There are three things you can look at endlessly. And one of them is the play of flame in a fire or a home fireplace. This is an amazing invention of mankind, which is a symbol of home warmth and comfort. But, like any other perfection, it requires an aesthetic cut. Fireplace framing is an important point, which depends on aesthetic and functional properties. For these purposes, a wide variety of materials are used - wood, stone, drywall, brick, polyurethane, MDF and other options.
Keeper of the family hearth
Fireplace is not only a functional invention that is a source of heat. In the modern world, it is also a decorative element that should harmoniously fit into the entire interior. Therefore, it is necessary to thoroughly consider the style, character and order of its design.
Portal (literal translation - "front door") is an external frame of the fireplace with a furnace recess in the center. It is the portals that take on most of the aesthetic load. If you have already decided to get a fireplace, you should carefully consider what material and in what style to decorate it.
Fireplace needs decor
By itself, it looks great, but in a modern house - quite unusual and original. Decorative portal - this is the very part that needs special attention. Framing the fireplace should be in harmony with the overall style of the room and the whole house as a whole.
When choosing one or another material, one should take into account the degree of its heating and resistance to high temperatures. An electric fireplace also heats up, so it is worth choosing refractory materials for its design.
Often, fireplaces are sold with a decorative portal - it only needs to be assembled and installed. But it often happens that the style of the portal does not fit into the overall interior, so you have to do the framing of the fireplace with your own hands. You can, of course, turn to professionals. But, as practice shows, if the hands grow from the right place, it is not so difficult to build a decorative cut for the furnace recess on your own.
What could be the frame of the fireplace: stylistic variations
Your fireplace can be framed in one of the following styles:
- Classic. This is the most common option that will easily fit into almost any design, regardless of where the fireplace is located (in a country house, office or city apartment). The frame of the fireplace in this case is made in a strict and concise style, without pretentious elements, excessive pathos. The main features are strict lines and absolute symmetry.
- Country. This trend has firmly entered the life of modern man. Most often, such structures are created using stone (artificial or decorative). This style is the best suited for private homes.
- Modern. The decorative portal will look non-standard and very unusual. A wide variety of styles, shapes, colors and materials can be combined here.
- Baroque. Well, where the interior itself is made in the same style. Paphos, luxury and pomposity are the main features of fireplace decoration.
- Hi-tech or minimalism. The framing of the fireplace insert in this case will be made using glass and ceramic tiles. The style is distinguished by simplicity and conciseness, calmness and soft colors.
In what style to frame the fireplace with your own hands - you decide. The main thing is that it should be combined with the design of the room.
Combination of styles
The fireplace itself must be in harmony with the portal. It is best to install it along the floor line. In the event that you want to place the hearth itself a little higher, give preference to a wider model, which will be goodlook at any distance from the floor. Don't hide the stone frame behind the portal.
The main task of the decorative part is to emphasize the design of the fireplace. The design of the hearth should be placed at the same level as the surface of the fireplace portal. If your plans are to create a completely unusual and original design without taking into account the design of the fireplace, buy a special model known as an insert hearth. There is no specific design in this option, so the final decor will depend entirely on individual preferences.
Size ratio
When choosing a fireplace, pay attention to its dimensions. So, for example, the floor model provides for the presence of a certain free space. If everything is very difficult with free square meters, choose a beautiful wall-type hearth model. Such a fireplace fits well into the interior of the house and does not differ at all from the traditional design.
It is extremely important that the decorative frame of the fireplace is in harmony with the dimensions of the portal itself. In practice, the dimensions of the structures are selected so that the fireplace itself occupies about 75% of the height and approximately 50% of the width of the decorative portal. If you have a wide model, its frame will take up more space accordingly.
Assembling a drywall fireplace
This is the simplest and most budgetary option for framing a fireplace. The photo clearly demonstrates how beautiful the decorative design of the portal looks. The only drawback of suchdesign is that its installation must be planned at the stage of planning the room. The fact is that later it will not be possible to make any constructive changes.
Therefore, it is worth preparing a carefully verified plan in advance with the coordination of all dimensions directly. Air vents and electrical wires should be provided in advance. The slits also maintain the optimum air temperature in the fireplace itself, preventing overheating and condensation.
Corner plasterboard fireplace structures look quite attractive. The technology for their arrangement is exactly the same as for any other structure made of the same material.
How to build a drywall frame?
First of all, it is necessary to assemble a frame from profiles, so that later sheets can be attached to them. The dimensions and configuration of the frame should be selected based on the individual features of the layout and personal preferences. Then you need to attach drywall sheets to the frame, fixing them securely.
