation with a stacked stone in beautiful warm grey and taupe tones. The previous fireplace had no mantel so I created a raw edge mantel from a piece of reclaimed timber with a unique copper sheet detail which wraps around one end in an unexpected stripe, adding a bit of gleam and shine in an otherwise organic palette.

 

So if you have a fireplace you don't like, there are so many options to update or transform it into something new and attractive.

Stay warm and happy designing!