Fireplace mantel plans are the delight of interior decorators and homeowners (which includes those who rent their homes). The fireplace is an element that without question increases the value of a property. What's more, it is a powerful design element that is versatile, flexible, and hospitable.

Remember that fireplaces have been an indoor focal point for no fewer than 500 years. Certainly in Tudor England--the era of Henry VIII and Queen Elizabeth I and Walter Raleigh--architects and designers recognized the importance of fireplaces and fireplace mantel plans. Fireplaces as architectural elements are as commanding as they always have been.

You develop your sense of interior house design over time, of course. Along the way you acquire furniture and decorative items that reflect both you and your lifestyle. The style of the fireplace--the hearth, the surround, the mantel, the accessories--tends to set the atmosphere and character that the rest of the house will echo. It's very important while considering fireplace mantel plans that the mantel fits in architecturally, that's there's a good balance in the many decorative elements. This isn't to say that a style has to be homogeneous.

Making a Wise Choice in Fireplace Mantel Plans

Many very effective designers, whether professional or homeowner, have a marvelous ability to mix and match styles. There's an art to this. If you choose--for example--an elaborate Rococo marble mantel for your fireplace, it should be harmonious with your style. Although fireplace mantels are usually not extremely expensive, they are nonetheless an investment. You won't be replacing your fireplace surround every six months. The decorative items on the mantel, yes, of course, maybe even more often. That's the design delight of fireplaces, that accessorizing them is so easy, inexpensive, enjoyable, and effective.