One of the reasons my husband and I bought our house was the fireplace.
The fireplace is a focal point.
It’s a massive design of fieldstones and dominates the living room. We had visions of a fire on cold winter nights. We hoped to enjoy the cozy ambience and reduce our heating bills. After living in the house for five years, we built two fires. We realized that chopping wood is a time-consuming, labor-intensive and horrible job. Dragging dirty wood through the house makes a mess. A fire is difficult to get started and then creates fumes, sparks and ash. After having a fire, it’s necessary to have the chimney professionally cleaned. I started looking into converting the wood burning fireplace into a gas alternative. I decided that this was the perfect opportunity to update the hearth and mantle. The existing hearth and mantle were outdated, damaged and of poor quality. They detracted from the aesthetics of the fireplace as well as the entire living room. I wanted a mantle that would not only compliment the fieldstone but also offer display availability. I had no idea of how to go about replacing the mantle and hearth. When I spoke with an HVAC contractor about converting the fireplace from wood burning to natural gas, I asked him for recommendations. He directed me to a local home furniture builder. I got in touch with a master craftsman who was able to design and build a hardwood mantle and hearth. He came to the house, took measurements and sketched up ideas. He offered samples of different types of woods and had great ideas. He also handled the installation.