Article: Modern design gaining adherents; A decorative element will enhance fireplace Q: We recently moved to a townhouse that, although recently built, has given us the old-fashioned luxury of a fireplace in the living room. In reality, however, it's nothing more than a small hole in the wall surrounded by black slate. How can we perk up the fireplace's appearance while retaining the room's contemporary look? A: First of all, you can take consolation from the fact that a number of new homes share the problem of poorly executed interior architecture. You're also fortunate in that you at least won't have to demolish an unsightly mantel, which is a necessary undertaking for many people faced with a similar situation. The use of black slate around your small prefabricated fireplace inset may actually be something of a blessing because that surround probably makes the opening appear larger and more in scale with the wall. The best and simplest strategy, I think, is to emphasize the framing effect by adding a decorative element of some kind. That should make the opening seem less stark and a bit bigger still. Depending on your taste and budget, one solution might be a contemporary-style bolection molding in finished wood or with a painted surface. A stone-like composition may be worth considering as well. Whatever material you prefer, this type of straightforward and boldly projecting frame will certainly make a dramatic design statement. Bolection moldings won't be difficult to find if you retain the services of a professional designer or if you have access to a skilled woodworker. In profile, these framing elements resemble classic ogee moldings only larger in scale, measuring six or more inches in width. The photograph presents another, more embellished possibility. In its originally awkward configuration, this prefabricated fireplace inset with a pair of thermal glass doors had a brick surround that made the small opening look even smaller. I completely changed the appearance of this ungainly focal point by installing a pair of antique polychromed brackets that I had happened upon years earlier in India. I had stored away these posts, with their wonderful carved elephant figures, confident that I would one day discover just the right use for them. They now support that mantelpiece, which I arranged to have fabricated from three hand-polished cherrywood beams. They too were being kept on hand for some undetermined purpose. This distinctively contemporary design helps bring the fireplace into scale with the wall and the entire room. To further balance the setting, a collection of sepia-colored architectural prints was symmetrically arranged in the empty space around the mantel. My point here is that you can fashion a uniquely stylish fireplace surround by arranging architectural fragments and various materials in imaginative combinations. It's rare, in fact, to find a ready-made solution that works as well as something devised to fit specific circumstances a

Article from:

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Milwaukee, WI)

Article date:

February 25, 1996

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