Speaking of the fireplace, we understand that this is the most hospitable and warm place in the house. And this is not so much about physical warmth, but about the warmth of the soul, which is born when contemplating a dancing fire. Decorative facing of a fireplace does an interior of the room even more cozy and refined. It is important to choose a fireplace cover material that suits your taste and the style of your room.
You can revet the fireplace yourself, if it concerns not difficult, but creative work. It can be plaster or tile laying. And it is still better to entrust laying with tiles, wood, marble or granite to an experienced master - a professional in his field. Only he will create a masterpiece and do everything in accordance with the finishing technology.
Materials used for cladding
There are several options that differ in cost and final result of fireplace design. A unique design can be created using such materials forfireplace cladding like stone, brick, ceramic, wood.
The most common type of cladding is stone. Easy to process and attractive-looking stones of shell rock, limestone and sandstone, with all their positive qualities, have a drawback. They are porous and absorb soot, resulting in an untidy look to the fireplace. These stones are used to decorate electric and "fake" fireplaces installed in the walls of the room.
The best stones are granite, slate and marble. This is a fairly durable facing material that fits almost any design project.
Currently a popular and inexpensive option for decorating a fireplace is tiling. The most successful design of the fireplace by the hands of a master is working with tiles, decorative clay or box-shaped ceramic tiles.
A great option is to use brick in the cladding. It imitates old masonry or plays a purely decorative role. Also, the fireplace can be lined with wood, but at the same time it is necessary to treat it with a certain composition that prevents fire, and also provide a protective screen when creating a fireplace to prevent sparks from flying.
Options for lining the fireplace with various materials are presented in the video.
The style of the room and the fireplace in it
The interior of the room and the fireplace itself can be made in any style:
- Classic requires interior decoration of the room with natural materials. These include products fromwood, stone, cotton fabrics. A classic fireplace should also be lined with natural stone.
- A room in the Provence style involves assigning the main place to the fireplace, the center of the composition. This is a style of village life, which mainly uses wooden furniture, natural finishing materials (stone, brick, wood, fabric) in neutral colors. Everything should be varied and not heavy. This applies to decorating the fireplace with stone or brickwork.
- The English style of the room is an aura of aristocracy, solidity, warmth. Distinctive features are the presence of stucco decoration, a large amount of textiles (curtains, carpets). The English style involves facing the fireplace with natural stone, near which there are a couple of armchairs and a small coffee table. A fireplace with figurines, antique clocks, an ashtray, a smoking pipe will look chic.
- Modern style involves an artificial fireplace built into the wall, made of drywall, lined with a material that does not attract much attention. It can be a drywall niche or something made of artificial stones.
Characteristics of artificial stone
Modern-style interiors often contain materials with an artificial texture, as not everyone can afford the use of natural resources, wood, stone and brick. Decorative stones on the wall create an atmosphere of respectability, various shapes and color palettes allow them to be used in all stylistic directions of design.
Like anyonebuilding material, decorative stones have their own characteristics. They are made of gypsum, stone powder, alabaster, indicating natural ingredients. This material is not harmful to he alth as it does not emit harmful impurities.
Advantages of artificial stone
High insulating properties, resistance to cold and moisture are among the advantages of artificial stone. In addition, the decorative material is superior to the natural counterpart. Firstly, it is cheaper and easier than natural stone, and secondly, artificial stone products are easier to process and install.
What you need to know to make the artificial stone fireplace lining look natural? The choice of decorative stone for interior decoration should match the texture of the products with the dimensions of the space. Fine textures (slate) can visually expand the space. One sign of quality is the lack of a repetitive appearance of the stones. But the tile size at the same time must be the same.
Laying rules
When lining a fireplace with artificial stone, you need to follow certain rules:
- Finishing of fireplaces is carried out on a prepared surface. It can be concrete, mesh coated with cement mortar, or other material that increases adhesion, that is, the formation of a bond between the surface layers of two dissimilar bodies (finishing material and prepared fireplace surface) brought into contact.
- Facing should beperform at a constant room temperature, but not lower than 5 °C.
- Fireplace facing stone should be mounted from top to bottom, in rows, thereby preventing contamination of the masonry.
- If we are talking about seamless masonry, in this case, the elements are fixed from the bottom up, pressing them together.
- Adhesion to the base material is due to a special adhesive for facing fireplaces, recommended by manufacturers of artificial stones.
- Artificial stone elements are easily cut with a hacksaw, only the hacksaw tooth should be small so as not to spoil the stone.
- Requires hydrophobic impregnation treatment to make the treated surface water-repellent.
- Grouting should be done three days after the decorative stone has set well with the surface of the fireplace.
Natural stone facing
Luxury option for the living room - granite or marble fireplaces. Marble makes the fireplace an element of sophistication and elegance. It is perfect for the atmosphere of classical aesthetics. Facing the fireplace with marble is quite expensive. It belongs to natural precious stones and has a luxurious decorative function and high cost.
Granite is considered one of the most durable materials for facing a fireplace with natural stone. The color palette of granite includes the following tones:
- pale beige and pearl white;
- yellow and green;
- red and purple;
- grey, brown andblack.
The fireplace made of granite is less prone to pollution and easy to clean. It harmoniously fits into any home interior. But granite masonry should be done by a specialist so that the finished fireplace looks flawless.
Ceramic tiling
Modern ceramic tile fireplace surround looks stylish. Its most popular types include tiles, clinker, majolica and ceramics. Despite some similarities, they have distinctive features. All these tiles are made of fired clay and glazed.
Majolica is characterized by massive forms, the tiles are box-shaped. Clinker is characterized by large thickness and high mechanical strength. This chimney tile withstands significant temperature fluctuations, which is well suited for cladding in country houses where they are not heated in winter.
Tiling is a simple process that consists of the following steps:
- surface preparation;
- wire mesh attachment;
- gypsum layer formation;
- laying tiles.
False plasterboard fireplace
A beautiful fireplace makes a cozy living room, even if it is false and does not perform the main functions of a conventional fireplace - heating the room. Decorative fireplaces look very similar to real ones. The completed plasterboard frame can be decorated in the same way as a real one, with any finishingmaterial and even wallpaper.
Plasma screens look very effective inside such fake fireplaces, transmitting the image of the flame and crackling sound of burning wood using any gadget via a wireless network. The wood finish of such a fireplace with an optical LED artificial flame looks original.
False fireplaces are an ideal solution for apartments where, in principle, making a real fireplace is difficult.
Materials and tools for creating a false fireplace
To make a fireplace, you need to make a sketch of it, decide on the installation site, its shape and stock up on the following materials:
- Profiles for creating a fireplace body.
- Gypsum sheets.
- Screws for drywall and wall plugs for mounting the profile.
- Sealing tape.
- Plaster "start" and "finish".
The appearance of a false fireplace may not necessarily be rectangular. Having any shape of the facade, it will look original in the corner of the room.
Wood trim
Wood-paneled fireplaces are a decor classic and add style to the environment. In this case, care must be taken to ensure that the fireplace is in a safe position relative to the flame, as wood is a flammable material.
Whichever type of fireplace lining is chosen, the fireplace will become a source of pride and a favorite place for the whole family. It is no coincidence that heconsidered a symbol of family happiness since time immemorial.
