Fabulous Fireplace Inspiration

I love how the dark mantel above contrasts so nicely with the rest of the room.
Have you all been staying warm lately? I know in the winter time, I practically live in my fireplace. And spending so much time near the fireplace, I've been thinking about it a lot lately. It has seen a few changes since we moved here but it still isn't quite where I want it to be just yet. Below you can see where we began - with 12 inch tiles that happened to be same tile on the floor in our foyer - and a brass insert. So I changed out the tile. Honestly, I still wasn't completely thrilled with it even then, but we had no budget and it was much better than the dark tan tile that was there before.


But you know me, eventually I had other ideas for the fireplace. So I decided to just paint the tile and then hand paint a single word on the front. Though what has gone on top of the mantel has changed over the years...


...the fireplace itself has remained unchanged.


However, when we soon get to the living room part of the remodel, I want to really bulk up our fireplace by changing out the mantel, beefing up the sides {or the legs}, changing out the inset with the type of thin brick we used for our kitchen backsplash, and maybe even building an overmantel. Our living room ceiling is really high and right now, our fireplace isn't in proportion to the height of the room, so hopefully we'll be able to correct that. Also, we'll be building a faux fireplace in the dining room and inserting electric logs {no heat} that look and sound like a crackling fire for a realistic effect. These are just around $45 at The Home Depot!


So, like I said, I've been giving a lot of thought to fireplace mantel styles and I'm trying to figure out how we'll go about transforming our living room fireplace {for the final time!} and creating a new dining room faux fireplace from scratch. We already have two new mantel shelves - they are so much more chunky than our current living room mantel shelf. Solid wood, nice routing, and on clearance for only $25 each at Lowes a few months back! Lowe's was making room for some new styles and I feel like I practically stole these because originally there were well over $100 a piece.

In my research, I found some great fireplace makeovers on the Better Homes and Gardens site. The transformations below are remarkable!



Yes, it's ok to paint brick if you want to!


Or leave it as it is and just accentuate it with a beautiful surround...


How about preserving the look and feel of brick but just changing out the bricks' color with paint?


Some fireplaces are blank canvasses, just waiting to be transformed into something amazing...




I adore fireplaces that are flanked by some kind of shelving unit, like this one.


And I like the contrast between the dark, slate gray bricks and the crisp white mantel here...


I look forward to sharing my own fireplace before and afters down the road, but until then, I'll continue to be inspired by these photos found {mostly} at Country Living. Notice how the height of the ceiling below was tamed by that gorgeous overmantel? I love that idea! And again, that shelving beside the fireplace catches my eye. I like everything about this space, actually!


Here, the homeowners used an antique fireplace. They've decorated the top of it beautifully.


I can appreciate the simplicity of the fireplace below. Maybe you don't desire to get into a big project that involves measurements and wood and nails. Just a couple of coats of paint can make all the difference!


Here's a big, chunky mantel that holds it's own against the visually heavy stonework.


I really like this space - it's just my style - but I'm not quite sure about the fireplace. Maybe it just needs something above it?


A tall fireplace can make a nice impact, and again, I like the dark black inset against the white.


I'm thinking about something like this for our home. It's the tall apron{?} under the shelf that I like and want to incorporate.


I'm also leaning towards painting at least one of our fireplace surrounds a very dark color like dark blackish brown so that it stands out against all the white beadboard we'll have going on throughout the house.


No wall space for a fireplace? What about putting one in a corner? I have never seen a mirror or piece of art hung in a corner like this, but I think it works!


A fireplace in the dining room...Mmmmmm! I just think it looks so cozy.



Or how about in a bathroom?


Nonworking or faux fireplaces can be just as charming as the real thing, don't you think?





Wow! The hardest part is going to be deciding what direction we'll take with own fireplace projects! If you have photos or blog posts about your own fireplace makeovers, please email them to me...I'd love to share some them in a future post if you don't mind. There can never be too much inspiration!

{I'm linking up to this week's Transformation Thursday!}

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