Get the Most out of Your Fireplace during the Warmer Months
Just because winter is over, you don’t have to stop enjoying your fireplace. You have a bunch of great options for decorating the fireplace inside and out and making the wall area surrounding the appliance come alive.
We’ll look at some of those options, but first, here are five tasks to accomplish before decorating.
- Have a safety inspection performed on your fireplace and chimney.
- Schedule repairs to fix any problems the inspection turns up – do this sooner rather than later in the year when chimney crews are super-busy.
- Have your chimney cleaned to remove flammable creosote and outside debris.
- Remember to close the damper to keep inside air from exchanging with outside air.
- Clean your firebox to remove all ash, soot residue, creosote deposits and smoke stains.
Design ideas for your fireplace & fireplace area
Your fireplace is a big attention-getter when it’s in use, but it can attract just as much attention in the off-season with these ideas.
Decorate the firebox: You can add candles, lights, plants and just about anything else to highlight and beautify a clean, empty firebox.
Cover the firebox: If you don’t want anything in the firebox, cover it with a curtain, hanging beads or a portrait or painting.
Put your mantel to good use: If you don’t have a lovely mantel over your fireplace, consider installing one. Mantels are ideal settings for antiques, kids’ artwork, floral arrangements, spring- and summer-themed decorations, clocks, mirrors, family photos and other attractive items.
Add a fireplace surround: Fireplace surrounds can be purchased pre-made or custom built. They can cover a narrow area around the fireplace, or they can take up an entire wall. You can have your surround made from wood, natural or faux stone, brick, paneling and other materials.
Enhance your fireplace wall: Whether or not you add a surround, you can bring lots of beauty to the wall in which the fireplace sits. Consider tasteful shelving, hanging tapestries, framed posters of landscapes or city skylines, ground-level or suspended potted plants and anything else that you happen to find attractive and engaging.
Think color: If your home has a dominant color scheme, keep this in mind when decorating your fireplace and surrounding area. Whether you use matching or contrasting colors, the idea is for this section of your room to be a logical part of everything else.
Get creative: The best thing about any home-decorating or upgrade project is, there are no rules you must follow. What makes sense to you is what you should do. Enlist the help of your family for ideas, and create something that’s truly a one-of-a-kind masterpiece.
Fluesbrothers Chimney & Fireplace of Kansas City, KS, can’t help you with your fireplace-area decorating, but we can help in other important ways.
Our team of CSIA-certified technicians provides chimney sweep services, licensed chimney inspections and all repairs to chimneys, fireplaces and system components. We serve the greater Kansas City, KS/Kansas City, MO, region with the singular goal of keeping you and your family safe and comfortable.
Schedule a fireplace and chimney cleaning or inspection, learn more about our services and get your questions answered by calling (913) 236-7141.
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