Does the house "feel" like it would have a stone fireplace?

Is there any stone on the house?

How do you think it would relate to what's there?

I really like the CorTen fireplace, but that is *really a strong statement--modern tending toward brutalist.

Yes, I think the house does "feel" like it would have a stone fireplace, in so far as the fireplace will be in a sunken living room, there is lots of walnut in my home, a few mod pieces of furniture, so there is a certain mid-century feel to the house and I think that stone fireplaces are generally appropriate to MCM and modern spaces. That is why I keep coming back to stone, even though my preference would be to not go there.

That said, the house is not mid-century (the last major addition to the home - the sunken living was done in 1969), and there are other mid-century elements to the home. The original Victorian character of the interior of the home was long gone by the time we bought the house three years ago.

There is no other stone in the house currently, although I have quite a bit of stone in the back garden and the living room looks out onto the garden.

I quite like stone veneer fireplaces generally. I really, really like the CorTen fireplace and don't fear a strong statement. While my heart may tend to the brutalist, my head (and DH) says I should go with the stone.

I've heard from people with stone veneer saying it doesn't hold up that well.

Stone veneer is one thing that's become too trendy. It's everywhere now. What's worse, is the material is fake which makes a difference to me. How can "fake" become so popular?

I'd shell out the extra money if possible and put in real stone or brick, wood or tile.

A poor picture of the LR wall in question:

For the feel of the rooms near the LR, the DR & kitchen:

I think I would like something large format or slab-ish instead of the stacked stone. I don't see the stacked stone playing well with the circular cutout room divider for some reason.

Originally, I loved the stone veneer (rusticated variety). But once the novelty wore off, I decided it looks fake, despite being made of actual stone. Maybe large-format stone tile or slab would satisfy the desire for stone in a less trendy fashion.

I think it depends. There are different types of veneer, from completely fake stuff to thinly-sliced real stone. My parents have had some faux brick veneer in a tiny area near a woodstove (finally painted over it, not sure why they didn't remove it... I think it may be asbestos) and it has held up just fine for 35 years. I imagine that real stone veneer with an appropriate adhesive would hold up just fine. (I'm not a fan of faux brick veneer... at least the kind they had... I'm just saying it's durable.)

I think that doing the stacked stone look as shown in the first picture, and as is so popular right now, may end up looking a little dated. Although, it's not like it was never in before now. Prairie style has long used a similar look. So, you won't necessarily be dating your house to THIS time period... just to some past time period. But I agree with everything palimpsest and gwbr are saying about picking another style. Afterall, stone fireplaces DO have a timeless look, and the fact is that most are not made from solid stone anymore.

If it were me, though, I think I would probably go with some sort of wooden mantel and paint the wall above it... easier to change out. But, I am not opposed to stone veneer.

Actually... seeing your rooms (just scrolled back up), I think it would go really well, especially with the leaded glass doors (I thinnk that's what they are.) But, you could also do a very basic and modern wood mantel and leave the rest painted. It's not my style at all, but in your rooms (which are beautiful) I think it would be a good pick.

Thanks everyone, great advice. I'm so relieved you are talking me down from the stone. Now the hunt for something else that won't break the bank and that I can find locally. I like the idea of large format tiles, will start searching for ideas...

Here is a photo of my tiled fireplace. We opted for not tiling it all the way to the floor. We like it as is. The only thing I would changes is the granite sill would have liked it to be bigger on the sides. We have been looking for a pice to put on the front. I know what I want but don�t want to pay what it costs so will keep on looking.

We recently renovated our fireplace and used real stacked ledgestone with an antique oak beam mantle. I absolutely love it. It took the stonemason three days to finish because we didn't want the edges cut. Our house is very rustic and I don't see any other style working as well as the stone for my space.

Your room is lovely!

I think your rooms are FABULOUS and that a real stacked stone would be gorgeous. Since your setting is so unique, I don't think it would look like anyone else's stone fireplace and outdated, ever. So, one vote with your your DH, but for real stone only!

(re: other monolithic smooth surfaces--- you have so many of those already, with the floors, the panes of glass, the horizontal pieces--- that I think something like stacked stone would give some relief from all those planes and would add a rough texture value to the room.)

Thanks for the additional advice! I was considering the real stacked ledgestone, it is real stone, but I know what some people mean about it seeming fake - you can detect with some of the stone a tile like pattern and clearly see that it isn't whole rocks stacked. Some are better than others.

