How to Design a Fireplace Wall
Fireplaces add warmth to any room, and homes that have them get top dollar when they are sold. They can be found in bedrooms, basements, dining rooms and kitchens, but the most common place is the living room or great room. A way to get maximum service and enjoyment from the fireplace is to create a fireplace wall. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Measure and draw the fireplace wall elevation (what you see head-on) on the graph paper, using one square to equal one foot. Measure and place any windows, plugs, heat vents, wall protrusions and other features of the room.
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Decide how you want the wall to function: to store books and exhibit pictures and bibelots, which calls for ceiling-to-floor bookcases; to display pictures and bibelots on top but include storage for photo albums and important documents on the bottom in cupboards; or to include a media function in the upper area also.
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Decide whether you want a raised hearth and whether it will stretch all the way across the wall or be confined by the shelving. Decide the same for the mantle, if you even want one.
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Sketch in the fireplace area, the shelving (and cupboards if you want them), the mantle and the hearth. Go around windows if there are any--will you enclose them entirely, or leave them open above? Will you put a TV over the mantle or in that area, even without a mantle? Or will the TV go into a specially designed opening on the side of the fireplace, in the shelving? If so, it looks better with cupboards below. Decide where the accessories will go. If they will go below, you might have to consider glass doors or open shelving for them.
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Taking into consideration the style of your home, choose your fireplace. All-wood is very traditional. A marble surround is very formal. A brick fireplace surround is pretty versatile. Stone can be natural or country, depending on the type. Ceramic tile is moving a little toward contemporary. Glass tiles is very contemporary. Stretch the materials up to the top of the wall, and the fireplace becomes more dramatic. Build that wall in large, rectangular slabs of stone, and it can be contemporary or very natural, depending on the setting.
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Choose your wood. Cherry and walnut are very formal. Oak is a little less so. Pine is country. White-washed oak can be contemporary. Pair a rough-hewn, bleached wood with a stucco-faced fireplace, and you've got a great Southwestern look.
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Lighting is important. Eyeball recessed lighting, aimed towards the mantle is dramatic. If the shelving doesn't go to the ceiling, either fluorescent lights or rope lighting installed on top creates a warm overglow to the room.
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Tips & Warnings
Don't forget to include electrical outlets in your design. You will need them for your media equipment if that is included, and you should install some in the cabinets for the DVD player, etc., if they will be housed there. A small decorative lamp in the shelving is attractive, so include a plug for that in the area above the cupboards.
References
- Photo Credit fireplace image by askthegeek from Fotolia.com
