What would you do with this fireplace?

[Flora73]

I much prefer the look of a chimney breast with a mantelpiece, and probably a mirror over it. Could this be achieved with the fireplace I have? Or is it a sacrilege to get rid of this?

Posting a pic might help.

I think the picture is still pending! I’ll try posting again. Sorry!

This is the fireplace! Fingers crossed it works this time

Leave it as it is.

OP, it’s not the right sort of fireplace for what you want.

I like that fireplace.

I think it's lovely. How old is the property?

Gorgeous fireplace!
Is it in keeping with the rest of the property?

I'd keep it

What previous posters have said. Fireplace is lovely. I assume cottage or similar? Sounds like you want plaster and a more Georgian look. Depends on you style of house really.

It’s an old cotttage! I’ve never owned an old house before so I’m not sure if this is a piece worth keeping.

I’m with you, I don’t like it either. It’s a pretty big standard fireplace and the proportions are all wrong. It dominates the room and makes it feel small. I would get rid (log burners are highly polluting), and pick something you’re going to enjoy looking at. It’s pointless keeping something if you hate it.

This is what I have now, which o love.

Exactly! It does dominate the room. But I’m not sure how I can get rid of it. Is the chimney breast behind the brickwork?

It looks like the plasterwork has been stripped back to reveal the brickwork. You could have it plastered over again, add a mantlepiece or a surround.

I’d either plaster the front leaving the inside brick and put a raised hearth in. Mirror over, no mantlepiece. Or, take the stove out and put whatever type of fireplace with mantle piece you want in there.

How old is the property?

The chimney breast IS the brickwork.

I love it and think it's perfect for a cottage.

You could just add a mantle shelf above the opening and hang a mirror on the wall.
Or plaster the wall and do the above.
Or plaster the wall and put a fire surround to suit your tastes.

What would your ideal be?

Was just about to say this.

Ours looked like that when it was first uncovered when we took the house back to brick. The brick wasn’t in the best condition so we had it plastered. The easiest option was to have it squared off. I would have loved to have kept it brick or brick slippped it, but we couldn’t afford it. It was actually just all plastered over before we took off all the old plaster, we didn’t think it would be that big of a space.

its now a large rectangle with an oak beam.

(photo was mid renovation)

We have nice tiles on the inside now and one of those fake electric look log burners. I’ve had a real log burner in a previous house and didn’t like it, so went with fake.

I think my ideal would be a standard chimney breast with fire underneath and a mantelpiece above. But maybe I need to live with it first!

I don't like the exposed brick look either @Flora73.

At our last house (a 400 year old converted mill that wasn't listed) we had similar in our kitchen and imo it sucked the light out of the room.

We wanted to brighten it up, but in case a future owner preferred the brick, DH battened the chimney breast, plasterboarded and skimmed before hanging wallpaper.

Pics attached.....

That’s what I would like to do! Is it just a case of plastering over the brickwork?

If you want it covered up don’t plaster the brickwork
Do as @LibertyLily has stated
Batten out and plasterboard with the mantel supported off the battens

That way Youre not plastering straight over the bricks and that lovely brick arch

Its beautiful. Work with it!

Yes two friends and one family member have done this in old cottages. Family did it with an old piece of a ships beam that an old friend of ours had.

Friends used rustic beams as mantel shelf.

It needs to be natural wood though, not painted.

"Shaped Oak Fireplace Beam – Real Beams" https://realbeams.co.uk/products/shaped-oak-beam?srsltid=AfmBOoqFXxbtMvG776Uumb34oTluE4nElg4ZVm8FXeSwQpDEdBusuF09