You can see in the DR a wall with a rectangular living wall (plants). The is the same wall the fp will be on. The photo between the living wall and the fp of tulips with a rock wall behind them and a then stone Parliament bldgs further back. Going further along the wall leads to to the back garden with flowers and stone, so in that context the stone does make sense - stone and flowers, organic, natural etc. I certainly dont dislike the idea of the stone wall, but I am very hesitant.

The stone wall is easy and readily available ... which makes me think it is too trendy and too easy and I should try harder. But maybe I'm being ridiculous. At a minimum I will spend some time researching other tiled options.

Pal - do you think going with the steel is too 'brutalist" for the setting? Perhaps I could find something similar but a bit softer. That said, I haven't any idea if I could find someone to do CorTen or anything similar (oxidized stainless??).

Ice1, thank you for the picture, wonderful fireplace. Good luck finding the perfect piece for the front.

Well, it looks like I'm the only one, but I still love the stacked stone. I'm not crazy about the 2nd picture you posted by I love #1 and #3. #1 is my favorite because it has a little more color in it and I think it would look great in your house, which is gorgeous by the way.

I love the look in number one but I do think it will most likely look dated although not in a bad way.
We have fake stone only because our living room has a basement underneath. Real stone would have been too heavy for the area without support underneath, messing up the lower floorplan.

Have you considered painting the fireplace section of wall the same green as your cut-outs in the room dividers? I think that would look very MCM and go with your rooms.

Can I see a picture of your countertops again?

I like to reduce materials so I would be tempted to face your fireplace with the same stone as your countertops on the vertical and something crazy expensive like a bookmatch.

Look at Walker Zanger "Steelworks" or "Broadway" for some metallic looking large format tiles.

Your home is beautiful! What type of floors are they?

I really like the steel tile. The stone is nice too--but nothing special.

Thanks kristinekr -the floors are river reclaimed birch.

Bookmatched quatzite slabs. Would definitely be dramatic but DH might faint at the notion, as you say, crazy expensive. What do you have to do to get something that heavy to adhere to the wall?? We do have two extra small slabs in the garage as it happens, but not nearly big enough.

I get limiting materials - that is why I'll probably never do a backsplash. I'm contemplating walnut panels as well for the fp - but fear it may be too much walnut. My clean-up run counter is stainless, btw.

Love the "broadway". Found a pic of "steelwork" fireplace, very cool, but that finish is too silvery I think, the bronze might be warmer perhaps. Hmmm, maybe I want a metal version of walnut?

[spaces design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/home-design-ideas-phbr0-bp~)

Always loved heath ceramics tiles as well. Sigh. Hope this doesn't get as difficult as my backsplash decision. Those ovals mess with my circle theme though.

[modern living room design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/modern-living-room-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_718~s_2105) by san francisco architect John Lum Architecture, Inc. AIA

[modern family room design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/modern-family-room-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_720~s_2105) by san francisco architect J. Weiss Design

Maybe in one of the neutral colors? Too much?
{{!gwi}}

Found a pic of my fireplace with the real ledge stone.

They're individual pieces of stone stacked on top of each other - not prefabbed pieces. I don't like being able to detect the tile like pattern either. We used the same stone for the exterior of our home.

Hearth when it was in progress:

juddgirl2 - that is a great fireplace, thanks for posting. I'm glad someone knew what I meant about detecting the "tile-like" pattern. I love the beam. You didn't DIY that did you?

Pal - did Marcolo put you up to that suggestion?? He pushed the Studio Moderne for my backsplash 18 months ago - I absolutely love it, but it was too much for the backsplash (IMHO). I would be thrilled to have that tile, I like it as much as the heath oval - and of course it has the more appropriate (for my space) circle. Talk about a 180 degree turn from the stone veneer fp my poor dh thinks we are getting.

The studio moderne certainly isn't the natural or warm surface we had landed on, but it is fabulous and that is generally good enough for me. Is it too much? Maybe. Maybe not.

Here is a link that might be useful: my old backsplash thread

"Found a pic of "steelwork" fireplace, very cool, but that finish is too silvery I think, the bronze might be warmer perhaps. Hmmm, maybe I want a metal version of walnut? "

Yes. I'd like to see that!

I think there is a brown or bronze version, right? I would like that I think.

I love my stacked stone fireplace. It's real stone-very similar to juddgirl.

