Fireplace Surrounds Add Spice To Your Hearth

What good is a fireplace without the surround to go with it? Unless you plan to use a hearth mainly to warm a room, you might want to install a fireplace surround for beautification purposes. With so many fireplace mantel shelf designs vying for your attention, it pays to know what your reasons are for getting a fireplace and having it look a certain way before heading out to the nearest home depot to purchase one.

Prior to making up your mind on what fireplace to purchase, you have to think about your reason for getting one. If you plan to install a hearth just to keep a room in your house warm during chilly days, then pay attention to ventilation. A room with poor air flow isn’t ideal as smoke may still seep out of the fireplace despite the proper installation of a chimney. Needless to say, safety regulations on fireplace maintenance must also be met.

Putting in a fireplace for purely aesthetic reasons is easier, not to mention lighter on the budget, as it doesn’t involve taking down entire sections of the house just to install a chimney and other hearth operation essentials. Making it look the way you want to is also a piece of cake considering the wide array of fireplace surrounds available on the market today.

But what if you desire both functions in your chosen fireplace? First, check the things you need for the installation of a hearth like space and location, clearance and ventilation, and the kind of fuel the fireplace consumes, whether gas or wood. Next, verify your budget and search for an excellent merchant that has a great collection of fireplaces so you’d get more bang for your buck.

When these are done, you may then start thinking about dressing up the hearth since it’s basically just a box in which you start a blaze to warm a room. There’s nothing beautiful about that. Enter the fireplace surround. It’s what makes hearths sexy, including the one you choose. Deciding on what surround to purchase and install with your fireplace, however, will prove time-consuming but necessary.

Prior to selecting a fireplace surround, you may want to check out the different finishes and see how they jibe with the interior decoration of your house. Fireplaces surrounds are made of a variety of materials such as stone, wood and resin, and accentuated with glass and marble. Some surround makers even include other features in their products, such as drawers, shelves and cabinets.

Choosing a fireplace to install in your house isn’t as easy as it used to be. Back in the old days, a hearth was solely for keeping the house warm. Today, with so many fireplace mantel shelf models available, you’ll realize that there’s more to a hearth than function. Fireplaces surrounds come in a variety of designs and finishes, and the impact on your home’s appearance of the fireplace surround you pick may only dawn on you when it’s already installed.

- Wyatt Fisk