The Right Built-ins for Your Fireplace

The depth of a fireplace just naturally creates a void about it begging to be filled with built-ins. However, to hold what? Before you haul out your hammer and watched or bring in a contractor, take a while to think about what you actually want and need about your chimney. By first deciding what items you would like to store, exhibit or possess convenient near the fireplace, you will then have the ability to work out just how to offer the needed area — with open display shelving, drawers, closed cabinetry and so forth.

The”what” and the”how” are important, but let’s not overlook the style. Your fireplace is normally the focus of the space, so this is not the place to skimp on design or materials. The 14 examples of fireplace built-ins below reveal what they store, the way they provide space for it, as well as the style decisions made.

More photos of fireplace walls

Kristin Petro Interiors, Inc..

What: This fantastic arrangement of built-in cabinetry required to provide a display space for decorative objects. It also retains wine and most likely glasses, corkscrews, decanters and coasters, as well as a TV and its elements.

How: For display of decorative objects, there’s a massive mantel deep enough to hold vases and also open shelves. A market to one side provides a spot for your TV, with closed storage keeping elements from sight. Open wine storage and a wine refrigerator are all odd twists to the built-in, as is your counter space for serving drinks or snacks. Closed cabinetry offers space for glasses and snacks to choose the wine.

Design : The conventional cabinetry in a painted finish matches the type of the house. The deep color lets that area recede visually so the lighter rock of the fireplace masonry advances. The scale of the cabinetry and moldings lets them hold their own next to the massive fireplace surround without overpowering it, so the fireplace is still the principal focus.

Hint: Consider the actions that occur in the room, then plan your own storage and display to adapt those tasks.

Pangaea Interior Design, Portland, OR

What: All these built-ins were created to accommodate the needs of a family. The TV was in an oversized niche, and each of the elements were sitting there also, so it looked cluttered. The kids spend a lot of time in this area, so storage for toys was needed. And open display shelving for decorative accents was desired.

How: The TV market was resized to match the TV precisely. An articulating arm enables it to be dragged forward to reach wires. Beneath the mantel are cabinets behind doors that are so minimal, you don’t even realize they are there. The cabinets conceal the elements to your TV on one side along with the children’s toys on the other. Glass shelves have been chosen for display to permit maximum relaxation throughout the display area.

Design: This living area a part of a fantastic room with all the kitchen on the other end. To make it blend with the kitchen, we used the same color of stain on the wood as in the kitchen chimney. We desired fresh lines and a minimal appearance, or so the mantel and hearth as well as the header above stretch wall to wall. To balance the larger TV using all the bigger fireplace, we used the same substance to cover the the entire bottom section of the cabinetry and the hearth to give the area beneath the mantel enough visual weight to offset the larger TV. Lighting under the mantel shows off the copper-patina steel and also gives the reduced half more visual weight.

Jordan Iverson Signature Homes

What: The built-ins here did not need to put away anything out in the open but for the TV and the subwoofers. But they did need to hold a comprehensive DVD collection and miscellaneous storage. A little extra seating in the area was desired as well.

How: You’re simply not going to believe how much concealed storage there’s in the built-ins around this particular fireplace. Of course, you may see the fitted alcove to your TV above the fireplace. You might even see that the subwoofers have their own spots near the ground on both sides. You may be thinking the cabinets on either side are probably just shallow shelves for your DVDs, right?

Jordan Iverson Signature Homes

Wrong! These cabinets hold excellent slide-out units that permit full use of the depth without the need to rummage liberally for items in the back of the cupboard.

Notice the depth of the area round the fireplace also opens built-in chairs with storage underneath to the side of their cabinets. You may be thinking that’s everything you could possibly fit in the area…

Jordan Iverson Signature Homes

. . .but you would be wrong again. This is fairly slick. The entire TV alcove is hinged to swing open to reveal another spacious storage space behind.

Design : The mild, natural timber used for your built-ins complements the pale stone along with the contemporary expression of the horizontal fireplace. Keeping all the DVDs concealed generates a minimal appearance acceptable for this room’s contemporary style.

CWB Architects

What: when you have a wood-burning fireplace, then providing a spot for sufficient wood to last for many hours, and also one for fireplace tools, is a great idea. This room also has a TV, books and display items.

How: A simple, deep (probably 18-inch), open-faced market holds enough timber to keep the fire roaring all night, so no one needs to dash through rain or trudge through snow to get to the timber pile. I don’t see fireplace tools sitting on the hearth, so it’s also possible that there is a concealed spot for those. Allowing space for your chimney, the market for your TV is just deep enough for it along with a few display items. Open shelving handles the books along with a few other decorative objects, while closed cabinets under provide concealed storage.

Design : Painting all the built-ins the same lotion as the remainder of the room instead of brighter white generates a serene and mellow monochromatic palette.

A bigger TV above a fireplace that is smaller may appear top heavy, but the solution is to make the wood market the same elevation as the fireplace and then have the TV market extend over both the fireplace and timber market. Visually the fireplace and timber market appear as one whole piece and together are larger than the TV. Problem solved through good design!

Harrell Remodeling, Inc..

What: Think outside the box with your built-ins. Storage and display are not the only things that you might want to have around your fireplace. This person had a place to get the job done.

How: You don’t often see a desk as part of a built-in round a fireplace, but this one really is amazing. Think how nice it would be to sit beside the fire as you work! Drawers, cabinets, counter area and open shelving handle the storage of additional office supplies, TV elements and display objects.

