Alright, you’ve already seen one fireplace remodel, so now it’s time to show you the glow up of our living room fireplace. Once fall begins and the nights start to cool, Patrick and I use this fireplace almost daily. I appreciate the ambiance that it provides and the warmth it gives out too – plus it’s the focal point of our living room.
When we first moved in, the fireplace was there, but it was just a metal, black box in the wall. I was happy to see a fireplace, but it looked lonely and a little bit like someone had just pinned it on the wall and that was that. I knew that we had to do something to create more of a true space around the fireplace and make it stand out.
We enlisted the help of a carpenter (unfortunately for us he has since retired), who showed us lots of pictures of past custom, wood mantles that he had created. I wanted to keep it simple and classic, not heavily patterned, and not too large so that it wouldn’t stick out like a sore thumb. I also wanted to be able to hide the TV wires, so he made sure that the side was hollow so that we were able to run the wires down the side and discreetly to the outlet. I highly recommend doing this as it made the area look so much less cluttered and cleaner.
The floor hearth material (on the ground under the fireplace) wasn’t anywhere else in the house, so we used the same quartz that we put in our kitchen, bar, and master bath, to tie the area together. Since the floor hearth became the light quartz, I decided to use a dark tile to frame around the fireplace box and adjacent to the mantle. I toyed with the idea of painting the mantle black since we have other black accents, but I decided on keeping it white in the end. Also, you’ll notice how dark the fireplace looks in the “before” photos – we had the two fireplaces cleaned when we moved in and I couldn’t believe the difference. I have no idea when they were cleaned last, so that was also a game changer in how the inside of the fireplace looked too.
I think that there is enough going on in the tile and quartz that the area doesn’t look bland, but I also enjoy that the fireplace doesn’t overwhelm the room and vibes well with the rest of the house. Overall, this goes to show what some paint, tile, quartz, and a mantle can really do for a fireplace area. The first day of fall, September 22nd, is right around the corner, so I know you’ll be able to find us cozying up around the fireplace soon. Let me know what you think of the before and after!
