Amazing Room: Fireplaces

Home and Garden

Amazing Room: Fireplaces

The weather outside might be frightful, but fireplaces make a home warm cozy and delightful. This is a gallery of a variety of fireplaces.

A fireplace can be an inviting focal point -- adding warmth and ambience to any room. Fire provides the perfect atmosphere for social interaction, and watching the dancing flames awakens the senses of sight, sound, smell and touch.

The great room has a giant walk-in fireplace of carved stone adjacent to it. For 14 years, Childkind's Holiday House was a major seasonal event that included a gala party and tours of the decorated Glenridge Hall, but those ended in 2004. This is the first, and possibly only, time the group has been allowed back.

Ingram says the latest trend he has is using more classic straight lines, not the exceptionally ornate styles. "By that I mean they are not choosing French mantels or decorative elements to dress-up the mantel," he says.

But elaborate moldings and carvings can be added to any mantel.

It has been said that "the hearth is the heart of the home," Ingram says. "The fireplace should be a warm and inviting focal point in a room, not only when a fire is burning but any time of year. It should spark an interest, incite one to come closer and admire the details and reflect something about the home and the owner."

Ingram always prefers to see a wood mantel surrounding the fireplace, which means a mantel with legs to the hearth, not just a shelf.

Sometimes a shelf is all that can be installed without a major remodel because of the clearances needed by the fire code, says Ingram, a master wood worker and the third owner at Mantel Market, which has been designing and crafting custom mantels for more than 30 years.

You need to consider the big picture, including the mantel, the size of the fire box and room and whether you will have a TV, before you start framing, Ingram says. "Decisions about any one of these elements drastically affects the others."

This design offers homeowners the option of installing a TV over the mantel or in one of the low built-in cabinets by the fireplace.

Candles help create that warmth and ambience when you don't want to light a fire.

To add to the coziness, position furniture facing the fireplace.

The fireplace is made of Tennessee Fieldstone and has a unique tapestry that conceals the flat-screen TV.

To maximize the look of an existing fireplace, position a large piece of art above it and decorate the mantel with smaller objects.

Different sizes of travertine tile, scrap wood and items bought secondhand were used to create this rich-looking mantel.

Fireplaces such as this one in a home in Dunwoody are designed to promote calm, relaxation and harmony.

Add a fireplace above a large, jetted soaking tub and you will find it hard to leave your bathroom.

When you're truly living large, this will be your favorite spot for a cozy fireplace.

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A fireplace can be an inviting focal point -- adding warmth and ambience to any room. Fire provides the perfect atmosphere for social interaction, and watching the dancing flames awakens the senses of sight, sound, smell and touch.

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