47 Living Room Fireplace Ideas for Cozy and Chic Interiors
The weather outside may be frightful, but these living room fireplace ideas are simply delightful. Admittedly, even those living in a temperate climate know that beautiful fireplace design makes a powerful first impression, regardless if you’re cozying up fireside in an armchair with a cup of cocoa or warming up a small living room on a chilly summer evening. This eye-catching design element can add major style (and extra heat) to a living room. A fireplace provides an instant focal point and frequently gives the space symmetry, as well as a useful perch to display art and other home decor.
Interior designers are seeing a shift from simple wood frames to emphasis on the fireplace surround. Bynn Esmond, principal designer of Bynn Esmond Designs in San Carlos, California, is also seeing plastered European-style fireplaces. “It adds another level of interest, texture, and a modern look that carry with it a traditional symbol of comfort, especially if it’s an open log-burning fireplace where you can hear the crackle of the flame,” she says. Alice Cheng, principal designer of Shialice Spatial Design in Los Angeles notes social media is influencing the popularity of “marbles with dramatic and fluid movement.”
Whether you’re designing around a traditional fireplace or something that suits contemporary living, know that ambiance is of the utmost importance. “In a large room, putting a too-tiny fireplace may [make it] look lost,” says Swati Goorha, principal of Swati Goorha Designs in New Providence, New Jersey, who urges clients to consider the scale of the room. If your existing room design contradicts this advice, you can consider adding a fireplace surround.
For inspiration, here 47 living room fireplace ideas from recent design projects and AD archives that range from mod midcentury woodstoves to ornate mantels to gorgeous black-and-white marble fireplace surrounds.
Photo: Jenna Peffley1/47Tropical living
Looking for fun living room fireplace ideas? Terra-cotta and green set the backdrop for the tropical-inspired living space in this maximalist living room in designer Justina Blakeney’s home—bringing a beachy sensibility that is definitely all about cozy. In this fireplace design, the stone is painted a muted peach and the arch over the fireplace and space surrounding the hearth is accented by plants, vases, and lion-inspired sculptures. Plus, the fireplace itself is flanked by bookcases filled with more sculptures, plants, and tchotchkes for more over-the-top fun.
Photo: Emily Gilbert2/47Amp up the ambiance
Talk about making a statement, with flickering flames in a modern fireplace that is perfect for contemporary living. “Fireplaces surrounded by walls clad in marble, or Venetian fluted plaster add visual interest,” New York designer Daun Curry says. “Here, oversized sconces and dramatic artwork complete the look.” As Curry points out, fireplaces can be beneficial to the living room, not only for the additional warmth they emit, but also the ambiance and nostalgia that comes along with it.
Photo: Bruce Damonte3/47Sculptural sass
Designer Alison Damonte in San Francisco wows with this cast-concrete midcentury fireplace original to a Berkeley home. “It was created by Bay Area artist Martin Metal and is an extraordinary example of someone treating a fireplace as art,” she says, stressing that her job here was to let the fireplace be the star of the show. “I paired it with sculptural pieces, like the curving vintage coffee table, and textures, like the thick, shaggy rug from Stark,” she continues, noting that there’s not a lot of color here—only the yellow of the Lawson-Fenning upholstered chairs—“just a lot of sculptural echoes, like the cactus, which is a living artwork itself.”
Photo: Stacy Zarin Goldberg4/47Paint on the veining
This living room fireplace idea is equal parts functional and aesthetically pleasing. Christian Daw, interior design ambassador for Polywood) and owner of Christian Daw Design in Washington D.C., certainly made the fireplace shine in this Logan Circle rowhouse. For the “temporary space shared by two professional sisters, we brought in feminine shapes and floral patterns alongside moody fabrics and French antiques,” Daw says. “As a rental, we opted to paint the plain wood surround to look like marble with perfect amethyst veining to complement the mural work in an adjoining dining room.”
Photo: Flairhunter5/47Solid slab
Stephanie Hunt, owner and lead designer of Flairhunter, with offices in Park City and Los Angeles, is all about the solid slab stone framing the fireplace, without an actual fireplace mantel. “We finished the stone with a simple frame made from the same stone,” Hunt says. To make the living room fireplace even more interesting, Hunt clustered pillar candles at varying heights, installed a Hunt Slonem original, and flanked it with brass sconces from Nickey Kehoe. The custom linen drapery is placed on a rod flank, so the entire wall feels cohesive while highlighting the stone and art. You too can recreate home decor that doesn’t focus on a functioning living room fireplace by DIY’ing the design idea with pillar candles.
