alcove storage when your mantelpiece 'wraps around' the chimney breast (ifyswim)

[slackcabbage]

Just wondered if anyone had tackled this ...

My fireplace (1910) does not just sit on the front of the chimney breast, it extends around it on both sides.

I want to build much needed shelving/storage cupboards in the alcoves, but how do you do this in this instance without ruining the elegance of it?

Does anyone have any experience of this please. I'd be truly grateful for any pointers/advice.

Anyone?

Duh. Sorry. What I mean is that the mantelpiece wraps around the chimney breast. Not explaining this very well.

I know what you mean I think.

Are you able to possibly make the shelves look like an extension of the mantelpiece and then do increments up the wall? Does that make sense...

Ours wrap around too and we are having built in alcove units, but not until next month, so can't tell you how's e look until then!

shelves that are shallow so they do not stick out as far as the mantel.

Thank you for the replies!

Juney I'll have a look and try and imagine a shelf the same height as the mantelpiece. (It is very high though so would have to have shelves below as well.) I have a hunch it would look better with a gap between the two though. Oh, I dunno!

Marmite is there going to be a gap between mantel and alcove shelf? HOpe they work out how you want ! Would be v. interested to hear!

Piglet thank you. Mantel quite shallow so will go and study/ponder further.

The main prob is that you can't just put shelves across the whole width of the alcoves ifyswim, because the mantelpiece is 'in the way' (sort of). So you have to recreate an artificial frame within the alcove I think. Which is a bummer (waste of space).

I'm wondering if a free-standing pair of antique cabinets (glass top, drawers below) might be better but expensive and a bit dated. Also, might end up with a piece of furniture in every alcove if I'm not careful (there are two rooms with two fireplaces with doors in between) and that can look too cluttered.

Relatively narrow rooms with tall ceilings and shelving painted the same colour as wall creates a more spacious impression.

Can't find any inspiration on Internet ... .

I'm struggling to picture your mantelpiece, but if you created the frame so that there wasn't an open shelf visible behind the mantelpiece could you not still leave the shelf behind it open. So you could tuck some little items behind the flat front piece?

We had a joiner build an alcove cupboard for us in mdf which we painted and it looks ok, is huge storage compared to a free standing unit and was quite cheap due to the materials.

If you went for a cupboard at the bottom with shelves above you could box in behind the area where the mantle wraps round and have smaller doors. Might make access a little difficult but you would still have the storage space?

Thanks for the suggestion betold I think I know what you are describing. I have a suspicion that painted MDF is going to be the way to go but just don't know how to 'mesh it in' with mantelpiece as is.

Will keep pondering!

Maybe get a joiner in and ask for their suggestions - they might have more ideas!

Yes, I think you are right! I have other work for a carpenter to measure up so he can look at that at the same time! Thanks again!

Found this picture here but still think gap between shelving and mantelpiece/chimney breast looks a bit odd

Or is it just me?

I quite like that picture. You can see that there is an equal gap between the unit and the wall as there is between the unit and chimney breast. So the top bit is centred on the bottom bit. I do think it might look better with an even gap all the way down though. I particularly like that they have picked a colour from the painting over the fireplace and used that in the gap. The cabinets at the bottom could be a little less heavy/clumpy too, but perhaps they were going for a solid look.

An alternative might be a fitted bottom bit and then open shelves above with one shelf lining up with the mantelpiece. Is your mantelpiece square edged or does it have a curve or decorative edge?

What material is your fire surround? Does the wrap-around affect just the shelf or the whole of the mantelpiece?
I agree with PJ that you should have quite shallow shelves and that this and painting the new storage in with the rest of the walls, will diminish any impact and lessen the 'strangeness' of the gaps.
A quirky piece of furniture topped with alcove shelves, above mantel shelf level could look good. More modern than the 'display cabinet' look.

OOoh, thanks for more replies! Much appreciated!

SongsaboutB thank you for your (v expert sounding!) insights. Good tip about matching wall colour with colours in over-fireplace painting ...agree about clunky cupboards too. We would have to do it differently because we have more vertical space than horizontal but it's a good starting point. Also, given height of our ceilings, our cupboards would not go up all the way to the mouldings.

Have thought about 'one shelf being on the same level as the mantelpiece solution' but proportions would have to be measured very carefully as mantelpiece is at (my) shoulder height. And I really want some closed cupboards underneath because we badly need proper storage and don't want everything on display.

7to25 (is that the ages of your dc btw? (nosy emoticon) Wow if so! ) Thanks for your helpful tips about colour/shape - have noted. Fireplace is marble and the mantelpiece (also marble) wraps around the entire chimney breast.

Agree, quirky might indeed be the way to go ... . I'm lucky that the basic size and shapes of the rooms are quite elegant (if desperately impractical) so could get away with something quite unusual ie quirky suits this falling down house (more shabby than chic atm!).

Watched Kirsty on her 'furnish' for free programme last night - appropriate viewing for us owing to our budget - but I am sadly lacking in the DIY skills department, and labour here + insurance is eye-wateringly £££££££

Not much to add but yes about the ages....now 10to28
I had the idea that you should mock up any plans in cardboard (boxes) because really the only way to do this is by eye.

I think ours will bd as pigletjohn says - yhd cupboards at yhd bottom stick out further than the shelves, which will bd behind the mantelpiece. Ours will be painted MDF and not cheap unfortunately. I have attached photo of similar to the plan for ours, slyly although the mantelpiece on this is not wide/wrap around like ours is.

Oops sorry about typos

7 to 25 that's a good suggestion. (Esp as I'm not very good at visualising things from paper plans)

I really like that photo Marmite - I'd be happy if mine worked out as well as that! Noted how first shelf lines up with height of mantelpiece! Good luck with all the building!