The fireplace in our dining room is a strange kind of beast. It was a gas fire attached to the wall with a to-orange pine fire surround also attached to the wall. There was no backing of any description so the gap between the fire and the surround was just plain wall, painted cream to look like a backplate. The previous owners had planned to tile the hearth and so the plinths (is that the right term?) of the surround had been raised to make room for the tiles, which were never laid.
So much, so wrong!
The pine surround was handmade and the fire was a good one so I wanted to keep them both if possible. I rather liked the existing grey stone hearth so we had the plinths (still not sure!) lowered to sit on the stone.
I didn't want any orange pine so paint the wood gloss white. Nice and crisp against the Gregory's Den walls.
The wall between the wood and the fireplace caused endless discussions (in my head!). Should it be the greyish colour of the walls? Or white to match the mantelpiece? Or...or.... *head explodes*
I decided on matte black and it's a choice that I'm soooo glad I plumped for. This is a room that we may structurally alter in the future so I was keen not to do work that we would then have to undo in the medium term. Often, that can mean ending up compromising but in this case it was a very workable solution. Hurrah!!
I'm linking this post to Metamophosis Monday and The Diy Showoff.. Come and join in!
