58 Easy Fireplace Decorating Ideas That'll Look Stylish All Year Long
From minimalist designs to decked-out mantels.
Fireplaces not only provide architectural and visual intrigue, but they are a cozy hub of the home. Whether you have a beautiful fireplace that in the living room all winter or have a pretty but nonfunctioning decorative fireplace (or if you want to build one from scratch!), you're in the right place for some fireplace decorating ideas from designers. We gathered up 58 easy fireplace ideas that will make yours look timeless and stylish no matter what time of year it is. From detailed stonework to over-the-top marble and modern mantels, these fireplaces will make any living space interior design goals regardless of whether or not it's snowing outside.
Give It a Second Life With Black Paint
If you want to make a brick fireplace feel new again, dark paint can be moody and unexpected, like on this inky black fireplace in a Nannette Brown-designed living room. It looks elevated, sophisticated, and clean (because black paint conceals soot!). The same approach is used throughout the room, which is enveloped in Amherst Gray paint from Benjamin Moore. An antiqued mirror plays up the moodiness while still bouncing light.
Don't Block the View
Designer Andy Beers of Ore Studios describes this cantilevered living room as a "large transparent jewel box that hangs over the forest floor." So "seating is transfigured around a fireplace for a kind of campfire sense."
Cluster Some Candles
Here's more proof that a nonworking fireplace can still be a valuable feature. Alison Victoria used hers to display a collection of candles for that classic cozy warmth you'd get from a roaring fire. Try clustering some pine-scented candles to get that flickering flame effect and forest fragrance.
Blend It In
Lydia Pursell covered all the surfaces (excluding the floors) in a blue-green paint color, from the trims to the fireplace surround and mantel. It's a bold and unexpectedly mod approach in a classic dining room that exudes confidence.
Mix Old Style and New Tech
In her Brooklyn brownstone, designer Delia Kenza honored the original style of the home's architecture, ornate granite and all. She inserted a new (but antique-looking) wood-burning stove that produces real fire but eliminates the risk of the indoor smoke you'd get from a masonry fireplace.
Lean Artwork
A display of black and white prints leans casually above the mantel in this clean, quiet vignette designed by Jeffrey Dungan. The restraint and modesty of the color story mixed with the simplicity and casualness of the artwork create a distinct beauty that's both mysterious and approachable.
Inspire Conversation
A large, semicircle sofa in this living room designed by Aamir Khandwala is a great way to ensure that no one fights over a nice view of the trees as well as the fireplace. Plus, it allows for good conversation and visual intrigue.
Paint Exposed Brick White
Kristin Fine painted the exposed brick fireplace surround white to complement the crisp and modern interiors without stripping the home of its farmhouse personality.
Don't Forget a Screen
This cozy living room boasts timeless beauty with Spanish revival and midcentury roots. To play up the history-rich antiques and colorful tiles, opt for a similarly well-crafted screen, as Madeline Stuart did here.
Balance Modern With Traditional
Designer Shawn Henderson brought this 19th-century apartment back to its former glory by knocking down a flex wall separating the living and dining rooms. This enhanced the natural sunlight and also re-centered the fireplace. "It was about stripping the apartment down to a more humble interior," says Henderson. Whitewashed pine floors and installed reclaimed wood beams to the ceilings. He leaned some logs inside the firebox and forwent a screen since the fireplace is just decorative.
Fake It
Natalie Chong's four-story townhouse loft space in a former 1900s church in Toronto's West End doesn't actually have a fireplace in it! he created the illusion of a fireplace by placing a tall console table against the center wall and then stacked wood under it to stand in for a real fireplace.
Choose Complementary Paint
To give a more traditional fireplace a youthful feel, paint the surrounding walls an unexpected color and decorate the room with eclectic furniture, modern art, and Avant grade light fixtures. Romanek Design Studio opted for a dusty rose tone to complement the warmer grains in the marble.
Add a Shelf
This statement fireplace in a living room designed by Heidi Caillier incorporates the best of both a classic mountain chalet and a contemporary family farmhouse. A floating beam installed horizontally over the stone wall acts as a makeshift mantel.
Warm Up the Room
An open and airy home office designed by Breegan Jane gets warmer touch with this earth-toned marble fireplace. The material introduces a sophisticated, formal style to the more casual elements, and it also helps to bring the scale of the ceilings down to a more intimate, human scale.
Gert Cozy
Arrange seating to face the fireplace or all the cozy feels. Designer Jae Joo opted for two comfy, oversized armchairs facing the fireplace rather than a sofa angled towards two chairs or a wall.
Use Tiles
The mantel is painted in the same dusty mauve tone as the ceiling for a sense of continuity in this quirky sitting room designed by Heidi Caillier. The light blue and white tiles also make a strong case for tiling the fireplace. It adds an artful, whimsical touch without being overpowering.
Camouflage It
For ultra-modern fireplace design inspiration, look no further. In this living room designed by Raji RM, the firebox is flush with the wall for a camouflaged, barely-there effect.
Bring It Back to Life
This fireplace felt outdated to designer Keia McSwain of Kimberly + Cameron Interiors. So she brought in a mason to maintain the integrity of the original wood-burning fireplace and updated it with a new firebox. Elongated, uneven tile gives the surround more texture and depth.
Brighten Things Up
"The brief was to create an uplifting home filled with color, layered with richness and detail, anchored in the past but inherently contemporary," say the designers behind Arent & Pyke. And they definitely achieved the goal in this living room, from the indigo carpet to the sky blue walls and dainty chandelier, all of which lighten the mood of the traditional and ornate fireplace.
Go Nordic
The recipe for a Scandinavian-inspired room: sheepskin, minimalist decor, and organic furniture. This streamlined fireplace is the perfect fit for the modern, thoughtfully curated, and layered living room. The built-in wood storage compartment is also super h handy.
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