help! what should i do with these fireplaces?
James in Seattle wrote in with this question. Got any suggestions for him? Leave a comment!
My wife, our baby, and I moved into a new house last May. The house has a really cool fireplace that essentially runs up the core of the two-floor house. It’s big, made of stone & petrified wood, and it has two fireplaces on either side of it (living room & dining room) on the main floor and a third fireplace in the basement.
We’re not fire people. If it was gas, maybe we’d turn it on. The mess and danger are enough for me to just use the heat, though, so the fireplaces will be ornamental forever. What to do with the fireplaces? I’d love to fill them with something unique, which is why I need ideas. I thought of filling it with pottery or other cool glass, but our son is about set to crawl and it would be a deathtrap if he fell into it (not likely, but who wants a dead kid in your house?).
Got any ideas? We have three holes to fill, so the more the merrier in terms of variety of ideas. Thanks! — James
(Hey James, check out these old posts. This one is about using a sketch of a fire as artwork and this one is about a stuffed campfire pillow. It’s kid-safe!)
July 17th, 2008 at 5:18 am
With a baby about to crawl, don’t forget you’ll need to do something to pad the edges of the hearth. For that reason, I wouldn’t do anything too interesting in the fireplace(s) with a raised edge in front of them, at least not yet. You don’t want to entice the baby into spending more time on/around the fireplace than necessary!
That said, some ideas: Candles, a mirror, glass balls of various sizes (clear or colored), greenery (maybe a tray of wheatgrass?), frame a print or some beautiful paper and hang it in front of the fireplace opening.
July 17th, 2008 at 7:00 am
My mother also has a fireplace she doesn’t use. She found a stained glass screen, and put white christmas lights on the grate. It looks very nice, but she does have a very traditional looking house.
A full stained glass piece might be too busy for your situation, but think about something translucent you could back-light. The glow looks good in a fireplace. You might want to consider having some light installed even if you do display glassware or other items, since you’re essentially putting them in a dark hole.
July 17th, 2008 at 8:53 am
First solution: GIVE THEM TO MEEEEE! : D
Okay, just kidding. As a fellow (fella?) Seattleite, we use our fireplace a lot as it stays so cool here, but we don’t have children, so I can certainly understand your feelings. How about a “candleplace”? I did that for years when I was renting and had fireplaces that were for show only. IF you have an arrangement of different sizes it looks nice even when not lit, and then when you have friends over you can light them and it looks lovely and warm (I did use a screen anyway to keep the roving visiting babies out).
May not be your style, but I would rotate my fireplace displays and did the kind of “shrine” thing for awhile with different sized religious statues, antique Mardi Gras beads, votive candles, flowers, small artworks, anything that appealed to me. I like the “use a painting to fit the space” idea too.
July 17th, 2008 at 12:15 pm
How about a vent-free gas insert? Easy enough to install, and with a fire screen pretty toddler-friendly.
July 17th, 2008 at 12:34 pm
I’ve seen people fill an empty fireplace with an arrangement of books of various sizes or arranged by color. It can look interesting and isn’t dangerous
July 17th, 2008 at 1:13 pm
Right now, we have candles set up in ours. We used to keep our pet rabbit’s cage in there until he passed away at age 11. It fit perfectly and didn’t ruin the wood floors. I’ve also seen potted plants, bookshelves and televisions inside fireplaces. Let your imagination go. There’s so many things to do with the space!
July 17th, 2008 at 3:48 pm
i love the back lit screen idea–which would also keep the baby out of the fireplace. my friends tiled the inside of their fireplace with really bright, beautiful tiles and then just left it empty and it was beautiful. it’s a big project but it think it’s worth it
July 18th, 2008 at 2:57 pm
Very good advice. I’m actually going to pursue a mismash of a couple of your ideas I’ll send in pictures. The back-lit screen is the winner so far, but I’m going to make it not as big as the rest of the fireplace but paint the inside. I’ll likely brace some material to the inside of the fireplace, rather than paint, so I can reverse my work if there’s an apocalypse and wood burning is my only heat source.
Thanks for the suggestions! Keep them coming.
July 19th, 2008 at 10:29 am
Something I’ve seen done for summer fireplaces is to pack the opening with chopped fire wood. The ends of the wood would match tour stone work, and it has the advantage of preventing small children and babies doing anything with the fireplace
(until they are old enough to pull all the wood out)
You also have a working fireplace and fuel for when the heating bills get too high.
July 21st, 2008 at 5:06 am
[...] 1. There are lots of things to do with an unused fireplace. Will Knot writes: “Something I’ve seen done for summer fireplaces is to pack the opening with chopped fire wood. The ends of the wood would match tour stone work, and it has the advantage of preventing small children and babies doing anything with the fireplace (until they are old enough to pull all the wood out). You also have a working fireplace and fuel for when the heating bills get too high. For more fireplace ideas, see this post. [...]
July 21st, 2008 at 7:47 am
I personally would get a box made to fit the hole (wood, mdf whatever) and use ply wood to make flame decals or whatever takes your fancy and in any colour which fits your decoration in your home, and make shoe storage/toy storage etc etc But I live in a small apartment in the uk so storage is key here.
I saw someone say books, I collect penguin books of all colours (and pelican books in blue) these might look very attractive stacked inside the hole, or, perhaps the outer edge of old paperback books picked up cheaply somewhere - the yellowing pages would look especially cool exposed in a light room.
I would also make sure the edges of the hearth were softened, having had 3 kids, I know the danger of sharp wall edges!
Id also paint/rip down the stone, but thats MY preference, it may not be yours : )
I’d be interested to know what you decide to do.
carolinepanico@hotmail.co.uk
good luck!
August 6th, 2008 at 12:31 pm
James, I can’t believe you’re going to make these ornamental and not use them. That’s a total shame. Why buy a house with gorgeous fireplaces and not use them for, well, fires?
I build a fire every evening that the temp drops below 40. It’s absolutely no trouble and I’m not sure what “mess” you’re talking about. Ashes? Use them to “fertilize” the bushes.
And no need to worry about a baby and the fire which frankly I think you’ll have to do with stuff stashed in the firebox. My parents raised 3 children and I’ve raised my daughter in houses where the firebox sits on the floor. Isn’t raised like yours. Not once, ever, did any of those children or their friends get burned or injured. A firescreen and the word “no” does wonders.
I will admit that in the summer, I fill the empty black hole with either beautiful birch logs beautifully stacked or fresh flowers. But on the first “coldish” day, I pull them out, put in the andirons (also known as fire dogs), set the logs in place and strike a match.
Try it one winter. You might decide that you are “fire people.”