Your Guide To Fireplace Mantelpieces and Surrounds Shopping With eBay
When it comes to building character in a room, there's nothing more dramatic than a well-designed fireplace. Whether you have a traditional working fireplace or a modern gas appliance when you walk into a room your eye will instantly be drawn to the fireplace. Find various fireplace mantle pieces and surrounds suited for all styles of interior decor.
Mantelpiece buying guide
No matter if you plan on installing a new fire, or are making a few home improvements, whatever design you choose you'll want to ensure you do your fireplace justice. Popular brands including Adam, Inglenook, Gallery and Stovax can help you achieve the look you desire. Here’s what you need to know first.
What is a mantelpiece?
A mantel or mantelpiece, which is also called a chimneypiece, originated in medieval times, and then it was a hood that went over a fire grate to catch smoke, preventing it from entering the room and diverting the smoke back into the chimney.
Today, the term refers to the frame around the fireplace, which can be decorated with intricate designs that go all the way to the ceiling. Although it was both artistic and practical back in the day, if you are wondering “what is the purpose of a mantelpiece” today, it’s just more of a decorative feature that’s used as a bonus shelf for displaying photos and ornaments.
What to put on a mantelpiece?
It’s up to you what you want on your mantlepiece and there’s no definitive answer. Most people put up picture frames or candlesticks, but you might want to include statues, vases, clocks, paintings, and mirrors, or even plants. The options are only limited by the size of your mantel.
When choosing a mantelpiece
When choosing a new fireplace mantelpiece or surround it is important to decide which style you would like to emulate, from antique, art deco and art nouveau to traditional, contemporary, and modern styles.
With hundreds of options to choose from you can have your new fire mantelpiece and surround made from a variety of materials, including timeless marble mantels and stone designs, a wooden mantelpiece, or metals such as steel, copper, bronze and cast iron mantels. If you'd like to update your fireplace in keeping with the period in which your property was built, marble was a stone favoured during the Regency and Georgian periods, whereas metal units look best in a modern home.
You can also take your pick from a choice of woods including ash, mahogany, oak, and pine. The type of wood you choose will depend on your budget and décor. Cheaper woods, such as pine, can provide a good base for painting or staining, while rich carved mahogany can add instant luxury to your fireplace.
If you have a country theme to your décor or are working with a small space such as a study, wood may be a popular material choice. Properties from the Victorian era tend to feature wood and ceramic fireplaces and surrounds.
Depending on the type of finish you're looking for you'll find several handmade pieces available. If you'd like something that will be easy to maintain, ceramic, brick, slate, granite and metals are relatively low maintenance. Start shopping today and see what you can find.