Just wanted to share with you a couple of ideas if you are looking at your mantle and thinking, “It could be better.” Afterall, for many homes, the fireplace is the focal point of the room. Whether a television or a beautiful piece of artwork is mounted above it, the fireplace is a fixture in our homes which deserves some style!
Mark and I have built several mantles, to include the one above with the carved apron. I usually do all the “fun work” by measuring the walls, surrounds, and hearths, as well as determining what lies behind the firebox – all necessary considerations when doing the actual design.
For instance, our friend and client, Keith wanted to suprise his wife Anne with a beautiful floating mantle for her birthday. We were more than happy to oblige, since Keith and Anne are two of the coolest people we know.
We set out to build a floating mantle. No big deal right? Well, the facade of the wall was stone – natural stone, with all it’s uneven lines and jutting rocks. That was going to be a fun little challenge. I also needed to find out how the stone was set and what was behind the stone – was it wood, sheetrock, metal? Where was the flue and gas line? All sorts of facts one must know before drilling into the wall.
Once all the fun stuff was done, next came designing the mantle itself. Determining how large to make it, where the mounting rods would be inserted, how to explain to Mark that we were going to build a frame first and the mantle would actually be a “sleeve” that slides onto the frame, and all that great discussion between a creative mind and an analytic mind.
Lots of detailed drawings later and a bit more discussion, Mark and I got started on building it. Well, Mark actually built it, I just finished it. Again, I get the fun part of staining, sanding, staining, steel wooling (is that word?) applying polyeurathane, and on and on until I get that perfect finish.
About a week later, we have us a great floating mantle, ready to be installed and made all pretty with some decorative touches. The moment Anne saw the mantle was one of those moments I wish we had video taped. It was akin to those makeover shows where the excitement is hard to contain as Anne jumped up and down, screaming “I got my mantle, I got my mantle!”
But wait, there’s more!
Another enjoyable challenge came our way with Lynn and Pete in Haymarket, Virginia. They just purchased a lovely home and had a bit of a conundrum since they own a flat screen television and the area above the fireplace had this wonderful wall niche, but it was too narrow and too deep for a flat screen. 
What to do? We could have moved the power supply and cable, framed it out and drywalled over it, but that would have been too easy. I had an idea….
What to do? We could have moved the power supply and cable, framed it out and drywalled over it, but that would have been too easy. I had an idea….
… let’s build a panel on which the flat screen could be mounted, maintain access to the power supply, and make an “Open Mantle” in which the receiver and components could be placed. We presented this idea to Lynn and Pete and gave them the options for details. A mix between clean simple lines and traditional style became a functional addition and great focal point for the room.
From simple clean lines to elaborately carved aprons, a fireplace deserves to be framed in greatness!
Happy Designing!
Kate
