How to make your fireplace stand out - Guest Post

When it comes to our home's interiors, many people don't make the most of a room's internal features. Whether it's sash windows, cornicing or a traditional fireplace, making a room's focal point can not only make your home valuable and nicer to live in, they also make it more sellable too.

Most homes either have a fireplace installed or have the potential to have a fireplace fitted, so with that in mind here's some ideas for you to think about to make it stand out.

1 - Get the right floor

The flooring surrounding your fireplace can really help make it stand out. Components such as the hearth (which is also known as the fireplace floor) can also be used to accentuate your fireplace. It can be made of various materials such as tile, brick, cement or flagstones. With that in mind, you need to pick the right flooring depending on the style of your fireplace and its hearth.

Tiles work particularly well when it comes to accentuating your fireplace - especially those which are laid diagonally, rather than vertically.These Karndean flooring tiles can be laid to meet the fireplace either side of the surround, and continuing upward. In this way your fireplace will not only draw people’s eyes towards it as a main focal feature of your room, it will create a modern and contemporary feel. But remember, be sure to use colours that are already in place in the room to keep the design as seamless as possible.

2 - Paint your fireplace

Another way of making your fireplace into a stunning focal point is to paint the fire surround. Painting it a neutral colour will blend easily with a wide variety of home decors and styles and give your fireplace a new lease of life. Brick-Anew's Paint Kits come in many different colors - from Twilight Taupe for that natural sandstone feel (perfect for beige colour tones) to Misty Harbor for the contemporary room (perfect for black and grey) and furniture.

3 - Buy some art artwork

Many homes overlook the power of interesting artwork in accentuating features of a room. The space above your fireplace is critical and nothing will draw more attention towards it like a beautiful piece of art. A bold painting will pull together decorative aspects of a room - and get people talking too. But you don't need to splash out on an expensive piece of art - you could even place interesting objects inside it to maintain it as a focal point.

4 - Add a screen

Fireplace screens are more than just a mesh to cover your fireplace - they can help add safety to your room by giving it a decorative look too. You can buy fireplace screens in a wide variety of different shapes and sizes, so measure up your fireplace before you head to the shops.

5 - Treat the wall surround

Finally, you can help make your fireplace a focal point by treating the wall behind it. Instead of painting or wallpapering it, you could treat the wall itself with a textured wall effect to add an extra dimension to your wall. If you have a working fireplace, a textured effect will add a glow which will dance along the cladding.

Guest Post By: Liam Tarry