In today’s Retro Design Dilemma, Peter asks for our ideas and advice on how to decorate the beautiful fireplace in his 1957 ranch house. He loves the variegated stone work. How should he show it off best? No mood boards or google hangouts from Kate and me today — but tomorrow, we’ll activate the uploader, so you can share your fireplace decor. We might even make some mood boards — based on your ideas. Meanwhile — what are your ideas for Peter? Read on for his question — and more photos. Oh, and P. to the S..: Another pink bathroom saved, cha-ching!
Peter writes:
Hi,
We have a 1957 ranch with a floor-to-ceiling stone fireplace with a wood mantel running the length of it above the hearth. We’ve considered things like a Jeré starburst or a mirror to go above the mantel, but we love the rust, salmon and brick red stone that makes up the fireplace so much we can’t bear to cover it up. I would love to see what some of your other readers have done with their mantels (it is after all the focal point of the living room). Wall art, vases, lamps, pictures? There must be things we can put up there other than our phone chargers…?
Thanks,
Peter
Beautiful room, Peter. Those windows are just like the ones in my house — Anderson Windowalls. I need to do a story on them sometime.
In follow up emails, Peter sent me some more photos of his house, which had just one owner before he and his wife moved in. He wrote:
… Here is a shot of the kitchen and pink bathroom with its banjoesque built in, which you can take full credit for saving. My wife wanted white subway tile until she saw your website.
Golly, I’m sure glad that this pink bathroom was saved — it’s a really beauty. That pink and black liner tile is delicious!
LauraL says
I would keep the mantel. As others have said, it ties to the shelves to the right. I love the stone! I think a simple twig or pinecone wreath would look great above the mantel. Then, some smaller nature-inspired decorative items on the mantel which could be changed seasonally. Eggs/nests in the Spring, pinecones in Winter, etc. At the holidays, a simple wreath and vintage candleholders! I really appreciate the choice of furniture and colors as it plays off well with the fireplace and the shelving.
We have a fireplace in a full wall of brick with a raised hearth in our mid-century ranch. When you have that much “hard surface” to highlight, it can be a challenge. I ended up with a simple pinecone wreath over the fireplace and several big baskets on the long, long hearth which hold afghans, pillows, and firewood. It is the family room, after all. 🙂
Thanks for letting us visit your home via the blog. I love seeing another pink bathroom saved. 🙂
JKaye says
Hey, I think I see two chimneys on your house. If so, do they both have this stone, or is the other one different? The more I look at this fireplace, the more I like that stone. It looks like the stone placement gets more artfully arranged down around the fireplace. So it seems you won’t want to do too much to detract from it. Good for you to have such a nice problem!
Peter says
There is a fireplace in the basement, which really isn’t so much a basement as a lower level because it is level with the grade in the back and side of the house, so there are big bay windows down there with an entrance onto a back patio under the screen porch you see here. The fireplace downstairs is brick and with an elevated hearth also brick. There is also a pot belly stove downstairs on the other side of the room, that vents out a third chiminy in the back.
Peter says
That chiminey you see on the left side of the house in the exterior picture is for the furnace. The fireplaces are stacked on top of each other on the right side of the house in that picture.
Jane / MulchMaid says
I wouldn’t hang anything on the fireplace: a colorful vase or larger sculptural piece would shine on the mantle in your fairly neutral space, and really set off the fireplace nicely. Others have suggested Blenko glass, and that would work nicely. Just make sure it has some size and presence. It’s a beautiful room! If it were mine, I’d also add some green by placing a couple of sizable pots near the windows with plants in them: Sanseveria (Mother in Law’s Tongue) or Aspidistra (Cast Iron Plant) are great, period-appropriate choices.
Eartha Kitsch says
What a pretty house! I would find one of the larger metal and wood starbursts clocks and put it up there. It wouldn’t “cover up” the stone but would just set it off nicely…kind of like a pretty piece of jewelry. If you find one with a cord, it’s easy to put a battery pack on the back instead. Then go from there with the mantle. I think the problem is more about getting something eye-catching *above* the mantle than it is decorating the mantel itself. That’s going to make a huge difference. Everything on the mantle after that is just a bonus
I wouldn’t remove the mantle. It’ll make a nice place to put fun things plus it matches the stone and the wood windows as well as the horizontal lines in the stone. And if it were removed, there are going to be some issues behind there – probably holes from screws – that would have to be filled and it’s going to be hard as heck to make any cover-ups match the existing stone.