Now you can attach the frame to the firebox and once again make sure that everything is done correctly. If necessary, make changes and attach sheets of finishing material. After that, the entire structure should be plastered. For these purposes, a gypsum-based composition is ideal. Once everything is dry, you can cover the plaster with varnish or facade paint. If desired, you can finish the finish with any other material.
Fireplace portal made of wood
Wood always looks luxurious and noble. Only those who have experience with this material can make a wooden frame for a fireplace on their own. A woodworker will be able to build a portal without outside help.
The following recommendations will help you cope with the task:
- The portal for the fireplace must be assembled only from carefully dried wood material. Of course, all boards must be made from the same type of wood.
- It is best to glue structural elements with the help of modern adhesive compositions. Water-based glue should be avoided - it will make the wood wetter, which is highly undesirable for the fireplace.
- The wooden frame needs to be coated with a double layer of varnish. This will avoid deformation and damage to the material.
Wood is far from the best material for decorating a firebox. It is prone to drying out and cracking.
PUR fireplace frame
This material is very popular for finishing work. It is easy to use, durable and reliable. In addition, it is great for a budget fireplace design. It was created to replace traditional gypsum. Due to its versatility, polyurethane can be used to finish both a factory model fireplace and a DIY one.
In the decoration process, polyurethane stucco is often used. There are ready-madekits that consist of several elements:
- Floor base.
- Frame for furnace recess.
- Podium.
- Cap.
- Vertical posts.
- Decor.
The advantages of polyurethane framing are obvious: fire safety, ease of installation, environmental safety, aesthetics, the ability to imitate various other materials.
Stone frame
This is a true classic. Unlike framing fireplaces with wood, stone portals look more luxurious and rich. You can use natural material, or you can purchase an artificial counterpart that is not as durable as real stone.
This is the most expensive type of fireplace insert design. Firstly, because the material itself costs a lot. And secondly, the finishing process itself is quite complicated - only an experienced craftsman can cope with it, who will not work for free.
Which fireplace is better: stationary or mobile?
Before you buy and equip a fireplace space, think carefully about whether you want your cozy corner to always be in the same place. As for the wood-burning fireplace, there are no questions here - it is tied to the chimney, and with all the desire to turn it in the other direction without a major overhaul of the structure, it will not work.
It is precisely for this reason that electric fireplaces have become much more in demand than traditional models. It's all aboutmobility. The fireplace can stand in the living room all year round, and closer to the New Year holidays, move to the spacious kitchen, where all the household will gather. Stationary portals are most often made at the stage of finishing the premises. And for electric fireplaces, you can build a drywall structure that is easily transferred to another place along with the firebox.
Fireplace design options
The easiest and cheapest option is to build a frame from metal profiles, fix drywall and then do what you want (paint, plaster, decorate with a wide variety of materials).
The technology is obscenely simple - even those who have never framed a fireplace insert can handle it. First of all, it is necessary to draw a sketch on a scale with all dimensions, then transfer the main lines of the drawing directly to the floor and mount the frame from the metal profile. This is about drywall.
If you recently suffered a natural disaster called "renovation" and you still have pieces of finishing material (ceramic tiles, wood or parquet), you can use them as a decorative frame for a fireplace insert.
Fireplaces built into furniture or a partition look very unusual and original. For their design, you can use MDF - the material is quite durable and reliable, it holds high temperatures well, and is also not afraid of moisture. If you want to build an electric fireplace into the wall, you can use one of theseways:
- Cut a niche in the wall and run an electric cable through it.
- Build a frame from a metal profile, as if pushing forward a niche for a fireplace.
It is not as difficult to build a decorative design for a cozy and warm corner on your own as it seems at first glance. The main thing is to be patient and follow some general recommendations so as not to spoil the finishing material.
Project, calculation of funds
To find out how much it will cost to decorate a fireplace, you need to check its dimensions. The size of the hearth depends on the dimensions of the room in which it will be located. There are uniform standards: for example, it is accepted that the firebox should be at least 1 to 50 of the total volume. Accordingly, the furnace hole can be from 0.2 to 0.4 square meters.
Let's try to calculate the cost of a fireplace with ceramic lining. For this we need the following materials:
- Plinth.
- Corner plinth.
- Ordinary fireplace shelf.
- Angle fireplace shelf.
- Line tiles.
- Corner tile.
- Freeze regular.
- Angled frieze.
If you use ceramic tiles of the middle price segment, then the total cost of the fireplace, together with the frame, will be about 100 thousand rubles. Accordingly, the more expensive the tile, the more expensive the work will cost. In many ways, the price is due to the cost of the finishing material.
