Fireplace Make Over
When my clients first brought me on a tour through the new home they purchased we all agreed on many items on the renovation To-Do List. I was a little blown away that they were fine with the existing fireplace while I had a strong opinion to the contrary from the moment I saw the original fireplace.
As is the case with home renovations, the after photo looks so amazing it is hard to imagine the room ever looking any other way. Truth is it takes a good long time to get to the finished product.
Fireplace Before
I don’t know what it was about this fireplace before, the odd proportions, the material combinations or what exactly but I just could not look past this and be comfortable with it staying. As is the case in any renovation, we were limited – and I mean – substantially limited with what we could do to modify the existing conditions. The beams on the ceiling met the face of the fireplace, the raised hearth could not be altered either could the depth and dimensions of the firebox. Urgh…complication after complication piled up, each situation did not really reveal itself until you are knee deep after having torn out the old.
The final result – all obstacles aside, turned out well. A sleek new fireplace mantel and hearth is now the focal point of the Family Room. We had a local concrete fabricator make the mantle and the hearthstones for us. Our first choice was limestone, but budget led us to concrete. A great look, if I do say so myself.