Teresa says
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mid-Century-Modern-C-Jere-Eames-Era-Abstract-Metal-Wall-Art-Sculpture-Charles-73-/271125454778?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f20561fba
For instance… this would bring out the colors of your stone
tammyCA says
Beautiful fireplace and the room looks cozy and awesome! All I can say is don’t drill into it! You have a mantle to put different objects/plants of varying heights, you don’t need more shelves up there. That way you still have the beauty of the stones and you can change things out for seasons/holidays and when your tastes change. Just go shopping for Mid-century pottery/vases in those wonderful matte colors…some gorgeous sinuous, stylized smooth wood animal sculptures..this is what I would do if I had a mantle on my fireplace, but mine is a wrap around. I just use those metal clips from the hardware store to hang pictures and Christmas stockings, so they aren’t permanent.
I also love your bathroom and happy you are keeping it. And, I love your kitchen cabinets! The warmth the vintage cabinets exude you just can’t get anymore, not to mention built much better.
tammyCA says
Here’s a neat wood crane: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Modern-Abstract-Style-Wood-Crane-Sculpture-Don-Ward-Mountain-Handcrafts-/110822258023?pt=Art_Sculpture&hash=item19cd857567
Teresa says
Is it just me, or is that mantle hung way too high?
Bringing it down to a more traditional height over the fire box will give it more balance. Right now it looks a little squat which is a shame next to those perfect, perfect windows.
You could remove it as others have mentioned. I’m on the fence about that option.
With the mantle lowered a round or vertically oriented piece of metal art would look fabulous. Golds, bronzes, not silver.
Thank you for sharing your beautiful house with us.
Marcia says
Yes, now that you mention it, I think the mantel would look much better lowered some. How about trying a large rectangular mirror with bronze/golden or silvery/pewter trim hung or positioned on the mantel horizontally. The mirror would need to be wider than the fireplace and extend to about the middle of those black squares that frame the fireplace. I am curious as to what would be reflected in the mirror? What is on the other side of the room? I think I’d try that look anyway…it’d be cheap and pretty easy to get an idea right away if it works without much work. Look for a large mirror at TJMax. If you do not like the look return it. If you do like the look then spray paint the mirror trim to be bronze/golden or silvery/pewter. I would also work on lightening up the look to those bookshelves by getting rid of some of the contents.
Marcia says
Okay…here is my latest thought: a large scale canvas print of a nature photograph. What have in my mind is a shot taken from Aspen Colorado of an aspen groove. The skinny white trees grow so very close together. In the tiny spring leaves are such a fun bright green. The shot would be of the mid areas of the trees…not the bottom or the tops. That is what I picture looking neat in that space. It’d kind of go along with the natural look of the stone, but with the look of abstract art and adding a pop of color to the room with the unexpected pop of white and black bark and the bright green leaves! The print would have to be very big, larger than the fireplace below. I am thinking too of those retro rooms that would to have an entire wall wallpapered with a nature scene. It’d kind of be along those lines, but with a modern clean look to it. 🙂 I have enjoyed thinking about this space today! Man, it sounds like a great spot with fabulous views!
Kkmk says
I wondered about adding some light directed toward the fireplace. It could highlight whatever you display, celebrate the beautiful colors, and balance out the large amount of light coming in from the windows.
Perhaps a directional ceiling mounted fixture like this http://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-MID-CENTURY-MODERN-ALUMINUM-CONE-CEILING-FIXTURE-LIGHT-PART-2-/380571254599?pt=Architectural_Garden&hash=item589bd07f47 or this http://www.lumens.com/A338-Pendant-by-Artek/uu395440/product
Brian T says
I don’t think a metal sculpture or starburst anything is going to stand out enough from the stone. The stone IS the focal point, so you don’t want to stick another big focal point on top of it; you just want to accessorize it so it doesn’t look uncomfortably bare. This wall is not a Little Black Dress that can support a statement necklace.
I recommend something shiny and colorful to relieve the matte earth tones and really show up. How about these ceramic candlesticks: http://www.grandinroad.com/set-of-two-pedestal-ceramic-candlesticks/indoor-decor/indoor-lighting/candles-candleholders/492496?defattrib=&defattribvalue=&listIndex=4 Set them off center. This room is too casual for a formal symmetrical treatment. (If you must do a starburst, hanging 30% of the distance from the edge would be more refreshing than plunking it smack in the middle.)
char says
looking again and reading the other posts – I think an 50’s abstract print, don’t hang it just prop it up – definitely whatever you do try to match the earthtone colors – maybe something ceramic or mosaic to add more and contrasting texture
Peter says
On the wall above the sofa are two Rothko prints one in green, one in saphron framed as canvases. So we kind of have the abstract art angle covered. We were thinkiing of replacing it with a single five foot long Pollack because that would complement the branches on the trees outside the windows going in all different directions.