My Stone Fireplace | Design, Decorative Displays, and History

My two-sided stone fireplace is a focal point and the heart of the home. Today I am sharing its design and how I use it to display artwork, collected objects, and seasonal decor. Plus, how it is actually a piece of local history. (You’ll never guess the story behind the stone!)

Heart of the Home

It is a wet gray day here as I write. Not quite as cold as it has been, though the freezing temps return tonight. But I am definitely feeling a raw chill.

So I am enjoying a cup of tea, sitting fireside, the flames warming both my bones and my heart.

My two-sided see-through stone fireplace is situated between the living room and dining/kitchen space.

It is, quite literally, the heart of the home.

And, with its imposing size, ruggedly bold personality, and carefully curated displays of artwork, my collections, and seasonal decor, it is also the focal point of both spaces.

Today I am sharing all the details of my fireplace — its design and how I use it to display artwork, my favorite collections, and seasonal decor. Plus, how it is actually a piece of local history. (You’ll never guess the story behind the stone!)

Come cozy up by the fire with me!

Different Types of Stone Fireplaces

Stone fireplaces can be rustic, classic, contemporary, traditional or cottage style.

There is a stone fireplace for virtually every type of home!

A traditional home with classic limestone or granite block and a sturdy wood mantel surrounding a large hearth.

Rustic fieldstone or river rock and a reclaimed beam mantel in a cozy cottage.

Rough stone adding warmth and texture to a refined neutral-hued home.

A contemporary space with a smooth polished marble or granite and no mantel.

The stone can run from floor to ceiling, or as just an accent around the firebox or below the mantel.

Stone fireplaces can be free-standing or built-in. Wood-fired, or turn on the gas at the press of a button.

Whatever the design style or fire source, a stone fireplace adds warmth and beauty to a space.

What kind of stone fireplace would you design for your home?

I knew exactly what I wanted!

My Stone Fireplace Design

Maine is known for its rugged, rocky, and often moody coast.

From the very start I had a vision for this cottage of a rustic stone fireplace, reflecting the shoreline right out my windows and creating a warm glow on gray or chilly days.

Location, location, location

The architect who designed the house did a brilliant job executing my vision. He even took it to the next level, by making the fireplace free-standing, with stone floor-to-ceiling, in the middle of the long space across the waterside of the house.

In this manner he visually separated the living room from the dining/kitchen area, while also keeping them open to one another.

And since the fireplace is see-through, the fire can be appreciated from both sides.

I love that I can stand at the stove in the kitchen and enjoy the fireplace and also see into the living room.

Or you might know that one of my favorite views is from a kitchen island stool, with a wall of stone on the right and the living room down to the shell gallery wall on the left. (And usually Maddie or Cisco lounging in one of the fireside swivel chairs…)

And vice versa, the perspective when seated on the loveseat to the fireplace, with just a peek of color from the dining area hutch on the right.

Mantel, Hearth, and Firebox

To give each side of the fireplace its own character, I went with different configurations on each side.

The living room has a rustic wood beam mantel salvaged from the original cottage, and a raised granite hearth.

In contrast, the dining side has a simple granite mantel and floor level hearth.

For convenience and a cleaner burn, I opted for a propane-fueled fire (we don’t have natural gas lines here). Instead of a prefabricated sealed insert, though, the mason built a regular brick firebox that vents through a chimney flue.

The fireplace is open, with a custom screen on the living room side, and enclosed with glass on the dining room side. (I was told that if both sides were open, soot would get sucked into the room.) It has a free-standing log-set.

The Stone — A Piece of History

Saving the best for last, I haven’t yet talked about the stone used to build my fireplace.

The granite cobblestones are actually a piece of the history of the peninsula I call home!

Granite quarries

Beginning in the 1830’s, there were a number of granite quarries in the area. Because granite was bulky and heavy, it could not be transported on land (there were no trucks or railroads back then). So, quarries tended to be located in coastal areas, with easy access to water transportation, originally schooners. In fact, one of the first local quarries was on the island I see to the right when I look out towards the ocean.

Skilled workers from Scotland, England, Sweden, and Finland came to the area to work in the quarries. They cut the stone first using wooden pegs inserted into holes drilled in the granite. The pegs were doused in water and left to sit overnight. When the wood expanded, it broke the granite apart.

Later, workers cut the stone with a quicker (but still manual) method using a small wedge and two metal “feathers”.