Photo: John Granen6/47Balance game
Anna Popov, founder of Interiors by Popov in Seattle emphasizes that scale and proportion are essential elements to consider in fireplace design. “The design of the fireplace must also suit the architecture—it’s a prominent feature,” she says. “It’s also important to consider the function of the room. In contemporary interiors, living rooms have become less like formal sitting areas and often serve double duty as family rooms.” If the fireplace is within immediate proximity to the TV, the latter should blend into the design with an eye toward aesthetics and balance, she adds, noting that her firm often installs bespoke built-in casework in order to showcase the fireplace and bring less attention to media components.
Photo: Courtesy of ballonSTUDIO7/47White wall for the win
Sabra Ballon of BallonStudio in San Francisco says that this chic living room fireplace was designed by their frequent collaborator, Butler Armsden Architects. “It is a dark, rectangular recess in a large, contrasting, white wall,” she says. “This fireplace is raised, so you can see and enjoy the warm glow from a distance, even from the kitchen. The hearth is a thick, white-veined, black marble bench that warms up with the heat of the fire. It provides for additional seating for guests, so they can get cozy right next to the hot flames.” As Ballon notes, the art on the wall repeats the minimal palette of black and white, yet the curved lines create a counterpoint to the long horizontal line of the bench. “The vertical arrangement of the three frames draws the eye up to the ceiling, and you realize that the whole wall is actually acting as the fireplace surround,” Ballon adds.
Photo: Dale Wilcox8/47Tranquil lines
This minimalist fireplace still makes quite the statement, with serious zen energy to boot. “For this town house project, we were working with color, contrast, and texture, which all come together at the fireplace in the living room,” says Andrew Ashey, principal, AAmp Studio, with offices in Portland, Maine, and Toronto. “The client is an avid quilter, so we introduced zones of textured tile throughout the project, such as the fireplace,” he continues, further commenting that this is paired with a soft green wall and a bold black stair that leads up throughout the rest of the house.
Photo: Simon Upton9/47Fine tiles
Designed by homeowner and British designer Sophie Ashby, shades of yellows, oranges, and browns pop in front of this rectangular family room fireplace with fine tile work and a soothing beige fireplace mantel. With an eye-catching photograph above the fireplace, the hearth’s subdued tones let the portrait take center stage.
Photo: Decorilla10/47Rustic ruse
“Elevating a fireplace in a transitional space is always a challenge because clients find themselves overwhelmed by all the rustic and more traditional options,” says Devin Shaffer, lead interior designer at New York–based Decorilla, adding that a great way to bring a more modern spin is to incorporate a mirror above the fireplace mantel. “We did it brilliantly here by adding a rustic floating mantel that pulls up the natural warmth of the fireplace’s hearth and then starkly contrasts it with a semi-glam mirror to provide brightness and a more modern openness to the room.”
Photo: Erika Bierman11/47Outdoor living
“Outdoor fireplaces allow for outdoor entertaining year-round,” says Susan Masterman, owner and principal architect in Los Angeles. If you’re looking for outdoor living room fireplace inspiration, a platform surrounding the hearth creates a sense of depth that enhances the outdoor lounging space and separates people from the structure itself.
COPYRIGHT ©2013 THE CONDÉ NAST PUBLICATIONS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.12/47Stack with stone
The fireplace wall is lined with Texas shell stone for a soft, almost ethereal façade that makes this California living room by Backen, Gillam & Kroeger Architects and decorated by April Powers a complete standout.
Photo: Ryan Garvin/@ryangarvin13/47Tuscan tune
Mary Beth Christopher of MBC Interior Design, an interior design firm based in Manhattan Beach, California, says that double-height ceilings, sunken rooms, and stacked stone are a few of the dated features commonly found in Tuscan-style architecture throughout Southern California. Hence, makeover time. “The fireplace was too small for the space, given the ceiling height, and time-stamped the room from the ’90s,” Christopher says. “By doubling the size of the firebox, removing the raised hearth and stacked stone, this fireplace transforms the space from dated to timeless.” Other nice specs of this elegant living room fireplace? The hand-plastered fireplace mantel and chimney and the custom forged screen.
Photo: Decorilla14/47Slate style
In this rustic living area, Shaffer appreciates that natural elements such as wood and slate complement the warmth a living room fireplace brings to this masculine space filled with masterful interior design flourishes. “For this living space, hand-hewn ceiling beams and floating shelves are used in a way that builds a connection with the hearth,” he says. “Our designers did this subtly by maintaining a clean palette of finishes and I love this because it’s likely that anyone in the room would feel the space subconsciously—not knowing or having to ask why.”
