I'm doing a surround now. Gas fireplace insert slides into framing with about .5" clearance. The surrounding sides and top are cement hardbacker board .5 thick that is screwed to framing. I am finishing the surround with multicolored slate tiles that I have cut from 1'squares. Almost done, looks excellent!

oceanna,as you face the fireplace, is it flush with the wall it's set into?

What are you starting with FP-wise--masonry, insert, stove?--and is there anything around/on the brick--now?

What do you want to get to (style, materials, etc.)? Do you want to cover all the brick? (I ask because that's not allowed here--firecode.)

Thanks Bignich! How was the framing attached? Did you by chance take pictures as you did the job that you can share?

Thanks Maggie! No, the face of the fireplace, which goes all the way to the ceiling is brick and it stands out from the wall one brick thick. There is an arch on the fp that I want to remove. My end goal is to have a somewhat traditional looking fireplace. I'd like to face around the opening with tile of some sort (ceramic, marble, granite), and have a wooden surround with a mantle. I want to cover the hearth with tile as well. I'll probably leave the brick all the way up and I'd like a second wooden piece above the mantle if I had my choice -- but another option is to wallboard it the rest of the way up.

Here is a picture:

{{gwi:1527583}}

The following link discusses covering over a shorter brick FP, but it has some instructions I think might help get you thinking about how, with some adjustments for the height of your facing, you could design some framing.

It also has a section on covering the hearth, I believe.

I have to feed the dogs now and do a little painting. When I come back later on tonight, I'll try to describe to you what I did to mine. It won't be exactly the same situation, but maybe it will help you brainstorm. Wish I had a camera, so I could show you.

Can you tell me a little bit about the rest of the room--the decor and furnishings, I mean? I had some finishing ideas, but then I realized--I have no idea what kind of room they're going into!

http://www.ronhazelton.com/howto/fireplace_makeover.htm

Thanks, Maggie! There is a post about my living room showing pictures here:

http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/decor/msg1220192430210.html?48

I'm open to ideas and suggestions, though not overly endowed with money or strength or woodworking skills. But I can strong-arm my son into helping sometimes. :-)

There is another discussing style for my fireplace here:

Here is a link that might be useful: Link to fireplace

Love the furniture. Love the fabric.

As for the cosmetic finishing of the FP, I'm seeing William Morris tiles. Yes! The room cries out for them! Or *something* from the Arts & Craft movement, or general Victoriana.

Check out the fireplace sets (vertical facings) at the bottom of this page:

http://www.charlesrupert.com/historictiles/victorian3.html

But also go to the home page to the link for William Morris wallpapers--I'm pretty sure I had a site bookmarked for William Morris tiles. I'll try to find it.

It was very late here on the East Coast when your post went up. (Not criticizing, just saying...I'm very naughty for staying up so late.) I'll post tomorrow a recap of how I did mine. I don't have experience or strength, either. I think there's a way to work this out with your FP--and your son ;-).

P.S. So far as what to exchange the carpet for in a house with five dogs, there's only one answer, and I'm surprised you didn't think of it: Stainless steel! ;-) So says the mommy of a cat, a Golden Retriever, and a Lab.

Those are great tiles, Maggie. I frequently watch the art nouveau tiles on eBay. I should probably mention though that I live in a late '70s tract home -- not a thing antiquey about it. So whereas I have my antique furnishings I get a bit nervous about resale doing something to the fireplace beyond strictly traditional. Maybe I shouldn't feel that way? As it is, I'm kind of straddling the line putting Victorian furniture in a "modern" house with not a thing to brag about in terms of mouldings, windows, or whatever other charms the older houses have.

I'm a naughty west coast nightowl. So I post at strange hours.

Thanks for the compliments on the furniture and fabric. Mohair gives off a delicious sheen of color. However, I'm finding it challenging to know what to do around that deep tomato red. Even the gimp braid on the couch and chair don't go with it. My son saw them for the first time today and that was his first remark, that he didn't like the gimp braid which is true red. I don't like it either, but the two pieces were just professionally done and I hate to rip out all those tacks (leaving more holes in the frames) and doubt sincerely I could ever find a braid color that goes any better. I've even thought about putting in a tack between every tack to hide the color of the braid (more holes).

My son also said "I like the brick arch." That may well translate to "I don't want to do the work." lol!

I've just got this bizarre thing going in that room. Now bizarre things are interesting. They can turn into dynamic glamour or hideous mistakes. You walk a thin line with them. The sofa and chair are here to stay, so I'd better find a graceful way to decorate around them that is not too odd for the age and style of my home. Not so easy, I'm finding.

Haha on the stainless steel! Perhaps I should take a cup of dirt from the back yard to the carpet store and match it. I'm still not sure what to do with that floor but hate my current carpeting color. It has grey undertones and here we live in 9 months of rain and grey every year. I hate grey in the decor. In Phoenix I might learn to like it, but it's my least fave color here.