The Fireplace Design Inspiration
At Home with the Hastys - The Fireplace Design Inspiration
The Backstory
New to Hasty Book List? Read about the fire that prompted this home renovation, here.
The Inspiration
This will be the last installment of the “Design Inspiration” series. I shared the bathroom inspiration and kitchen inspiration in previous posts. This is our living room, specifically the fireplace wall, design inspiration. As always, I want to reiterate that I am not a designer and one of my biggest regrets in rebuilding after a fire is not hiring a designer to help me make the thousands of choices involved in this process. I constantly second guessed my decisions and it was all a big risk that everything would come together to create a cohesive, beautiful home. I still have my fingers crossed. Next week we move in and we’ll finally know if it looks as good in real life as it does in my head.
Stay tuned for “after” photos…
At Home with the Hastys - The Fireplace Design
Sources: image One, Two, Three, Four
I am pretty excited about this transformation. Of course, one of my favorite parts about the old fireplace were the bookshelves on either side. Those will be rebuilt in a similar way. The two major changes include a more linear fireplace that leans modern, but we softened it a bit by selecting driftwood insert over a more contemporary option such as glass. The second major change is a natural wood mantle. You’ll notice all of my inspiration photos include this strong wood mantle that will span the length of the wall.
A Peek at the Before…
This “before” photo is from the listing. We loved the bookshelves and I can’t wait to get those back. I did not love the tile t hat surrounded the fireplace, but it was neutral enough that it wasn’t a high priority to update. The fireplace was difficult to turn on and off, I’m very much looking forward to our new, remote operated, fireplace. Can’t you imagine a large natural wood mantle spanning the length of that wall? It’ll be such a strong statement. I can’t wait.
At Home with the Hastys - The Fireplace Design “Before”
The Materials
This is an incomplete list of the materials we’ve selected.
Fireplace
48" CONTEMPORARY LINEAR VENT-FREE GAS FIREPLACE ModEL VFLB
Choosing a fireplace was quite the ordeal. We went to several fireplace stores and got a lot of conflicting information. Prior to the fire, we had a ventless gas fireplace and we were prepared to replace it with the same type of fireplace. The first place we went shopping said we absolutely should not use ventless and said the linear models were out of our price point. We went back to the drawing board, did more research, then visited another store. They pushed ventless and showed us several linear models in our price range. Confused, I reached out to my friend Devon who is an interior designer and she sent us to American Heritage Fireplace. They showed us vented and ventless models, linear and more traditional styles, and answered all of our questions (and assured me repeatedly that they are safe…you know, because buying a fireplace after a fire is…stressful.) I would highly recommend going to American Heritage Fireplace and not bothering with any other store.
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Log Set
Driftwood Log Set
We opted to add on a driftwood log set to soften the contemporary feel of the linear fireplace. Our condo is not modern, it is in a building that is over 100 years old so we did not want to lean too far into the contemporary realm. Rather, we were looking for a nice balance. I think the log set provides the warmth of a more traditional fireplace with the linear look I love.
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Tile
Maximo Vanglih Polished Porcelain Tile
Recognize this tile? It is the same tile we used on the walls of the shower in our bathroom design.
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Other Fireplace Features:
Paint
Chantilly Lace
Grout for the Tile
Mapei 00 White Ultracolor Plus FA Grout
