Fireplace Mantel Selection Guide
The best fireplace mantel selection is found online. Choosing from among the hundreds of fireplace mantel styles and designs can be confusing if you don’t know what to look for. Here is a guide to the various types of mantels, materials, and styles.
A mantel (sometimes called a mantle) is the decorative frame around a fireplace. It is sometimes called a mantelpiece. Unlike a mantel shelf, which is a horizontal piece of shelving above a fireplace, the mantel is a square, three-sided structure that surrounds the fireplace and sets it off from the rest of the room. Either type is a wonderful place to put fireplace mantel accessories, which add warmth and flair to your home.
Mantels can be pre-built as a single three-sided unit, or they can be custom built on site by a woodworker or stone mason. The pre-built mantel is the most common approach nowadays because craftspeople are in short supply and prefer to work in their own studios. A good stone mason or bricklayer is especially hard to find, and can charge a premium price for his or her work.
If you have plenty of money to spend and your home is built to handle the weight, choose a marble mantel. These are mined from marble quarries and handcrafted in the style of your choice. The majority of marble mantels are done in traditional styles such as Greco Roman, Italian, English or French. However, you can also buy a marble mantle in a very plain contemporary style, usually called a fireplace facing or fireplace surround. Marble mantles are only available in colors found in nature, such as white, black, green, tan, and brown.
A wood fireplace mantel is a less expensive alternative to marble and is versatile enough to fit in with any décor. Wood can be carved in a multitude of designs, from very traditional to very contemporary. There are many hardwoods to choose from, including, oak, maple, teak, and cherry, and they can be stained to match any color scheme. A masonry fireplace surround is typically an integral part of wood fireplace mantels. These can be made with brick, granite, or ceramic tile.
Cast stone mantels are a lightweight, inexpensive alternative to native stone. Made from a mixture of portland cement, gypsum, and crushed rock, a cast stone mantel can be shaped into a wide selection of designs and colors. They look heavy and imposing, but in reality weight only 200 to 400 pounds, which means they can be installed by two people.