WWYD with this fireplace?

In between the kitchen and "dining room" (it's not a "formal" dining room) there is a fireplace. on the dining room side...

would you highlight it in some way to make it look special?

i enclosed pics of the two sides of the fireplace...


it's directly under the clock, behind the table...

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Message edited 11/6/2009 1:54:13 PM.

Re: WWYD with this fireplace?

maybe you can build or buy some sort of mantle/shelf for the dining room side....and then on the left of it maybe also add some shelving that would match the mantle to balance it out....or art....i'm not really sure....i know i have seen them do things with fireplaces like this on design shows on hgtv....maybe if you google some phrases with fireplace in it you will get some ideas?

if you don't like the brick i've also seen them cover brick walls with sheetrock to make a smooth wall....just another idea...

Message edited 11/6/2009 1:59:37 PM.

Re: WWYD with this fireplace?

my cousin has the same setup.

she has a mantle and black tile over the brick.

she put picks on the mantle and plants on each side at the bottom looks great.

she also does not have shelves next to the fire place, she has a large decorative photo

Re: WWYD with this fireplace?

I would remove it - so you had a nice flow from the kitchen to the dining room

Re: WWYD with this fireplace?

Re: WWYD with this fireplace?

I would custom build a mantle that extends to the left with shelving/bookcase. I agree with the above suggestion to balance it out....

On a grander scale but something like this..





Also I'd get rid of the painted brick and either strip it down, sheetrock over it or do a nice stacked stone on the wall.

Message edited 11/6/2009 9:42:55 PM.

Re: WWYD with this fireplace?

Re: WWYD with this fireplace?

Ahhh the centerpiece.

On the kitchen side, my parents painted it white and we had our fridge next to it. They left the hooks above it and Mom hung stuff from them. Dad hung his belt from one as a constant reminder that we should be good. He never used it, but it was there.

On the living room side, my parents had it covered up with huge rocks ala 1980's. Like this kind of:



We had one platform in the middle for the coal stove and two on either sides, covered in gray slate. Although the type of rock dated it then, I think the rock the PP posted is gorgeous.

You don't need to knock down the whole wall if DH likes the fireplace but what about knocking down everything to the left so the fireplace *really* becomes the centerpiece? I know most people don't like it but if you modernize the red bricks underneath that paint, I think you could box out the fireplace in an up to date, good way:

Pic too big so I'm linking it

Re: WWYD with this fireplace?

You could also search past and present MLS listings to see what other people have done with it. You have thousands of examples.

Re: WWYD with this fireplace?

I actually like the side where the table is, just not the brick. If you can do a stone veneer that someone posted and leave that built in, I think it would look really nice. I would also add some cabinet lights in those cubbies.

Re: WWYD with this fireplace?

you have tghe exact layout as my friend. even her kitchen is identical. she has the fridge like that too.

on the brick part dining room side she as one of tose very oversized clocks and i think someting maybe on the sides but i dont remember. it looks really nice since she has her dinning room table there.

the side that is in the kithen she has sheet rocked.

are those selves removable or built in?

Message edited 11/7/2009 3:00:23 PM.

Re: WWYD with this fireplace?

Re: WWYD with this fireplace?

I have the same house & we took down the brick wall....and then put a wall up on the other side. We both like symmetry and the giant brick wall on the left wasn't working for us. Good luck !

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Re: WWYD with this fireplace?

Re: WWYD with this fireplace?

Re: WWYD with this fireplace?

imas, that is AWESOME! I've never seen that in a Levitt house before. Great job.

Re: WWYD with this fireplace?

I have been in my house for 5 years.... I still don't know what to do with it.

And unless you move the boiler to the garare you CANNOT remove the fireplace even if you wanted to. That's where the exhaust of the boiler is. It goes into the fireplace. You have 2 fireplaces flues (one for the fireplace and one for the boiler)

I like the option of the wall. I am thinking to cover the left side of the fireplace (the wall side) in drywall and use a stacked wall veneer (like the pic posted above in the whitish color) on the brick. My brick is still unpainted and orginal. I would live the opening though. It brings a lot more light on the LV/DR side.

Re: WWYD with this fireplace?

Thanks !!

Re: WWYD with this fireplace?

i would just sheetrock the left side so it's just the fireplace alone straight up and add a mantel.

we are doing a total tear down on the face of our fireplace, rebuild with a new mantel thanks to it being kitchen tile on it.

Re: WWYD with this fireplace?

Honestly I would cover up the brick with sheetrock and put a nice mantle on it, maybe some stone depending on your budget. The brick make it look so dated.

Re: WWYD with this fireplace?

Here's a photoshopped pic of my suggestion...which would be get a thick reclaimed wood type mantle...paint the brick below it a warm grey..and paint the built ins up on the wall & trim them out with black to highlight them. HTH!

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Message edited 11/17/2009 11:56:01 PM.

Re: WWYD with this fireplace?

Re: WWYD with this fireplace?

Re: WWYD with this fireplace?

Message edited 11/18/2009 8:16:04 AM.