Arts & Crafts Fireplace Surround

This is a project I did for clients. They live in the historic district in Billings, MT. They have a beautiful old home built in the late 1920’s, so it has a very Arts & Crafts feel.

The old fireplace had an ancient gas burner and the clients purchased a new gas insert fireplace. The new gas insert did not actually fit back into the existing fireplace opening and so it stuck out past the face of the surround almost 1-1/2".

Besides the fact that the new gas insert did not fit properly, the overall design of the original fireplace surround and mantle was pretty horrible. The original fireplace is the green & brick version clearly marked “Original Fireplace.” I wouldn’t want anybody thinking I designed and built that hideous thing.

I took some cues from the black fireplace insert and used black slate as the hearth and immediate area around the fireplace to meet code for clearance. Then to make it all pop I painted the wood surround white.

I gave them a few different designs, a couple had arches over the fireplace and a couple did not. They liked one of the arch versions best.

Check out those tight paint lines! I get just as excited about paint-grade projects as I do “fine woodworking” projects. It think it is a great show of skill and knowledge to get tight paint lines and a smooth paint job.

It was a great project the led to a lot more work with these clients.

Hope you enjoy!