The very first thing you noticed when you walked into this house before it was remodeled was the stone fireplace and chunky hearth. This thing was a beast. As much as we love stone, this wasn’t the kind of stone we wanted for this room and for the overall theme of the house. So, our options were to remove the entire thing ($$$) or just frame over it! Bryce jack hammered the stone hearth and had framing added over the whole fireplace to create a clean slate for us.

Since this built out was so massive, it called for a focal point design that wasn’t too busy. Something timeless since it is such a big part of this room. As much as we love classic horizontal shiplap/paneling, we had a version of this in our last home and wanted to switch it up a bit. We landed on vertical slats, 1x8 MDF flat stock planks and installed with 1/4 gaps in between each piece. We did this from floor to ceiling on the face and sides of the fireplace. As much as the vertical helps bring your eye up, it needed something else to break up all the lines. So, we found a 24x48 concrete like tile for around the fireplace, cut down at 10” wide on all sides. Our chunky wood mantle also helps break up all the vertical lines and warms it up a bit with the natural stain and rustic look. Feels like a good play on both cool modern and warm farmhouse.

Lastly, to top off this space, adding a matte black round chandelier with candle sticks ties everything in and adds another form of bright light that is dimmer as well. This was the perfect design needed for this space to set the tone for all the furniture and decor that comes after.