Hello, I am new to this forum and looking for ideas. We have a horrible fireplace in our living room which we have finally decided to do something about although we have no doubt what. Hopefully you can see from the pic I have uploaded. Any ideas? - We have no need for a fire at all so it can be purely a decorative thing - Don't want to get rid of it completely as the floor has been fitted around and we don't want to replace all the floor yet - Don't mind the outer stone bit too much but hate the inside bit. It looks old fashioned and grimy - Rest of the house is modern Thought about putting some mdf to cover the middle bit of the stone and then doing something decorative on the mdf. Do you think that would work? All ideas hugely welcome! Thanks
Your picture didn't show up. Check out posting photos then try it again please. Your description was good but without pictures it is really hard to help.
You could always place some plants there to cover up the part of the fireplace you don't like. In fact it looks like a stage, maybe the plants can be the actors
I think I would paint the inside row of bricks,in a shade more like your walls, not heavy rub some off, then I'd paint that space in the center black for depth perception, then group thick candles at different heights, and surround for safety with an open ornate 3 sided screen, at night light your candles and Enjoy!!
You could put a piece of art in the space, or how about stacking real logs like in this photo??? I like real fireplaces myself, but like the looks of this with the real wood... [/img]
You said that your home was built with modern styles so I guess your fireplace didn't fit in, try to give it a modern touch by placing modern decors on both sides of your TV to attract the attention of people in the decors not with the fireplace, you may also cover unwanted areas of your fireplace with plants and tall lampshades, another possibilities is to paint the edges of bricks or the hollow between with a little bit of dark colors..
As a chimney sweep, I see a lot of fireplaces and I do not think yours is to bad. Here are a few ideas that can improve the look. First off, you can always paint the brick/stone with a masonry paint if you do not like the yellowish color. From your picture, I cannot see the inside of fireplace but if it looks really bad, you can paint inside a flat black color and set up a candle display. The dancing light from the candles really shows up well in the black firebox and gives the romance of a fire without all the hassle. Of corse there is also very modern styles of gas logs and even electric firplaces that could look great. Even if you do not need the fireplace for heating your home, you still may want to consider a small cast iron wood or gas stove. They not only would look great but also give you a back up source of heat in case of a power outage. A local chimney sweep in your area should be able to help you fix up your old fireplace and turn it into the centerpiece of your home. Good Luck! moderator's note: removed website link, see point 1.1 of usage rules
I would probably paint the fireplace area a dark brown or black and then put something in front of it. I have seen people put a bunch of different size candles in a space like that before and it looked great!
