When centrally heated houses became widespread and popular many fireplaces were removed, bricked up or covered with garishly painted sheets of plywood. Antique fireplace mantels and surrounds were removed and sent to the tip. In the last twenty or so years designers and discerning homeowners have rediscovered the distinctive allure of the fireplace, surround and mantel. Now the building of a fireplace with a fireplace mantel is seen as the addition of a beautiful piece of furniture, a focal point around which the room, be it a sitting room, kitchen or bedroom, can be arranged; giving that necessary sense of balance and proportion.
Originally fireplaces and their mantels were either very simple, practical hearth designs; or in the biggest and richest houses colossal designs in the classical style incorporating fluted marble mantels supported on columns. These harked back to the earlier designs of the Roman Empire , who also introduced the use of decorative ceramic tiles and mosaics in their fireplace mantels and surrounds. Now found in reclamation or salvage yards these antique fireplace mantels are becoming prohibitively expensive; but for those who desire this classic design, custom fireplace mantels or kit cast stone fireplace mantels and surrounds are now widely available from local builders' merchants.
It was the Victorians who were first to see fireplaces as pieces of furniture. They designed fireplaces, fireplace mantels and surrounds to go with all the revivalist styles - Tudor, Gothic, Georgian, Queen Anne - and wherever there was an opportunity for enhanced decoration they used it. As North America imported these design ideas, factories began to mass-produce wood fireplace mantels, cast-iron surrounds, ceramic tiles, fancy mirrored mantels and a wealth of brass accessories to match.
When marble fireplace mantels became too expensive, the Victorians imitated it using slate (known as Celtic fireplace mantels) painting on the necessary veining. Similarly, the rising costs of oak fireplace mantels and maple fireplace mantles and their surrounds encouraged manufacturers to produce rustic wood fireplace mantels from painted mahogany. Also introduced around this time was the fireplace mantel drape, often made of brocade with a trimmed edge of baubles or tassels. Some designers even went as far as to introduce fireplace mantels and doors with associated shelves. Themed fireplaces, such as Christmas fireplace mantels, were a peculiar addition to the fireplace market at this time.
At the end of the 19 th century the Arts and Crafts movement reintroduced the inglenook fireplace, an old country fireplace that took up the whole chimney breast and had seating on either side of the fire. But the Arts and Crafts movement, although preaching simplicity in design, proved too expensive for the mass market. Once again to acquire one of these rustic fireplaces and fireplace mantels, or an antique log fireplace mantel, the salvage yards are worth a visit.
Art Nouveau, at the start of the 20 th century, proved more popular, and in Britain , Edwardian houses were often fitted with wood fireplace over mantels, brass and copper firehoods and fancy tiled fireplace surrounds. There was also another classical revival at this time when grand fireplaces with stone fireplace mantels and supporting fluted column surrounds became popular. For the best decorative fireplace mantels and surrounds there are many books on fireplace mantel design, and the World Wide Web offers many details of fireplace mantels for sale.
