fireplaces

There's hardly ever an occasion to light a fireplace during the Summer months, but that's no reason to ignore this focal point of your living room. Instead of dreaming about a crackling fire in the Autumn season, make the most of your fireplace in this current season with these tips.

• Just add flowers. Use oversized vases as focal points both on the mantel and in the fireplace itself. Layer them with your favorite and freshest Summer blooms, from sunflowers to zinnias to dahlias.
• Upgrade your andirons. The horizontal bars used to lay logs, andirons can be a design focal point if you choose carefully. We love these Brass Andirons ($2,240), which provide a glow all on their own.
• Think differently about your firewood. Instead of laying out firewood as if you were about to strike a match, try stacking it vertically, horizontally, or in patterns to create something that's more visually interesting. After all, you're not about to light a fire! Make the wood work for you visually instead of producing heat.
• Try adding something unexpected to the grate and hearth. Stack plants in front of the grate, or clean the grate and stack suitcases or books.
• Add a summery fire screen. Create a folding fireplace screen to block the grate. Try wallpapering it with your new favorite wallpaper pattern, like the Olympics-appropriate Londinium Wallpaper ($70 a roll).

Keep reading for three more ideas to style a Summer fireplace

• 5 Tips for choosing the perfect exterior paint palette — Houzz
• Discover simple ways to decorate your fireplace for Summer — Stylelist Home
• Get inspired with these cloud-like white bedrooms — House Beautiful
• These five mansions have private water parks — Curbed
• Chic furniture made from cardboard! See it to believe it — Design Milk
• Expert tricks for decorating with plants — Real Simple

Scandinavian interior design is one of my absolute favorite decorating styles, and one standout feature in many Scandinavian homes is the traditional stove that regally occupies a corner of a bedroom or living room.

Most Scandinavian stoves are column-shaped, ceramic, and white in color. Similar to the one pictured here, they also often feature a crown-like adornment near the top — a nod to the countries' shared history of monarchy rule.

These stoves are usually ceramic masonry heaters, sometimes called tile stoves or contra-flow stoves. Most commonly, wood is burned in the stoves, and heat is radiated through the thermal mass of the heaters.

This ancient, efficient technology is seen throughout the world in many forms. Some varieties include the German kachelofen, the Finnish kaakeliuuni, and the Chinese Kang bed-stove.

While these stoves' main advantage is their ability to efficiently heat a home, they also are a gorgeous addition to a room — much more so, in my opinion, than the American fireplace. Are you a fan of the look of these stoves as well?

Source

Here's a post from CasaSugar Community member stephaniepoli from the Su Casa group:

Autumn is my favorite season for decorating. Here is our mantel in the living room all decked out for Thanksgiving. The gorgeous typography plate is from West Elm and the forest tree hurricane is from the ELLE decor line at Kohl's. The milk glass vase is an heirloom from my mother-in-law that I filled with pine cones I gathered on a nature walk. For more seasonal vignettes, visit my blog Love & Lace.

Have you created any new holiday arrangements lately? Be sure to share photos in the Su Casa group!

With an Autumn chill in the air, nothing is better than spending time by a beautiful fireplace, relaxing with friends, or a cup of hot tea. Too many times we see beautiful fireplaces that are being underutilized in homes, because they just haven't been updated for a while. If you want to heat things up in your home this Fall, here are some simple remodeling and decorating concepts to bring a fresh, updated look to a tired looking fireplace.

• Add glass doors. Installing a pair of glass doors will not only give your fireplace an elegant look, but they make it more energy efficient. The mesh doors and an iron partition work just fine, but if you're looking for some updated elegance, consider installing a pair of glass doors to your fireplace. If you're lucky enough to have a fireplace in your bathroom or kitchen, I think this technique brings a particularly chic vibe.
• Consider a raised stone hearth. There is nothing more charming or quaint than the image of getting up close and personal with a fireplace, sitting on a raised hearth. You can try it DIY style, but this is a pretty involved project that would be super easy for a contractor.
• Don't be afraid to paint brick. For years my heart would be in knots when I saw painted brick in a room. But, recently, I'm loving the look when it's painted the right way in a stark black or bright-white hue. If the brick is just too outdated, or the color doesn't work in the room, don't be afraid to switch things up and paint.

Keep reading for three more ways to update your fireplace.