Photo: Erika Bierman15/47Add plaster
Masterman gave this old Mansard living room fireplace a new vertical surround. “Plaster is the hero in this house,” she says. There’s something about this laid-back yet refined space that makes lazying around by the fireplace with a good book so endearing. Speaking of which, built-in bookcases are always an excellent design choice.
Photo: Ngoc Minh Ngo16/47Off-center
This design collaboration between designer Bastien Halard and homeowner Dee Salomon shows that a fireplace doesn’t always need to be in the center of a living room. If you’re working with a fireplace that’s structurally built off-center in a living room space, use it to create designated areas, whether for reading, dining, or entertaining.
© Condé Nast17/47Stack up firewood
At the Malibu home of actor Patrick Dempsey, custom-made sofas upholstered in a Great Plains fabric stand before the living room fireplace, which is surmounted by a Waldo’s Designs mirror. The firewood flanking the fireplace is a statement in and of itself.
Photo: Albert Vecerka/Esto, courtesy Andrew Franz Architect18/47Double the fun
New York–based architect Andrew Franz is a fan of this centrally located double-sided brick fireplace with a shared hearth that allows one single wood-burning fire to be enjoyed from both the dining and the living room. “Fireplaces are no longer just one-directional designs as central gathering spaces but are often multidirectional assemblies that are shared by rooms and allow for less central positioning,” he says. “Open or glass-encased on two, three, or four sides, these multisided fireplaces can complement various styles, accenting contemporary, modern, traditional, and other designs.” An adjacent built-in nook that’s accessible from both sides holds logs for the fireplace. The shared firebox also required only one flue and less space, saving both money and floor area of this brick fireplace creation.
Photo: Bruce Damonte19/47Terrazzo surround
This fireplace was a collaboration between the architects Signum Architecture and Alison Damonte studio. The idea was to define more intimate spaces in what was a gorgeous but expansive indoor-outdoor living room in this Sonoma Valley home. Damonte conceived this fireplace as an area to gather and crafted a floating bench as a result. “It’s terrazzo slab paired with the blackened steel of the surround,” she says. “The seating on the end of the sectional sofa is turned toward the fireplace to make the grouping feel even cozier.”
Photo: Jenna Peffley20/47Use natural light
“A decorative fireplace can be the perfect centerpiece for a living room, adding endless warmth and a focal point for your space” says Julia Dempster, founder of Julia Dempster Design, Los Angeles. This light-filled living room is the perfect spot for a fireplace. During the day, the large windows allow tons of natural light to enter the space, while at night, the cozy fireplace provides warmth all year long. Adding built-in seating to either side of a fireplace is a great way to inject personality. Dempster painted the brick fireplace black, which instantly provided more depth to the room, and kept the white walls bright to provide a lovely contrast against the dark brick. Ceramic logs on a wrought-iron basket adds an earthy feel even when the fire isn’t lit. “This is a great way to style your fireplace throughout summer too,” says Dempster, who added a small, battery-operated directional light to illuminate the fireplace when it is not lit.
Photo: Decorilla21/47Avoid distractions
Shaffer firmly believes that a fireplace should be the focal point of the room. Although it’s easy to default to placing a television above the fireplace, it’s oftentimes a regrettable decision, if the screen ends up getting mounted unnaturally high, he says, adding that you can fix the problem with a sleek floor stand, which costs less than $150. This approach works even better in a room with a historical or traditional fireplace made of brick that would look tacky covered in cords.
Photo: Michael Mundy22/47Let color bring out detail
New York interior designer Phillip Thomas believes that paint is a powerful design tool with the ability to create architectural elements that can transform any room, including accentuating the details of a white fireplace mantel.
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Photo: Mike Van Tassell23/47Go low
Even if you think you don’t have room for a fireplace in a random nook in your living room, it may be possible if you go low and narrow. “This space was an odd and awkward corner for a TV cabinet, and our client wanted a fireplace,” Goorha says. “We created a modern fireplace and installed the television above it. The fireplace is covered in a thin stone veneer, giving it a modern vibe.”
