Changes to the Basement Fireplace Area

We had a real woodstove in our basement for, oh, about 5 minutes. Before we moved in the insurance company made us remove it. According to them it was too close to the wooden staircase and posed a fire hazard. Womp womp. 

 

Back then we had an ugly but fully functional basement family room and fireplace area. Behind the old woodstove was a floor-to-ceiling faux brick surround with a large, wooden beam as a mantle. While it may not sound that terrible - it was. Just trust me.

 

Update! I found a picture:

 

 

 

At that point we weren't ready for a basement renovation but didn't want to live with a giant, gaping hole in the wall. We looked into several options and decided to replace the old woodstove with a similar looking gas stove. This is the one we chose:

 

Westport Gas Freestanding Stove - Enviro 

 

We got the flat, black finish like the one pictured. We used it every night and absolutely loved it. {We haven't been able to use it for the last few years since our basement renovation is taking a wee bit longer than anticipated.}

 

Because we still really like the gas stove, and because it cost us a huge chunk of change, we are going to be incorporating it into the new fireplace area instead of using a gas insert.

 

So, to make the area more appealing here's what we've done so far. See the fireplace opening in the first picture? Alex moved it over to the left as far as he could so that it wasn't so close to the wall on the right. Since the opening was still off-centre he also took down part of the fireplace wall on the left so that more of the staircase is showing. Now the fireplace opening is centered and has room for a mantle on either side! Yay!!!!

 

We are still sticking with the plan to either build a mantle or salvage an old one. We will also have to add some painted brick or rustic tile to the fireplace box.

 

There really aren't a lot of inspiration photos out there to help me decide what it should look like. The stove + mantle is kind of a weird combo. But, I'm determined to make it look cute nonetheless.

 

Here are two pictures that might help you visualize how it will look:

 

Image: Unknown

 

Image: A Beautiful Mess

 

We are going to hit up the local tile store this weekend to see if I can find any tiles that I like. I know I'll find some tiles that I like (hello, marble) but they will have to be a little on the rustic side since we will have the gas stove down there as well as some white-washed ceiling beams, etc.

 

Wish us luck!

 

P.S. I thought about submitting our fireplace photo over to The Lettered Cottage so that Layla could work her Photoshop magic for a Pick-My-Presto. Alas I did not - she's too famous and I'm too shy! LOL!