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Years back, fireplaces were more functional than decorative. Probably the fireplace was used to heat the house, provide light throughout the evening hours, or even used to heat food. Traditionally, these fireplaces were placed near a wall and surrounded with brick.
Today, fireplaces are utilized more for adornment than for logical reasons. Actually, many homes that have a functioning fireplace don't even burn wood. Modern homes have fireplaces that have been fitted with gas logs in order to burn quietly and cleanly.
Taking out the brick that surrounds your fireplace is definitely an expensive and time intensive process. Today, you'll be able to retrofit your fireplace with pre-manufactured surround pieces. This will make the procedure much faster and it is less expensive.
Modern Fireplace Surrounds
Marble and granite would be the two most widely used choices for modern fireplace surrounds. Due to this, there are many different kinds of designs from which to choose. You may wish to purchase a surround with Roman flair, or maybe you desire a unit which has French Provincial overtones.
Remember that the greater ornate the surround, the higher the cost. While pre-fabricated surrounds are less costly than other options, a surround piece can continue to cost several thousand dollars depending upon how ornate the decorations are. Surrounds work best with fireplaces that have been framed into a wall. Fireplaces that sit directly on the ground rather than on a hearth will even fully trust a surround.
Other Options If you have a traditionally built fireplace, or if your fireplace is situated on the hearth, you may want to make use of a hand laid stone design. Although this is a little bit more work, you'll have a large number of options and may tailor your design to accent your fireplace.
Stones can be set in a design or using stones that look exactly the same. You may even wish to place decorative stones within the pattern. If you have a wooden mantel or hearth, you'll love the look of stone and wood together.
Some homeowners would rather use granite when creating a fireplace surround. Others like the look of smooth, rounded stones. Rough stones are not used as much today as they were in the past. With that said, using rough stone to finish the surround of the cabin fireplace would look very attractive.
You may create A Unique Look If you wish to create a look that is entirely unique to you, you might want to fully understand the procedure before you begin. Pick the color and style of the surround before you begin and make sure that you firmly like that which you have chosen. Nothing's more unpleasant than returning to re-do what's already been done.
Speak with a contractor or designer before beginning the process to make sure that your ideas are actually feasible. A good contractor or designer may think of things that you haven't even considered. For example, how the light will have on a certain area of the fireplace, or you wish to surround the entire wall near the fireplace having a similar material.
In many cases, designers and contractors have portfolios of the work. Ask to determine the portfolio before any work is done. This way, you can get a realistic concept of how your surround will look once it is finished.