For your space, is it possible to do a walnut veneer?

I love your space, but I just don't think the stacked stone is right for it. It's a little too rustic. Your space has more of a contemporary/MCM feel and I really think the large format tiles are the way to go. They will have the simple, clean lines that would fit in much better, IMHO. (Although, I do like the interlocking circle tiles and think they could work too.) My vote is for a large metallic porcelain tile, without too much sheen. If you can find one in a walnut color, I think that's a great idea.

Sochi, a Walker Zanger tile by Michael Berman, (similar to the Studio Moderne, above) installed on a fireplace appears in the October 2011 issue of Traditional Home on page 127. It looks really good.

Thanks for the heads up, I will look for it tomorrow. I must make a decision on this soon if I want a fireplace by Christmas.

I do think the stacked stone is verrrry trendy right now. If it totally fits your home and references something original to it, though, then it will age just fine.

That said, I love the circle cut out and would try to draw that in to the fpl solution. I also wonder, it would seem to me that a straight wall of fpl tile would be relatively easy to change out in "x" years/

Ditto what kitchenkrazed said. You've put so much thought and individuality into the other areas of your home, that a stacked stone FP seems like the "safe" choice. I love the look of the third FP you posted. It has almost a leather look to it. I don't care for the ovals/circles, though. Do you want to add a mantle and/or artwork for over the FP?

What about leather? You could use the leather floor tiles. I do love those ovals and don't mind them mixed with the circles at all. They evoke atomic ranch MCM to me.

I would *love* to have faux stone make its way into our home, and onto our 4 fireplaces, covered with completely different, whatever-was-leftover brick, stone and diagonal paneling circa 1978. Ugh, ugh, ugh. But I would settle for it in a heartbeat.

But in your home? No way. I'm glad you posted pictures - I'll be thinking about it all day. Gorgeous!

Hi Sochi -

Don't know if you've finalized your decision, but we love heath ceramics as well, although the oval tiles, we felt, are a bit overexposed. We combined two shades of white of their diamond tile and the result is a subtle textured look --- Its more crisp and modern than veneer stone, and its also very very neutral - see here:

[modern living room design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/modern-living-room-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_718~s_2105) by san francisco architect John Lum Architecture, Inc. AIA

Here is a link that might be useful: [Pic from Houzz[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/sunset-overlook-modern-living-room-san-francisco-phvw-vp~337175)

What did you ever decide???

jhwu - that is fantastic, what a beautiful fireplace. That room has all my colours in it - walnut, light floors, green walls. I love it.

sandnat - thanks for asking. I got sidetracked on another project for a couple of months this fall and this decision got postponed. But, I have decided not to go with stone, but rather tile as was suggested here. I've ordered samples of both the Heath Oval in new colours, and the Walker Zanger Studio Moderne tile. No one in my city carries these tiles, so it is a bit of an adventure getting samples.

Although I still think I like the Heath tile just a tad more than the Studio Moderne, I also think the SM tile will better suit my space (although jhwu's photo is making me re-think that). I really like both tiles, so it will come downs to which works better with the look of my LR and DR.

The WZ tile only stocks four colours: coconut, jute, ecru and clover. The others are special order. I'm not certain which colour I should go with - the clover may be too much. The other three that they stock are a bit plain. What do others think? My fav is probably the celadon matte.

Once I get the actual samples in I might post again asking for opinions on colours, etc. But I'd appreciate opinions now too!

I think you're going to do the WZ Studio Moderne in the bronze color.

Understood.
The colour is perfection.

But ... from the website: "The tiles in the Tracciato Collection are created by Italian artisans, who start with the finest marble and limestone and then etch them with magnificent patterns, to which genuine gold and silver leaf are painstakingly applied. The tiles are then hand-waxed and buffed to reach a lustrous patina."

Why do I have a feeling that these no doubt handsome Italian artisans who painstakingly apply gold leaf and hand wax and buff each piece produce tiles that mere mortals cannot afford?

I'll get a sample and report back.

I think the coconut and the celadon would both work if you did not want to foot the bill for hand applied gold leaf.

I am waiting for someone to use the Heath kiln shelves.

Thanks palimpsest. If I go with coconut I imagine I will want to paint the wall. Not a huge deal. I need to see samples of the celadon. A shame they don't have a bronze type colour for this tile.

pps7 what type of stone is your hearth made of? I really like it