Photo: Gordon Gregory24/47Enhance the marble
For fireplace ideas with a side of marble pizzazz in the living area, look no further. “In the formal living room, the drama of the fireplace is due largely to the saturation of the beautiful teal color that envelopes the entire room,” says Jennifer Stoner, president and principal designer of Jennifer Stoner Interiors, headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, adding that she has a soft sport for the fretwork detailing on the mantel header. “That same fretwork detail is also seen on their staircase,” she adds.
Photo: Gordon Gregory25/47Opt for an artsy TV
In the great room, Stoner designed a fireplace with a chunky trim over the fireplace mantel to suit their Samsung Frame TV. “If a space calls for a TV over the mantel, we always guide our clients to this TV, which projects artwork when the TV is not in use,” Stoner says. A pretty solution for anyone against the blackness of a screen.
If a TV above the fireplace is the goal (or the only place for it), always check the manufacturer’s specifications of your firebox to determine how much clearance you’ll need to protect your equipment, says Stoner, elaborating that the size and placement of a mantel shelf, which will help divert heat away from your TV, is also subject to code requirements and based on the materials you’re using. “Mantel surrounds and shelves that are made from wood or other combustible materials must be placed a set distance from the firebox for safety.”
Photo: Lauren Andersen/SenCreative26/47Patina the fireplace surround
In this home, Esmond says, the concept was to use the fireplace as an art piece to elevate the interior design of the living room. “I loved this idea because the homeowners are art collectors, and what a perfect way to give them their own unique art installation piece in the form of a fireplace. We would wrap the fireplace surround with hot steel and use patina chemicals to create the art,” Esmond says. “The metal gives off a modern vibe, and using chemicals to speed up the patina gives it movement, color, and a mysterious aura that is almost space-like,” Esmond elaborates, stating that they intentionally kept the space around the fireplace free of decor so that the focus was on the fireplace. “Even the furniture around [it] was kept minimal and modern,” she adds.
Photo: Simon Watson27/47Make it pop
A silkscreen portrait by Andy Warhol hangs above a stone mantel in the living room of decorative art dealers Laurence and Patrick Seguin’s Paris apartment.
Photo: Natasha Lee/@talktonatasha28/47Balance the built-ins
As Cheng highlights, a living room fireplace is a key architectural feature. For example, adding built-ins when possible to stretch out the proportions lengthwise keeps the fireplace from feeling like it’s floating in a large wall. “In a 100-year-old Colonial Revival bungalow, I kept to the language of the architecture, but added drama with a bold material—custom-cut Nero marble tiles—to center and anchor the space,” Cheng says. “It pulls the eye to it and balances out a room that has a lot of items in play—in this case, lots of kids’ toys and collected objects.”
Photo: John Magor29/47Brick all the way
If you’re seeking brick fireplace ideas, Stoner showcases how the façade can help balance the furnishing colors and quiet the room but still bestow a bit of a glam factor. The linear firebox was selected to create a sleeker contemporary fireplace, and it was finished with silver-leaf Ann Sacks brick tile from floor to ceiling for a dramatic visual element.
Photo: Gordon Gregory30/47Double-up
Even a minimalist fireplace can be a focal point. “The two-story great room features this dramatic two-sided fireplace as the focal point of the room,” says Stoner, who selected a linear direct-vent firebox to complement the contemporary details of this home’s architecture. The oversized metallic porcelain tile selected for the fireplace has an asymmetric starburst design, creating a nice textural element in the space.
Photo: Andrew Pitzer31/47Expand on a small fireplace
For a new build, Goorha added personality to the otherwise predictable living room. “The fireplace was too small for the space and was lost in the room with high ceilings.” Goorha exaggerated lines for the fireplace with wood trim and filled it in with stacked travertine, adding warmth and scale to the room. The result: a grounding center of attention for the space.
Photo: Mel Willis32/47Modern mantel
Bryan Durbin of Durbin Design and Sage Hill Interiors in Oklahoma City notes that this living room fireplace surrounded by natural elements, such as marble and wood, provides a sense of comfort and warmth while harmonizing with the rest of the space. “The combination of contrasting elements between the light stone and dark metal, along with the minimalist design, ensures that the hearth remains the focal point of the space without overly distracting the eye,” Durbin adds. “Gold and brass tones in the artifacts adjacent to the fireplace hearken to the dancing flames to create a subtle, cohesive coziness.”
Photo: Richard Powers33/47Balance with pink
A ceiling coated in Farrow & Ball’s Setting Plaster paint lends a blushing glow to the living room of Lee and Stuart Rolfe’s Seattle home, which was outfitted by designer Jeffrey Bilhuber. Grouped before the 18th-century Scottish mantel are a round cocktail table by Lucca Antiques and a custom-made lounge chair and sofas.
