Each fire has its place

In the middle of the stairs I decided to take a sanity break and make the drawing room fireplace. 

I have tried my hand at two fireplaces previously and fairly enjoyed the process although they were copies of existing ones for a specific project that is still in the works. I didn't finish them as they needed to be painted within the decor but here they are as I left them. The surrounding moldings were taken from an old frame ( molded and cast in resin ) the hearth I found on EBay and the firedogs were the ones I showed the other day. The central motif I carved from airclay. The companion set I don't remember but probably Etsy.

 This was a simpler one to make. I made the insert incorporating a small metal fender and painting it all black. 

This is my inspiration, it comes from Jamb in London who have an amazing line in old and repro fireplaces as well as many gorgeous antiques. The style is quite plain 18 th century Georgian. 

 These two fireplaces are also from Jamb and show the marbling that I wanted to use on mine with some tweaking. 

 Here I began drawing up the proportions for the Ramsay House drawing room fireplace.

 I wanted a fairly plain fireplace as the room was going to be busy. I had purchased a ready made ornate georgian fireplace in resin early on and although I was pleased with it, I had seen it so often in other houses. Besides new fireplace=challenge right !  

 As much as I dislike those cut down frame fireplaces this frame found the other day had the right molding and more or less the right scale so I decided to use it. It could always be discarded and start over so no problem.

 I used some birch ply to make the fireplace wall as it will be proud of the main wall by 3 cms plus the depth of the fireplace. This gives me room for the hearth without eating into the neighbouring hallway.

 The top molding was tricky as I had to make two 45 ° angles at each end but my table saw with a jig managed it fairly well. I made chunky bases in wood scraps and here I set it against the opening. It turned out that wood in this frame was quite 'open' and needed a bit of filling, it also repelled slightly the first coats of F&B paint so I had to try another brand of base mat white. 

Here is the filled mantle rubbed down and looking quite nice if the room was going to be in a different style ! Sort of Swedish.

 Building the back hearth in scrap wood as it will not be seen. I glued the whole construction onto a heavy piece of Kraft card to keep it stable, easy to cut away later. I used balsa strips on each side to strengthen the boxing.

 Two coats of mat white later and insering a 'slate' trim Inside to contrast. This trim with be glued in place at the end before assembly. 

 This is the second time I have used eggbox bricks and this time I managed to get them glued to my fingers but not to the wood for some reason but in the end it worked. I did the sides and back before assembly even after painting. 

 I gave the whole piece a coat of off white then sort of washed it down with a mix of Paynes Grey, Dark Umber, Ochre mixed with white. I then dry brushed some darker mix over the center and in between many bricks. I add here that this fireplace will be profile in the room and no one will actually see all this ! Still its fun. The base hearth stone is wood and will be more or less flush with the wooden flooring in the finished room. 

 Now talk about sight unseen ! This is the totally hidden back that will be glued against the supporting wall between the drawing room and the hallway. I use gummed kraft tape, the sort that framers use. As usual I have to be neat. At college my teachers used to say that my clothes could be worn inside out ! 

 I couldn't resist a scene before marbling. I added some chopped wood, the grate which will be electified for another room as the scale is wrong here so I will source another, probably from Sue Cook. The firedogs are the same as before and the horse painting was taken from a sales catlogue, glued to card and framed with some kraft tape. Voila !! update soon on the finished mantle.