Fireplace Facelift

I've been working with a client for several months now to furnish adjoining living and dining areas.  Before I arrived on the scene, the 1950's rambler had been recently gutted and overhauled, giving it a fresh, contemporary vibe.  The homeowners and project architect (Dave Heinen of Barking Dog Design) did a wonderful job re-imagining the space. They took down walls to connect the living, dining and kitchen areas, into one, big, free-flowing space.  The new layout feels open, spacious, and contemporary yet warm, with a beautiful interplay between the indoors and outdoors.  Large windows line the front and the back of the home, while a vaulted ceiling in the middle of the adjoining rooms allows for clerestory lights.  At the back of the house, just off the kitchen, one wall of windows folds up to allow complete, unencumbered access between the indoor and outdoor entertaining spaces. La Cantina Doors

When I started the project, back in August 2013, the bones of the space were already in great shape--all the space lacked was paint and cohesive furniture selections/placement.  Well, almost.  One other glaring weak point was the pre-existing brick fireplace surround, dating back to the original construction of the home.  The tired-looking brick facade just didn't seem to work with the new, clean aesthetic, even with the handsome, live-edge wood mantel that the homeowners had added.

"Before" Image of Existing Brick Fireplace Surround

We jumped right in and started working on floor plans, paint colors, and furniture/fabric selections for the two spaces (more on that in a future post), vowing to address the fireplace at some point down the road. About half-way into the project, I stumbled upon the inspiration I needed, in the form of a wedge-shaped, natural stone tile, called V-tile by "Island Stone." Vtile by Island Stone  It came in several colors and we eventually settled on a medium gray Quartzite, which had a nice neutral tone but was far from boring, with naturally occurring sparkles and flecks.  After watching a very informative video on the manufacturer's website  about suggested patterns for the product, we decided to do a dry-stack (no grout) application, with alternating rows or courses of (1) large V-tile, then (2) narrow.  The tiles were placed thick-end to thick-end, then thin-end to thin-end, producing a lovely undulating effect.   The finished fireplace is perfect for the space.  It's tall, stately, and deceptively simplistic looking.  The colors of the Quartzite blend nicely with the pre-existing black slate hearth and the undulating tiles give the room richness and depth.  So much so that the client and I both felt the fireplace no longer needed a mantel or embellishment in the form of hung art.  The fireplace surround IS the work of art.

We're still fine tuning the newly acquired furnishings and adding finishing touches to the room, so I don't want to reveal the whole thing just yet, but I am happy to say that we've found a clever reuse for the beautiful live-edge mantel that came off the old fireplace.  We've decided to use it as a floating wall shelf, just to the left of the fireplace, creating a little spot to set a drink, place a candle or two, and nestle a floating ottoman beneath.  I've very excited that we get to reuse this piece and can't wait to see it once it's hung.  

Discussing Placement of the Floating Shelf

There are so many more neat features to this project, and hopefully things will wrap up in the next couple of months and I will be able to reveal more of the space.  For now, consider this a little teaser.