fireplace + tv = more dancing

Our home has one main open living space. This makes life easy with kids and parties lots of fun. When we moved here there were two of us and now there are four. So, as we started thinking about a family room remodel we knew that our television had to go above the fireplace to make more room for playing, partying, and dancing! And not to mention toys and furniture.

Fireplace Before

Our fireplace has been the same since the home was built in 1986 and it needed a face lift. Red brick isn't terrible but the brass doors were. A great way to spruce up your brick fireplace is to paint the brick. That was not an option for us because the brick was coming away from the wall.....time for demo and dusting.

Now to the fun part of picking out the design of the fireplace.

There are lots of options out there.

From painted brick, wood, wallpaper, tile, slate panels, and stone.

Look at Norstone for wall, fireplace, and pool designs in slate panels. These are a bit pricey ($13 a panel) but go to your local tile store and you might find a cheaper slate panel. Example below:

contemporary living room design by san francisco architect Mark English Architects, AIA



More inspirations for your fireplace.

Painted Brick

eclectic living room design by chicago kitchen and bath Rebekah Zaveloff


Tile Fireplace

modern living room design by san francisco general contractor Camber Construction

contemporary living room design by dallas interior designer Abbe Fenimore Studio Ten 25

Wallpaper Fireplace

Janell Beals - Isabella & Max

Wood Fireplace

contemporary living room design by chicago architect Searl Lamaster Howe Architects

TV and Fireplace

family room design by toronto interior designer Meredith Heron

traditional media room design by san francisco general contractor Mueller Nicholls Cabinets and Construction

contemporary family room design by dc metro interior designer Debbie Wiener

contemporary family room design by san francisco general contractor Bill Fry Construction - Wm. H. Fry Const. Co.

Stone + Fireplace = Our Inspiration

contemporary family room design by san francisco architect Simpson Design Group Architects

family room design by calgary interior designer Veranda Interiors

family room design by calgary interior designer Veranda Interiors

traditional media room design by portland interior designer Garrison Hullinger Interior Design Inc.

Now that you have forgotten what my ugly and falling fireplace looked like before demo...

MY Fireplace After

Ok...so, I was worried about going with stone because I thought it might look like a log cabin in my living room and I am not a log cabin kind of girl. We looked at a veneer stone, Centurion, which is cheaper but just didn't WOW me. Thanks to suggestions by Native Designs, who did the work, we went with natural stone with a flagstone hearth. The hand cut rocks are beige, tans, and grays. The clean square and rectangle cut stones and the dry stack (no grout) gives a traditional stone fireplace a more modern look.

Work done by NATIVE DESIGN

My living room looks so big now that the TV is not on a low TV stand. It is also not the center of our universe anymore....it is up and out of the way. So, no more yelling at the kids to stop touching the TV and no more dusting off little finger prints.

So, let's dance!