This is something we have to do before we can lay the laminate flooring, so we need some un-biased opinions here! Can you help us? Check out the photos below - you can kind of get an idea of how it's set up. Tell us how far you think we should build out the hearth on the sides & front. For more frame of reference to location, etc., click here and look for the fireplace.
We are planning to sell this house in about 5 years, so we want to know what the majority rule is for a couple of items. The fireplace is one. The SECOND item is this - do you prefer hard floors throughout or carpet for the bedrooms and hard floors in the rest of the house?
PLEASE leave your comments, opinions, and ideas!!
9 comments:
I don't really haave a comment about your fireplace - I don't think it is really that strange I would just surround it with a metal mesh protection. As for floors we had hardwood in Buffalo on the downstairs (dining room, living room) and we absolutely loved it for clean up and for the kids. Then we had carpet up the stairs and into the bedrooms (great for playing area. If I ever had to choose again I would do the same. Our kitchen was lemolium - hated it, it wouldn't have been so bad if it would have been a darker color though. We used peel and stick tile here in Fl on our kitchen it looks nice and is cheap.
I don't know anything about fireplaces other than that I've always wanted one. About the flooring, we have hardwood floors in the bedrooms, and carpet everywhere else. I like this setup, except I would prefer hardwood in the dining room instead of carpet -- little kids throwing food on floor -- Bad combination. Anyways, I love to be bearfoot, so having carpet in the rest of the house helps keep the toes warm.
Jenny-- you are doing such a great job with your house!! Does the fireplace have to be opened all the way around like that? If not-- could you close off 2 sides and just have one side open-- then cover all the brick with stone facing. At least that way-- you wouldn't have to mess with the hearth all the way around.
We have a fireplace now (1 sided) and my parents old house had a fireplace (2 sided). I too say go with the metal "curtain" and don't worry about making the hearth much bigger. You'll want the curtain regardless so ashes don't fly out, kids put their hands in etc.
Also, I like carpet in the bed rooms.
Your fireplace is quite unusual!! It's hard to tell from the pics where the main part of it faces. I think I would do a mesh screen, but also add glass doors to it. A fixed glass pane on the tow smaller sides & doors for the longer side. I think that would help dress it up a little. As for the hearth, maybe a simple & only build one in front of the main side (where the doors would be). I would use neutral tiles-either one row of large ones or a couple rows of small ones. They would come out 8-12 inches. Big enough for the pile of wood to sit on.
About the flooring, I like what some others said. Hardwood-for living areas (the kitchen/dining area a must or at least linoleum!). Carpet for bedrooms.
Okay, since I have a good frame of reference, being that I have been in your house, I would only extend the hearth out very little if at all. I think you should enclose the area with something decorative that also serves to keep things clean and safe. I am thought of glass, but what if it gets too hot? Maybe they make it so it doesn't. I know the mesh curtain would work too, but I would put one of those pretty wrought iron screens in front of it to dress it up. Here I just looked up a site while thinking of it: http://www.woodlanddirect.com/Fireplace-Accessories/Three-Panel-Screens There are other sites to look through different accessories too. About the floors. I would definitely do the laminate in your kitchen and living room area and maybe even the hallway. I would do carpet in your bedrooms and tile or linoleum in your bathroom. This is basically decribing our house in SC. :-) It worked well.
You and Andrea have interesting fire place issues! :-) I'm not going to comment on yours since I can't see the whole room.
In regards to flooring...hardwoods throughout and carpet in the bedrooms only. That is how I like it! :-)
Wow, that is definitely an interesting fireplace! I think the other commenters have given good ideas for that, and I agree with the carpet in the bedrooms/hard floors in the rest of the house comments, too. My hubby prefers ceramic tile over linoleum, so that's what we have in the kitchen, bathrooms, laundry and entry areas. Then the living room floor will eventually be hardwood (right now it's just plywood :)), and the office is also hardwood. We are still going back and forth between hardwood or carpet for the kids' room--I vote for carpet because I think it makes the bedrooms feel cozier, but we will see.
I don't have any suggestions for the fireplace since i haven't seen it, but for the flooring---definitely hardwood in the kitchen and dining rooms!(easy to clean with those kids messes) we have had hardwood in the living room as well as carpet and i like it both ways (Wallen St had hardwoods everywhere including bedrooms, and Blackhurst just in entry way, kitchen, dining, and 1/2 bath) if the dining room opens right into the living room, i would do hardwood and get a big area rug--that is what we have now in MN (found a great area rug at WalMart) as far as bedrooms goes, have had both carpet and wood, and like the carpet (although, wood is easier to clean than carpet)... as far as your bathroom, i think i would do tile...basically because of the tub/shower---
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