Living Room Fireplaces

French doors cast light on the black accent wall and charming fireplace fronted by a lightly varnished angular coffee table.

Non-working fireplaces can still house flames; insert candles, which can burn for hours and drip onto the fireplace floor.

If possible, try to keep your home's architectural details, like crown moldings and mantels. This home of designer Amie Corley was built at the turn of the century in St. Louis' Central West End neighborhood, specifically for the World's Fair, and all the architectural details are original.

White keeps an open floor plan feeling fresh and spacious so that the walls of books and a traditional fireplace can reign as the topic of conversation.

A metal sunburst sculpture above the fireplace radiates life through the room and calls for complementing petite accessories.

A sleek modern fireplace sits almost flush against the wall begetting a blank canvas for a wide range of activities to occur in this room without losing heat.

Scatter personal possessions and unique objects to give your living room a relaxed, lived-in look. Take note of how casually propped artwork disguises the dark firebox and how stacked books become risers to accentuate accessories. A playful throw rug is layered atop the sisal&madsh;an unexpected surprise.

Turn the fireplace into a lounging area by providing front-row seats to the coziest show in the house; and with firewood storage nearby, no one has to get up.

Free-standing fireplaces still come standard with some older homes and are a great resource for communal rooms that don’t have the wall space for a traditional fireplace.

A carved mantle brings a classic touch to a rustic brick fireplace.

A classically designed stone fireplace sits pristine in white juxtaposed by the worn, exposed brick of the interior.

The cascading fireplace, reminiscent of adobe, brings Sante Fe flare to the room.

In takes only a few simple touches to create a cozy inviting vibe. A used Vermont Castings woodstove heats this house and greets guests. The stepped room partition, made from lumberyard beadboard, screens sleeping quarters from living room without walling out heat. Collector's items add character—a flea-market log holder, caribou antlers carried back from a hiking trip, and vintage signs express the home's thrifty and cheerful spirit.

The homeowners painted the brick surrounding this fireplace, which instantly brightened the room without compromising the cantilevered cement hearth—one of the original architect's signature designs.

When working with expansive uninterrupted wall space, you can turn to a piece of abstract art, which draws focus but doesn’t have the confines of creating a theme for the room.

A natural stone fireplace with hints of yellow dominates this relaxed living room in grand scale and towers over the media center that the eye almost misses.

To easily balance out a space, choose a shape and employ it in various ways—here, brown cubes are central to the tiled fireplace, the mirror frames and the checkered rug.