Back during the crazy period before House & Home magazine came over to shoot our house for it’s Fall Makeover issue I replaced the original tile on our two fireplaces. I didn’t talk about it at the time because there were so many other things going on and I wanted there to be bit of surprise.
Today, I thought I would take a look back and tell you a little bit about that process.
I approached the re-tiling of our fireplaces with great trepidation. I think anytime you are replacing an original element in an old house you have to be careful of what you are doing. I didn’t want somebody looking back on our fireplaces 20 years from now and saying, “Oh, they must have replaced those tiles in the 2010′s.” My goal was timeless tiles that worked with both the historical fireplaces and our more modern decor. I should mention (since it’s not obvious from the photos) that a lot of the tile was in rough shape particularly the tile that lay on the floor. It was in cracked and broken in numerous areas and really pieced together like a poorly arranged jigsaw puzzle.
When it came to material I knew I wanted marble. We’ve used marble elsewhere in the house and it’s a material that would have been used back in the early 20th century. (In fact, some of the more beautiful mantelpieces from this time were made entirely out of marble.) I looked at primarily Carrara and Calacatta marbles for their warm white, grey, and gold tones that work well with our colour scheme.
More difficult was choosing a pattern. Marble mosaic tiles comes in such a range of patterns: hexagons, ashlar, octagons, penny tiles, bubbles, long skinny matrixes, squares – the choice is staggering. Luckily, for me my choice was narrowed to what was in stock. I brought home a few samples and taped them to our fireplaces to see what worked.
The moment I saw this marble shell pattern I knew I wanted to use it on one of our fireplaces. The shell is a classic design motif that crosses all decades; it’s a timeless pattern that will stand the test of time. We decided to use it on our bedroom fireplace. Downstairs the choice was harder. I considered a long octagon shape but worried it was too graphic. When I returned to the supplier to purchase the tile I didn’t actually know what mosaic I was going to choose for our living room fireplace. Then I saw this North Star pattern hanging on the wall. It was subtle yet still decorative and had a bit of that Moroccan flair we have elsewhere on the main floor.
I was sold. With only days to spare before the shoot took place the fireplaces were retiled and ready for their close-up. Here’s a look at how the two fireplaces looked in their before state.
And the after. You can see how in the living room the tiles really fade into the background making the gold fireplace grate and mirror stand out. It’s less of a visual distraction than the original tile which honestly always reminded me of mouldy toast!
In the bedroom, I think the effect is even more dramatic. The green tile, while beautiful in it’s own right, really contrasted with the lighter, airier overall look I was going for. The new shell tile still makes a statement but the soft, grey tones are more subtle and aren’t clamouring for attention like its predecessor.
What do you think? Has anyone else recently retiled their fireplace surround?
25 Comments
They are gorgeous!! I have had my eye on that shell tile for years – just keep waiting for an opportunity to get some. I think you found the perfect use for it! The marble works perfectly with the natural elements in your rooms and bridges the modern-traditional touches effortlessly. We just moved and have a big blocky column brick fireplace – I won’t be doing much to it, but it definitely needs a little something, so I’ll be working on that
Great choices on the tile Emma. Are they from Saltillo? The marble is a classic choice you (and future homeowners) won’t tire of.
Absolutely gorgeous – both of them! We are in the midst of deciding what to do with our own fireplace surround, and have been leaning towards marble as well. I can now see, we won’t be disappointed.
You should be very pleased with your new look. It really is beautiful.
i have been eagerly awaiting this post! Amazing transformation. Love the North Star tiles – who is the supplier?
I am so glad you posted that! I noticed the tile in a post last week and started hunting around your blog for a post on it, but obviously couldn’t find one! haha
It looks fantastic!! We are itching for a fireplace makeover because ours is so, so sad for a house like ours.
Yours is a great inspiration! Thanks!
@ Shruti – Both the tiles are from Saltillo!
They look great, Emma!
Funny you posted this this morning. I just arrived home with a beautiful antique brass fireplace screen that I bought off Craigslist. My wife and I have, for at least three years, been debating/comparing the costs of gas logs or an insert for the original fireplace in our Toronto semi. We finally got tired of waiting and just decided to try it out this weekend (we had the chimney cleaned and inspected years ago!) the old-fashioned way. It’s wonderful! I brought home some scrap wood from my workshop and we had two fires in it this weekend! There is nothing more magical than a live fire in your living room on a cool fall day! Anyway, saturday night I scoped out a screen on craigslist (we didn’t have one) and had just arrived home with it before I read your post. So we spent $80 on a beautiful screen instead of three thousand on fake gas logs. And it made me so happy this weekend.
Emma, they’re absolutely beautiful. I love that they went from old original fireplaces to there works of art. And I definitely have a soft spot for the middle eastern pattern. It warms up the otherwise cold stone and reminds me of home.
