If you wanted to add shelving/cabinets to each side of the fireplace, but you. had a fireplace like this......

[DawnM]

This is not my house, but ours is similar.   There is a jutting out where the hearth is, but the actual brick is about 6" from the wall (just a tad further out than this one.)

This blogger is showing how to paint a fireplace and this is her fireplace.   

I think adding 8" shelving (built in look added) on each side for the top portion and 12" base cabinets would look ok.....what do you think?   

We are looking at painting the brick as it is quite dated, but we haven't done anything to it yet.

[Katy]

We have something somewhat similar. It’s rock veneer in shades of brown, and the hearth is only 3” thick instead of super raised like that. But it has that kind of midcentury modern design that makes it difficult to put traditional shelves right up beside the fireplace without expensive demolition & reconstruction. 

I ordered Amazon’s knockoff version of West Elm’s shelves because some influencer I followed said she’d ordered them both & liked the Amazon version better. I’ve only bought one thing from West Elm & wasn’t impressed with the quality for the price so I decided to try. The Amazon shelves are plastic veneer & probably particle board, but they’re sturdy. I’ve told kids to stop climbing on them many times and they still look new. The plastic does attract more dust than regular wood though. 
 

https://a.co/d/2209TUz

[TechWife]

You can always have the fireplace hearth re-worked if you want to. Have you looked at fire prevention guidelines or fireplace industry standards? Even if you think you’ll never use that fireplace, someday, someone will want to do that. There may be guidelines about how close wood can get to a fireplace. The bookshelves I’ve seen near fireplaces have fronts that are flat with the wall, as is the fireplace. I don’t know about sparks flying out and possibly hitting a bookshelf full of books, which is the purpose of the hearth - to provide a non flammable surface for sparks to land. 

[KatieJ]

It would look beautiful. I agree the hearth is quite deep,  but having had a few “sparks” fly out from our wood fireplace, I understand why. It is also extra seating when the fire is not lit.

[Bootsie]

How much width is there on each side of the fireplace?  Do the walls on  each side of the fireplace run into another wall (form a corner)?  Or does a wall end for a walkway on either or both sides?  What is behind the walls?  (is there any possibility of opening up the wall and placing shelving between studs?)

[fairfarmhand]

40 minutes ago, TechWife said:

You can always have the fireplace hearth re-worked if you want to. Have you looked at fire prevention guidelines or fireplace industry standards? Even if you think you’ll never use that fireplace, someday, someone will want to do that. There may be guidelines about how close wood can get to a fireplace. The bookshelves I’ve seen near fireplaces have fronts that are flat with the wall, as is the fireplace. I don’t know about sparks flying out and possibly hitting a bookshelf full of books, which is the purpose of the hearth - to provide a non flammable surface for sparks to land. 

Side note: If you want a practical way of using the fireplace to heat your home, you can get a wood stove insert like we have. We don’t really have to run heat in our house and there’s no sparks. 

[Scarlett]

41 minutes ago, fairfarmhand said:

Side note: If you want a practical way of using the fireplace to heat your home, you can get a wood stove insert like we have. We don’t really have to run heat in our house and there’s no sparks. 

We have an insert too and we love it. 

[Scarlett]

Our before and after.

[TechWife]

2 hours ago, Scarlett said:

Our before and after.

That’s beautiful!

[Scarlett]

2 hours ago, TechWife said:

That’s beautiful!

Thank you! We could not find any line  wash in our town…. Dh did this with white mortar  watered down 

Edited April 15 by Scarlett

[DawnM]

On 4/14/2024 at 4:07 PM, Bootsie said:

How much width is there on each side of the fireplace?  Do the walls on  each side of the fireplace run into another wall (form a corner)?  Or does a wall end for a walkway on either or both sides?  What is behind the walls?  (is there any possibility of opening up the wall and placing shelving between studs?)

About 7 ft on each side.   The fireplace is near the middle of the wall.

[DawnM]

This is what I think we will be aiming for, something similar.   

[Scarlett]

I like the shelving on each side @DawnM but what is going on with that mantle?  🤔

[DawnM]

1 hour ago, Scarlett said:

I like the shelving on each side @DawnM but what is going on with that mantle?  🤔

We will use our own mantle.

[Pam in CT]

Scarlett, your b / a is gorgeous!  And the paint looks great.

Dawn, I love the idea of flanking bookcases, can never have too many bookcases, but wrt to your second rendering-picture, I'm not quite sold on the transition between the raised hearth and the ~2x as tall cabinets. To my eye, it makes the hearth feel cramped -- discourages the sit your butt on down here sense that a good raised hearth invites (see: Scarlett's cushions). How wide is your hearth? Do you need the storage in the cabinets? Would it work if rather than the cabinets beneath the shelving, you did bench seating beneath the shelving that continued the height and sense of the raised hearth?

[Scarlett]

6 hours ago, Pam in CT said:

Scarlett, your b / a is gorgeous!  And the paint looks great.

Dawn, I love the idea of flanking bookcases, can never have too many bookcases, but wrt to your second rendering-picture, I'm not quite sold on the transition between the raised hearth and the ~2x as tall cabinets. To my eye, it makes the hearth feel cramped -- discourages the sit your butt on down here sense that a good raised hearth invites (see: Scarlett's cushions). How wide is your hearth? Do you need the storage in the cabinets? Would it work if rather than the cabinets beneath the shelving, you did bench seating beneath the shelving that continued the height and sense of the raised hearth?

I see it now. Hmmmn. 

[DawnM]

13 hours ago, Pam in CT said:

Scarlett, your b / a is gorgeous!  And the paint looks great.

Dawn, I love the idea of flanking bookcases, can never have too many bookcases, but wrt to your second rendering-picture, I'm not quite sold on the transition between the raised hearth and the ~2x as tall cabinets. To my eye, it makes the hearth feel cramped -- discourages the sit your butt on down here sense that a good raised hearth invites (see: Scarlett's cushions). How wide is your hearth? Do you need the storage in the cabinets? Would it work if rather than the cabinets beneath the shelving, you did bench seating beneath the shelving that continued the height and sense of the raised hearth?

The main purpose is storage.

[alisoncooks]

I’ve always loved the look of built ins next to a fireplace.  I think the inspo image shares looks great!

[DawnM]

On 4/14/2024 at 3:36 PM, TechWife said:

You can always have the fireplace hearth re-worked if you want to. Have you looked at fire prevention guidelines or fireplace industry standards? Even if you think you’ll never use that fireplace, someday, someone will want to do that. There may be guidelines about how close wood can get to a fireplace. The bookshelves I’ve seen near fireplaces have fronts that are flat with the wall, as is the fireplace. I don’t know about sparks flying out and possibly hitting a bookshelf full of books, which is the purpose of the hearth - to provide a non flammable surface for sparks to land. 

I would love to change it out for something electric as we just don't use wood fireplaces.   DH hates the smell in the house of a real wood fireplace.   I actually like it a lot, but it isn't worth the comments for 5 hours while I have a fire going.   🤣   (this is not a bash, he has things he likes that he doesn't do because I don't like it too.)