Who doesn’t love a grand old fieldstone fireplace with its stone chimney rising to the rafters? But sometimes the home style, room style or even the budget just doesn’t work with it. It turns out, according to these three gorgeous Northern Michigan homes, there’s more than one way to light your style on fire!
Rural & Industrial Fireplace on Old Mission Peninsula
Architect: Ray Kendra, Environment Architects | Builder: Dave Thompson, LTD Construction
Ray Kendra’s riff on this modern barn-style home includes a black steel roof, black-framed windows and polished concrete floors—a backdrop that called for a fireplace with a rural-industrial vibe. The core of the fireplace is a form-follows-function, high efficiency Rumford-style prefabricated unit with a shallow depth and pleasingly modern square proportions. “The beauty of this fireplace is the simplicity of lines and materials,” Kendra says.
“The bolted steel lintel complemented the industrial vocabulary of other features found throughout the house,” he continues. Kendra went on to face the fireplace in a granite that appears dripped with shades of black and brown—an effect that perfectly blends with the homeowner’s collection of modern art and furnishings.
Photo by Todd Zawistowski
Related Read: Searhing for more home inspiraition? Visit our Northern Michigan homes, trends and entertaining page.
Traditional & Elegant Fireplace in Harbor Springs
Designer: Vee Mossburg, Cottage Company | Builder: Cottage Company
“We wanted to create an elegant, calm and artistically inspiring area that featured classic elements with a modern twist that would be both fresh and timeless,” says designer Vee Mossburg of this remodeled fireplace. To that end, Mossburg faced the fireplace in a Calcutta Chaldean marble and painted the wood mantel in Benjamin Moore White Dove. The bird-motif fireplace grate is a French antique from the Louis XVI period.
Clean-lined, 4-inch wainscoting painted in Benjamin Moore Summer Shower (mixed to a quarter strength) and an impressionistic still life from the Harbor Springs gallery Tvedten Fine Art finishes the tableau.
Photo by Cottage Company
Farmhouse Fresh Fireplace in Leelanau County
Designer: Elizabeth Drake
This fireplace is located in a nook tucked off the kitchen and used primarily by the woman of the home. While the rest of this house is outfitted with several handsome granite-faced hearths, designer Elizabeth Drake wanted to give this one a more feminine touch, delivering with this beauty clad in Ann Sacks tile. The fireplace screen, blue dishes and white Staffordshire dog, all curated from the homeowner’s personal antique collection, round out the look.
Photo by Werner Straub
