I have been searching for raised hearth fireplaces forever.I am on the fence about the over mantle-drywall above the mantle is also a possibility. The blower vents are going. Your thoughts?

Seeing the title of this post and your name, I was expecting some type of fabric cozy (think teapot cozy) and was very curious.

I like your inspiration. A neighbor did something similar, but instead of a hanging mirror as pictured, she had a mirror installed in that whole box section. Looks nice and since you are looking for more light it could work.

I think your inspiration photo is lovely :)

I like over-mantle drywall, our fireplace has it and I think it looks so much better than the non-drywalled (ie not updated) fireplaces I've seen in other homes in our neighborhood. If you have beautiful brick etc, show it off -- but the fireplaces here have tan slump bricks and they are not, IMHO, nice to see from floor to ceiling. If you feel yours is too dark, nothing wrong with covering it up :-)

Why getting rid of the vents, don't they help distribute the heat? Maybe they could be more discrete?

Beautiful inspiration fireplace. I love it and agree such a reno would add a lot more light to your room.

We redid our raised hearth fireplace last year. Just a word of caution, if those vents are from a heatilator or similar device it can be a bigger issue to cover up. We went with painted wood to match some built-ins we put on either side of the FP; tile on the surround, and leftover marble on the hearth.

It's hard to tell how your inspiration idea will look in your room without seeing a better (whole) photo of your space.

However, I do love the look. It's similar to my previous homes' fireplace.

OP here. To clarify, I am not sure if I want to drywall above the new mantle or do an "over-mantle" "which I think is typically wood (painted white in my case). ALL brick is going!! And I will ask the contractor what would be the best option...Next, onto the surround. What material do you think it is? Limestone? I want a stone that doesn't have variations(not granite or marble).

What are you to do about the vents that are in the face of the fireplace?

@ratherbesewing: your inspiration photo appears to be some sort of limestone or travertine, with a slab cut to fit the surround and to cover the hearth. You could also use stone tile.

Your contractor will be able to advise you on the vents; we had to have some masonry work done to work around our vents. We had vents in the raised heart and above the firebox opening. The firebox included a metal chamber with a cavity to capture heat. It was a bit more complicated to handle this than expected.

I believe the choice of material above the mantle is up to you. However, I would keep the ceiling height in mind and how you will handle any transition between wood and stone/surround/mantel. Using an overmantle of wood to the ceiling can help simplify this transition.

Also, your local code will also dictate how wide of an area of noncombustible material you must have around the opening (e.g., 6 to 12 inches) and on the hearth in front of the firebox (e.g, 12-20 inches). You'll want to keep that in mind when you are planning your design to match the photo, especially on the sides, unless you plan on building out the width of your existing fp. The inspiration photo shows columns on either side of the mantle that might be a tight squeeze on your existing face.

Definitely do an overmantle! They look so nice and finished! Here is mine, I really love it...

Tips:.

For the "over mantle", you can use sheetrock, and then enhance with wood or poly trim. Paint all with a trim paint (semi-gloss) and the area looks like wood.

Make sure your mantle is wide. Mine is 13" wide and 1 3/4" thick. I have other measurements that I can post if you need them.