Most of the local quarries closed by the 1940’s, when cement, steel, and asphalt generally replaced granite for construction and roads. Today there are no working quarries on the peninsula.

History in my home

But I am lucky to have part of the past in my recently-built home!

When the site was excavated for the basement and foundation, a treasure trove of old locally quarried stone blocks were unearthed. They were probably used as fill when the ground was leveled to create a spot for the original cottage.

My builder saved as many of these stones as he could. And the mason used them to build the fireplace and the stone wall out front.

I believe these stones were castoffs. But to me they are beautiful, with all their natural variations and imperfections. Some of them have lichens on them, and even the marks from the wedge and feathers used to cut them.

The fireplace tells a story of place and adds beauty and history to my home.

And, bonus, the stone didn’t cost me a thing!

Artwork, Collections, and Seasonal Decor

The fireplace is probably my favorite place to display artwork, my collections, and seasonal decor. It is, after all, the focal point of both the living and dining areas.

I recently switched up both mantels as we start to move towards spring.

Let’s take a look at what I did, as well as some views from previous seasons.

Do you like to switch up your mantel decor?!

Dining area

I hung a collection of my mom’s antique blue and white transferware platters above the mantel in the dining area my first year in the house, and they have remained ever since. The only change I made was to add two small platters I bought at an auction. I love the contrast of the rough stone with the refined china. They set one another off beautifully.

On the mantel below, more of my mom’s blue and white — a set of jugs and mugs decorated with a barley and hops design. They were likely used in pubs for ale.

The platters and jugs stay out year round, I just add seasonal decor to the display.

In the summer, sea fan coral, a mussel shell wreath, and a nautical flag.

Last fall, dried flowers and a branch as an arch.

And this winter, a mix of foraged lichen covered branches, greenery, faux blooms, and paper stars.

Recently, I got rid of the winter branches in anticipation of spring. I was ready for simplicity. I lived with just the blue and white china for a week, but craved a small nod to the season.

So I placed some branches with fuzzy buds in the tallest pitcher. And for a little extra interest, I added a few old books and a single small brass shell.

Perfect for this season when it still feels like winter, but I am longing for spring.

Living room

Unlike the dining area, I have always displayed a variety of art work and seasonal decor on the living room side of the fireplace.

I just couldn’t ever seem to settle on one thing, and I had fun changing things up.

Here are some looks through the seasons and years!

Early last fall, though, I brought home an antique portrait of a distinguished gentleman, Mr. E Ward.

He was just going to be temporary.

But then I decided he was actually a sea captain. And, in response to my blog post An Antique Portrait Late Summer Mantel Refresh, you wrote the best stories about how he was actually my long lost ancestor. You should click the link, if only to read the comments. Some of you really ran with the assignment!

Captain Ward started to grow on me. He stayed through the fall and into the holidays. We spent a cold snowy winter together, and now I think he is looking forward to spring. Just like me.

He gives a sense of history to the home. Tells a story — even if it is made up!

I am beginning to think he might be here to stay, but time will tell!

For now, though, I kept the mantel simple for early spring. I paired Captain Ward with an old print of the Red Jacket clipper ship (built right here in Rockland, Maine!), a trio of lustreware pitchers, and a piece of wood carving.

I can’t wait to see how Captain Ward inspires me going forward!

This Week Into Next

The past week has been a big one for our family.

My son, Jack, and his wife, Margaux, and my daughter Zoë and her husband, Sam, closed on new houses! Jack and Margaux are first-time home owners. Yay! Zoë and Sam will be renting out the condo they own and moving to a single-family home.

You can imagine, with my love of home, how excited I am for all of them. And how much I wish I lived nearby. That would be some trick, though, to somehow live in both Michigan and Maryland…

So for now I will have to offer advice and scheme paint colors, furniture arrangement, and room use from afar… Trust me, there will be lots of requests from me for photos and videos as they make their new places home. And of course I can’t wait to visit in person — tool box in hand!

Maybe I will get some ideas for them from a new design book I bought this week: Artful Home by Josh Young. Josh’s homes in Washington, D.C. and Virginia hunt country are beautifully classic and elegant. His embrace of a neutral palette might differ from my own love of color, but with chapters on such elements as texture, layers, and nostalgia, there is still much to inspire.

Lastly, my Sixpenny chairs arrived the other day, and I am in love! I will be sharing all the details on them next week here on the blog, but did you spy them in any photos in today’s post??

Here’s to the sun setting past 6:00, as we spring forward!