Photo: Roger Davies34/47Silvery sheen
In the Southern California home of designer Michael S. Smith and diplomat James Costos, an expanse of silvered mica panels over the fireplace offsets the living room’s travertine walls and floor.
Photo: Richard Powers35/47Monochromatic design
The fireplace is the centerpiece of the grand living room in a New Jersey estate renovated by architect Annabelle Selldorf and designer Matthew Frederick. Custom-made sofas in a George Smith fabric flank the cocktail table to bring the attention to the sitting area by the fire.
Photo: Miles Redd36/47Set up stools
Rift-sawn white-oak paneling lines the library of a California home designed by Miles Redd. Stools in a Moore & Giles leather stand before the fireplace for a cozy abode.
Photo: Pieter Estersohn37/47Blackened steel
The living room of an Aspen ski home renovated by design firm Atelier AM features an expansive fireplace surround of blackened steel and a custom-made sectional sofa covered in a Loro Piana cotton.
Photo: Ngoc Minh Ngo38/47Surround with chairs
In the living room of a São Paulo home designed by architect Isay Weinfeld, a quartet of vintage armchairs—by Ib Kofod-Larsen, foreground, and George Nakashima, rear—are gathered near a 1960s French fireplace. The twin side tables are by Paul McCobb, the fireplace wall is of stacked quartzite, and the ceiling and floor are sheathed in bleached hardwood.
© Condé Nast39/47Match furnishings
A living room in a Zurich home designed by Steven Gambrel features a fireplace with a marble mantel (one of a pair) from a 19th-century Philadelphia home. The Viennese Secessionist shelf system is from Jonathan Burden Antiques and echoes the style of the mantel.
COPYRIGHT ©2013 THE CONDÉ NAST PUBLICATIONS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.40/47X marks the spot
A Mark Hagen painting hangs above the fireplace in the living room of movie producer Avi Arad’s Malibu house, which was designed by Richard Hallberg and Barbara Wiseley. A pair of 17th-century French armchairs flanks a Formations cocktail table, and a sculptural Chinese root is displayed atop a pedestal.
COPYRIGHT ©2015 THE CONDÉ NAST PUBLICATIONS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.41/47Minimalist fireplace and art
In the living room of a Bridgehampton, New York, residence devised by architecture, interiors, and landscape firm Sawyer | Berson and decorator Randi Puccio, a Richard Pousette-Dart painting hangs above a minimalist fireplace.
COPYRIGHT ©2015 THE CONDÉ NAST PUBLICATIONS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.42/47Concrete chic
A concrete hearth is the centerpiece of the living room in a Washington State compound created by Olson Kundig Architects. With floor-to-ceiling windows all around, the fireplace is truly the focal point of the room.
COPYRIGHT ©2014 THE CONDÉ NAST PUBLICATIONS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.43/47Float it
A fireplace by Fireorb adds a mod vibe to the living room of a Hudson Valley, New York, home designed by architect Basil Walter and decorated by Poonam Khanna.
44/47Beige beauty
The living area of a Manhattan penthouse conceived by design firm Dufner Heighes features an eye-catching fireplace. A pair of Michael Berman Limited club chairs from Profiles and a Holly Hunt sofa upholstered in a Holland & Sherry wool mohair surround an Ado Chale cocktail table, completing the look.
COPYRIGHT ©2012 THE CONDÉ NAST PUBLICATIONS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.45/47Better than shiplap
A fireplace surround made of board-formed concrete anchors the living room in the Beverly Hills home of fashion designer Jenni Kayne and her husband, real estate agent Richard Ehrlich, which was conceived by the architecture firm Standard. Reclaimed-oak beams frame the glass walls, and salvaged-pine siding lines the ceiling, giving the rest of the space a comfortable vibe.
© Condé Nast46/47Complement the curves
A fireplace warms up the gallery-like living room of a Manhattan apartment decorated by Francis D’Haene of D’Apostrophe Design. The curvy Vladimir Kagan sofas clad in a Holly Hunt velvet flank cocktail tables by Silas Seandel, allowing the fireplace to play second fiddle to the furnishings.
COPYRIGHT ©2012 THE CONDÉ NAST PUBLICATIONS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.47/47Embrace history
In the living room/library of a house in the Swiss Alps designed by Studio Peregalli, a velvet-covered wing chair by the firm nestles alongside a 17th-century French chimneypiece.
