Change the Face of Your Fireplace, Part 2

One of the most popular posts I ever wrote was Change the Face of Your Fireplace.  I guess my clients aren't the only ones who don't know what to do with their fireplaces and how to update them.

I thought it was time to add a part 2 to the original post with some more fireplace updating ideas.

For a cleaner, more contemporary feel you could consider all glass, definitely a fresh look right?

This tile is great, it adds really nice texture without seeing any grout joints. 

On this fireplace, we did a Contours tile from Diamond Tech with a travertine slab on top of the hearth.  The slab was a little more money, but worth it to my clients who don't like grout lines.

This client wanted to get rid of the polished brass fireplace insert, it was too shiny to him. But there wasn't anything wrong with it other than the shiny brass.  So a really inexpensive way of fixing that, was to paint it a flat black, it does the trick every time.

Now when I looked at the mantel it just looked soo wimpy it was driving me crazy for his larger family room. After getting to know this client and his taste..I recommended we try something different....

(Family Room: Before)

I have been driving by this place for years never having the right client to suggest something like this until now....

I showed him some pictures like this one and he bit...I was sooo excited!  After measuring, carefully of course, I found the perfect one and had it installed.

And voila....He loved it!  It added the perfect amount of weight to an otherwise dull/boring fireplace.  Oh and yes I took out the tired marble surround and replaced it with the travertine tile I used in the floor of his kitchen to tie it all in.

(Family Room: After)

The backside of this fireplace is another fireplace.  He loved the family room fireplace makeover sooo  much he let me do the same thing on the other side.

(Office: Before)

Of course I painted the polished brass a flat black, changed the surround again to a warmer travertine tile and check out the mantel, BAM right?  Well I mean the paint helped too, ha!  

(Office: After)

We were on a roll!  I think this client will never look at a plain fireplace the same way again...He immediately wanted me to do something, actually the same thing on his other 2 fireplaces in his house for his master bedroom....That is where I drew the line...Nah uh, you can't put that in master bedroom, no way...But we can do something grand and elegant.

(Master Bedroom: Before)

We could do this!

(Master Bedroom: After)

He LOVED it!  It's even more stunning in person.  It added the perfect amount of weight to that side of his room and painting the walls a bit darker really made it pop too.

So please don't be afraid to change the face of your fireplace...It can be done for very little money or alot, but always with a big impact...Remember most of the time your fireplace is a focal point in your rooms, do you really want a sad/dated focal point in your house?  I think not. :)))

Of course I love feedback, so let me know what you think of my latest installment of fireplace faces okay?!

Change the Face of Your Fireplace

Fireplaces are one of those immediate focal points in your home that can age it. Why is everyone afraid to update them? They get outdated just like kitchens and bathrooms do.

Here are some fireplaces from past clients that I have been able to manipulate for the better, meaning my clients are THRILLED with their "new" updated fireplaces....

1) With this client the wood was in good shape just faded and "dated"....

So we stained it a darker/richer color along with the paneling and built-ins. We also stoned the fireplace insert.

2) Look what a difference just painting red brick does...The architecture of the fireplace now really stands out instead of the color, so do those woods floors.

3) The brick was so outdated along with the yellow stained oak (from age).

So we covered up the brick with black granite tiles and painted the tired wood white so now the dental moldings really show up.

4) This Kiva (Bee Hive) fireplace just blended into my clients hearth room...

Nothing a little faux paint, glass tiles and metal medallions can't help with. We also flanked it with some sconces for more light.

5) This client had updated his fireplace about a year before I got there with some Carrera marble tiles, but the fireplace with those warm walls felt so "cold".

So it took some convincing but I got him to allow us to paint over the white with a dark yummy brown and retile the whole thing in a slate (which we used for the foyer of this house, right around the corner). Now it's a statement and oh yeah, it's "warm".

6) Dark and aged!

What a difference a little paint can make.

7) We updated this clients aged oak mantel and built-ins with white paint. My clients at the time hated their brass fireplace insert, and that was next....
But once we painted everything white, they ended up liking it, the brass was toned down and it worked with the other brass in the room.

8) This fireplace wasn't working as a very good focal point. It ended up eating a whole wall in the room and looked unloved.

Because of the shape of the room a flat screen was placed in it's perfect location, above the fireplace. We covered the tired brick hearth in slate tile. We also anchored that mantel which really helped ground it, by framing the fireplace.

When I update a fireplace, I still feel I need to be true to the design of the house, but these minor changes made a big difference don't you think?