We think it’s safe to say that 2020 is the year of staying home! With that, we’re finding that we want our homes to be as chic, comfortable, functional, and stylish as we’ve always dreamed. Goodness knows we deserve it since we’ve spent so much time social distancing and quarantining!
One area of the home that we notice often gets overlooked but can be a real statement when done right is the mantle and/or fireplace area. This blog explores some of the work we’ve done in these areas to show you how it can really bring a room together.
We know it’s June and hot as all get out, but just imagine being able to get the whole family gathered around your sophisticated fireplace during the holidays. Or think of all the fresh flowers you can display in the warmer months on a mantle that really brings some life to your living room. You can even use a mantle to be functional for setting up an entertainment system!
Bring some dimension to your living room/den area
On this project, we started with a pretty lifeless fireplace area. This is common in many homes where the fireplace is left pretty minimalistic. Although it doesn’t necessarily draw the eye, the good news is that it gives the owners plenty of options to customize and inject some personality into their space!
Before
When we got to this cute little fireplace, we wanted to add some texture and help the sleek base design stay true.
What we were able to do was to build a mantle all the way around to bring some warmth and flair to this corner of the room while also defining and highlighting the hearth space!
Add a mantle that is as functional as it is stylish
The great thing about adding a mantle to your room is that it can be functional just as much as it is stylish! For this space, we wanted to blend the warmth and inherent pleasantness of a fireplace area with the functionality of entertainment.
Our thoughts here were along the lines of how can we gather around this naturally inviting part of the room every day? The answer is obvious– have a TV and use the mantle to bring all of the pieces together! An entertainment station is not always naturally inviting, what with all the wires and blinking lights. We really wanted to find a way to keep the space more natural feeling.
To achieve this, we built a little cubby into the wall to house some of the boxier items that take up more horizontal space and used the mantle to add some flavor with decorative items.
Create the perfect backdrop
Another great thing you can do with this space is to texturize the wall to create a nice backdrop. With the same project as above, you’ll notice that we transformed boring drywall into a beautiful shiplap backdrop for the entire space. This trick can instantly make any space feel more inviting and welcoming because it gives any room that cozy lived-in feel.
Notice how a texturized wall makes the space feel so much more dynamic! All that’s missing in this picture is the trim around the windows to take it that much further!
So, there you have it. Mantles are key to style. Luckily for you, it’s one of our favorite projects in our wheelhouse. To find out more about how we can help you with your mantle space, reach out to us!
We are eager to hear about your vision and talk about ways we can help you create the cozy and sophisticated living space of your dreams a reality!