Your Fireplace: Creating a Meeting Place to Remember

Having a fireplace in your home can be a wonderful way to create a space for memories. But you’ll want to choose the right drapery, mirrors and rug treatments to accentuate this beautiful addition to your home.

One of the most memorable places in your home for you, your family and your guests is your family room or living room-it’s where all of the parties happen, where you talk about your day and where you solve the most pressing of all family problems, not to mention, it’s the place where you get together as a family to unwind, play games and learn more about each other each and every day. And when it’s just you, it’s your special place to forget about the rest of the world and just be yourself. So why not make it a place you want to be and want to remember?

If you already have a fireplace, then you already know just how much it can add to the beautiful memories you have of your family room-Christmases spent by the fire unwrapping gifts and spending time with the entire family, cold nights snuggled up together with a cup of hot cocoa and roasting marshmallows for S’mores when the camping trip was rained out…again. If you don’t have a fireplace and want to get one, you can use this space to create a beautiful addition or accent to your current theme, or build a new interior decorating theme around it.

There are many types of fireplaces that are perfect for every home including the Vermont Castings and Majestic lines of fireplaces and you can choose whether you want a wood burning or gas fireplace, or if you’d prefer, you can even choose a coal burning or pellet burning stove-these two are the more energy efficient methods.

Dressing your fireplace (and the room around it) is just as important as choosing what type of fireplace to have in your home. The mantle and the surrounding walls and floors are important in the decoration of your fireplace because a room with a fireplace should be a room that has a comforting or romantic mood, depending on the lighting.

Choosing black out curtains will help keep outside light from disturbing the natural glow of the fireplace and wall mounted mirrors can help flood your room with light, providing you with cheap lighting, at least when your fireplace is in use.

Also, choosing a decorative area rug to cover your fireplace hearth can be the decisive in determining what the ultimate mood of your room will be. The different colors will play differently in the firelight and you should choose either deep or mellow colors that accentuate the design of your room-too bright of colors may throw off the sense of calm and warmth that a fireplace traditionally creates. A traditional flokati or shag area rug with a dense, soft pile in deep classic colors will play beautifully in the firelight and if you choose a high quality rug it will be both easy to maintain and durable.

Creating a space that fits with your fireplace will help you find that a fireplace is not only beautiful but a pleasantly accepted and lasting addition to your room full of memories.