Emma, your fireplaces actually inspired me to redo my own shabby victorian fireplace. I too was worried what people would say about ripping out the original tile (mine is mottled green and brown, yuck). So I decided to carefully remove the tiles and put them in a box. Most of the tiles were broken anyway, so I consider it more of a restoration project (but with a prettier and more classy tile) than a renovation one. I have decided to go with herringbone marble tile on the face and subway marble tile on the hearth. I’m worried it may look too busy mixing the two and will not be able to tell until the tile is up. But considering that I am doing the tile work myself, and the tiles are relatively inexpensive then if it doesn’t work, I’ll just start again. Anyway, your gold surround also inspired me to strip the black paint off of my brass plated surround. 4 days and 4 cans of stripper later and it’s still not done. I should have just painted it gold, but I’ve started so I’ll finish. I’ll post some pictures on my website when I’m done.
And you definitely made the right decisions with the tile, they both look beautiful!
They look fantastic Emma, I really like the pattern you chose on the main floor, the gold screen definitely needed something with a little embellishment to back it up.
Great choice! I’ve always loved the north star pattern and am considering it for our fireplace redo – unfortunately someone covered the original white brick (which would have worked for the 50s split) with end of row floor tiles in brown. So I’ll be looking at marble or Moorish concrete tiles.
These are gorgeous makeovers and the rooms are amazing. I pinned them when I first saw them posted. I especially love the seashell tile. Great job, and congrats.
You made wonderful choices! I can’t decide which I like better, the bedroom tiles or the living room!! Gorgeous!!
it makes such a big difference!
our fireplace is stone…as in grey chunk of concrete or some kind of stone…it is beautiful.
We need to tile the floor though…desperately. A few pieces are falling out. But I am ignoring it and i hope it goes away!
I’m so insanely jealous over both of your fireplaces- absolutely gorgeous in every possible way. Your tile selections are simply perfection…love, love!
Beautiful! I especially love the North Star pattern. I sent the link to my Mum who is looking to redo her fireplace. A great inspiration. Thanks!
What colour grout did you decide to use? I’m torn between grey and white. Decisions, decisions, if picking out tile wasn’t hard enough.
Looks great—nice job!
@ Suzanne – I can’t remember the exact names of the grout colour. They were both shades of off-white. I tried to choose something that blended in with the tile so it disappeared as much as possible.
I now have major fireplace envy! You did a fantastic job, and makes me wish my Edwardian had a fireplace. Such a dramatic transformation for such little investment in both time and money. Awesome.
Stunning! Not sure how I missed your house in H&H but happy itis still on my IPad Zinio. Heading over to check it right now!
Emma,
I think the tiles look lovely, but as someone with a background in heritage preservation, I would immediately spot them as a c. 2010 renovation (given the popularity of shaped marble tiles in the late ’00s). Marble tiles are not historically authentic; rather, Edwardian fireplace surrounds were tiled with distinctive ceramic tiles.
How best to marry new with historic building fabric was the topic of my Master’s thesis so this is an issue of particular interest for me. There are two accepted approaches for successfully integrating new with old: a true restoration using either exact copies, historic substitutes or historically-appropriate substitutes, or going with a complete contemporary aesthetic. The problem is when styles are “muddled” — something that looks sort-of authentic to the uneducated eye is combined with actual historic elements, mixing styles and periods to the point that it causes confusion for expert and non-expert alike to be able to date the renovation. Using something new that doesn’t respect the principles of the old, but looks like it might be authentic, creates style confusion. Little by little, it’s how we lose our historic fabric in North America.
Like I said, aesthetically, it looks lovely, and just about every house buyer will love it — but if I were that buyer, I would immediately be looking in salvage yards for authentic tiles to undo the renovation.
Sorry…
I really debated posting anything, but I think that most people haven’t realized that there might these sorts of issues when undertaking a renovation, and my goal is to raise awareness.
@ Monika – I appreciate your response and agree with all your points about historic preservation but if you immediately spot my tiles as c. 2010 than haven’t I achieved the second accepted approach to integrating new with old: going with a completely contemporary aesthetic?
What an incredible transformation! The tiles you chose for both are so unique and beautiful and really just perfect!
I am in the midst of adding a gas insert to our lone fireplace in our 1890 Queen Anne home. We realize that tile work will need to be part of the scope of work for our project so I found your blog in a search for mottled tile. I must confess that I am disappointed that you ripped out your original tiles rather than restoring them. The marble tiles you selected, while lovely in new construction or a modern house, do not look right. I’m sure it will be nice for you for now, but some future owner will now have a lot of work trying to undo your “improvement” which will look dated soon enough. Too bad.
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