Ah, the fireplace. A centre of warmth, both visually and literally, but an aspect of home design that often plays second fiddle to the Christmas tree when it comes to making a decor statement during the festive season.
To us, regardless of calendar, fireplaces are an intrinsic part of decorative schematics and, as such, should be afforded careful consideration so they properly stand out.
From the drawing board onwards, in fact, we analyze every hearth (both those that exist and those which we add) and examine how they work in relation to a property’s overall architectural style.
If transforming a period home, for example, we’ll go to the end of the earth to ensure that whatever we add bears at least some relationship to the craftsmanship of times gone by.
Similarly, when tackling modern assignments, we’ll endeavour to incorporate contemporary lines via the fireplaces we install.
From time to time, however, clients with heritage homes will decree they want to retain overall architectural integrity while adding 21st-century inclusions (and vice versa), but for the most part we — and our paymasters — are respectful of build style and period.
As far as Christmas decor is concerned, the rules of design are fundamentally similar. Period homes, as we see them, simply look better with traditional festive embellishment, whereas modern spaces are optimized via contemporary enhancement.
This in mind, we’ve created four very different fireplace styles, each of which will allow you to have fun ahead of Santa Claus battling down your chimney.
Today, two of our looks are showcased for your holiday delectation, and the other two will pop open like an advent calendar next Saturday. With cash conscious eyes trained firmly on budget, you won’t have to remortgage to replicate our Christmas crackers and, what’s more, each of our vignettes is staggeringly easy to reproduce.
In a fortnight’s time we’ll unravel another two parter. this time a guide to making crafty Christmas decorations from (often mundane) items which you’ll probably already have in your cupboards.
Yup, right up to Christmas Eve, we’ll be on the ball to help you get the most from the holiday period. In the meantime, let’s start a fire!
A highland fling Christmas
We defy anyone to suggest that the fireplace featured here is anything less than commanding. Can’t you just imagine the festive feast that would unravel in this dining room?
To us, it conjures up thoughts of a bacchanalian nature; Henry Fielding’s Tom Jones would surely have been as comfortable here as his vocally inclined Welsh namesake.
With a backdrop of blood red colour-washed walls and an antique stag head (rented by us from a local antique store), this festive scene takes drama to the next level.
We plundered our own garden for sinuous lengths of ivy and, arranged along the mantle and down either side, they impart beautifully organic overtones. In the U.K., where we shot all these fireplaces, we have a store called Poundland (as you can imagine, it’s just like Dollarama) and it was here we picked up all the tassels, baubles and faux fruit required to amplify our luxurious set.
Sure, we love spending money, but we’re similarly excited by achieving expensive looks on a strict budget.
Final dressing comes courtesy of red glass wares scouted from The Barra’s, a weekend haunt that’s similar to Toronto’s Kensington Market.
Remember our all year-round mantra: it’s not how much money you spend but how — and where — you spend it that makes all the difference.
A blue Christmas
As much as the lyrics of the Elvis classic can be weepy, our take on Blue Christmas is eminently more uplifting. We kicked things off by updating a tired nonfunctioning fireplace with a coat of pure white satin (use heat proof hearth paint and follow the manufacturer’s guidelines if your fireplace still functions).
Dressing above with a blue painted panel was a simple way in which to create icy appeal, and by carefully cutting snow flake templates (sourced online) and attaching these in a random pattern with paper glue, we created simple — and very inexpensive — wintry artwork.
Further vignette detailing arrives by suspending baubles (from above) to add a 3D quality.
To pull everything together we dressed our design with candles, blue glass wares and previously mismatched vases and frames which we unified using a tester pot of blue paint.
Finally, white twinkling fairy lights, nested in the hearth, elicit a kinetic quality to further bolster festive mood.
So, two fireplace visions warmly tucked into the festive goody bag and another pair to come next week.
This in mind, stay close and allow us to help as you wrap holiday home style ahead of Dec. 25. And remember — only three weeks and a day until Christmas 2011. Perish the bauble clad thought!
Next week: We reveal two more festive fireplaces!
Colin McAllister and Justin Ryan are the hosts of HGTV’s Colin & Justin’s Home Heist and the authors of Colin & Justin’s Home Heist Style Guide, published by Penguin Group (Canada). Follow them on Twitter @colinjustin or on Facebook (ColinandJustin). Check out their new candle range at www.candjhome.co.uk. Contact them through their website, www.colinandjustin.tv.