Design : The rich cherry tones of the cabinetry provide real warmth in this room. An attractive desk seat carries the appearance through.

Maraya Interior Design

What: If display or storage is not useful for you, just about any extra chairs? And again, don’t forget the timber for your wood-burning fireplace.

How: Instead of using wood for those chairs, the same stucco since the fireplace surround was continued to create chairs with detachable backs, and custom cushions were produced for the top. Wood for burning is nestled under the fireplace. Can’t get anymore convenient than that!

Design : Applying stucco for those benches was a fantastic option to create a seamless appearance with the fashion of the fireplace surround.

What: Photos, collectibles, books and fireplace tools are all handled perfectly around this particular fireplace.

How: The cabinetry offers open shelving for all of the collectibles and books, plus drawer space for concealed storage. A pencil-thin mantel provides a neat spot for a line-up of photos. The hearth itself allows space for the fireplace tools.

Design: When planning your built-ins, consider the kind of the remainder of the room along with other neighboring pieces. You don’t need to match every thing, but the style and colors needs to be complementary. The storage round this fireplace includes through the same fashion as the cabinetry in the remainder of the space, and its minimum style works superbly with all the clean lines of the stone surround.

Rachel Reider Interiors

What: Other than the sculpture on the mantel, we don’t understand what is here. Could be anything: throw blankets, jigsaw puzzles…a secret stash of romance books?

How: If you don’t have things to exhibit, then don’t build open display areas. Keeping your stuff behind closed doors is absolutely okay.

Design : The option to use fresh, white painted cabinetry combines this built-in well with the moldings around the windows. The simple traditional molding and door style matches the property’s architecture.

Harry Braswell Inc..

What: Screen objects and concealed items.

How: Again, we don’t understand what is inside, but we really do see there are cupboard doors on one side and drawers on the other.

Design : I added this photo mostly since these easy and elegant cabinets have just the right look for your pared-down fireplace. Ensure your built-ins are in an appropriate scale and fashion so they don’t conquer the fireplace. In the first photo above, the fireplace was massive and surrounded in heavy stone, so it may take care of all the cabinetry. However, this tiny fireplace with its easy surround needed the cabinetry to be equally minimal in scale and style.

Dan Waibel Designer Builder

What: Art, TV, parts, books, books and more books.

How: This a fantastic arrangement of open shelving, markets, mantel and cabinets. But more important is the fantastic use of lighting! Remember to include light when planning your own built-ins. Just about everything looks better with light on it. Lighting is very good for shelves that will display art objects, but don’t stop there. The shelves on either side of the fireplace hold mostly novels, but the entire effect is much more appealing than unlit bookshelves. Bear in mind that every time a cheerful fire is blazing away, the surrounding area feels darker by comparison. Adding light helps the surrounding objects stand out when the fire is going.

Design : Wrapping the built-ins round a corner to pay two walls enables the TV and fireplace to share the focal point without having to be above and under each other. The light wood of the cabinetry and shelves echos the color of their hardwood flooring, while the white molding matches the home’s architecture.

Michael Abrams Limited

What: This bedroom had a gorgeous focus, room for a tiny photo display and space for a TV.

How: The material of the fireplace surround is expanded far enough to allow for a market for your TV. Recesses for the photos cut into the surround and extend past it into the wall. The long, horizontal entrances built into this fireplace surround include lighting all together to highlight the display items inside. Recessed spaces are extremely tough to illuminate well with spots from the ceiling since they cast shadows. A fantastic strategy for lighting ensures your display items will be viewed and also adds an element of accent lighting into the room.

Design : This asymmetrical design gives the space a distinctly contemporary appearance. The lighted niches visually balance the fireplace when lit. Large-format metallic tile is a superb choice of material for the contemporary style.

M.J. Whelan Construction

What: In each one the above pictures, the”what” has been objects that had to be saved or displayed. However, the”what” this basement needed was fashion. The built-ins you create can actually set the tone for your chamber stylistically. Click on the photo to see the builder’s caption describing how a gorgeous architectural style was made in this basement that formerly had no architectural interest.

How and fashion : To create a style in this previously bland room, a heavy fireplace surround with a great deal of architectural interest was installed. The cabinetry was created to seem like hutches and filled with display things.

FORMA Design

What: These cabinets provide a great deal of style, some concealed storage and a really cool spot for rows of candles.

How: Levels shifting back and forth from the main surface of the cabinetry offer recessed markets and create the environment that creates the fireplace stand out from everything else. The doors for your cabinets are flush with the principal face of the built-in, minimizing them.

Design: These asymmetrical cabinets in rich, deep-toned wood create their own strong style statement. They are sleek, warm and minimal. When you have a look at this fireplace and also the one in the prior photo, you notice that the fireboxes themselves are extremely close in style and size. The various styles of the built-ins create two radically different rooms.

Schnarr Craftsmen Inc

What: I feel these built-ins were made largely to offer ambience.

How and fashion: Built-ins may set the style for any area — not just living rooms and family rooms. The bookshelves in this toilet give it the feel of a library. How lovely to soak in a bubble bath by the fire with a fantastic book.

We’ve seen examples of all manner of built-in storage, display shelves, chairs, counter area and even a desk. What would you want on your built-in round the fireplace? Add your thoughts in the Remarks section below.

More: Where to Set the TV?

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