A Blaze & Ensuing Commotion

Today Bob and I took a field trip up to Blaze Fireplaces in SF. Our builder recommended them, so off we went. Great place, and an even greater guy named Earl helped us out. We didn't know how many quesitons we had until he started talking. We finally picked one that we are happy with, not too big -- we only have a 5 foot wall in the family room, between two windows -- and not too fancy or too hot. Boy it was hot in that showroom, though, when Earl started turning all those gas fires on for us to see. Hot.

We picked an Escape model, and here's a photo. It's pretty plain, but we're hoping to dress it up a bit with a nice mantle or "surround" as it's now called. It can be light from inside, as you see in the picture, which I think is bizarre, but we can turn that off and it does look pretty much like a plain fireplace then.

Then we went upstairs to talk to Kevin Arnold about making us a mantle/surround -- he has some beautiful travertine and sandstone from Mexico, and I think he has a very good design eye, too. We are now thinking we won't have a TV over the fireplace, as it is really not a big enough space (plus I hate the idea) and limits the size of the TV (good news??).

If you cruise around the Blaze website you can find a slide show of very pretty mantles, some of the ones I like are here. Of course, the most beautiful one is really not the right style for a twice-remodled little place in the burbs, such as we have. Maybe someday in another room.