The cool elegance of marble fireplace mantels bestows character you simply can't get from anything else. Restrained and distinctive, marble usually makes us think of classical architectural and design eras to mind. It has been an element of fine design since it was first quarried--in ancient Greece, the Italian Renaissance, the early Federal period, and the Napoleonic era, to name just several.

Designing with Marble Fireplace Mantels

Modern design, whether the early 20th century art deco or today's retro styles, does just as well with marble. A splash of the eclectic might incorporate marble, art nouveau rugs, leather furniture, and velour window treatments. Chrome works as well with marble as Oriental carpets do, make no mistake.

Fireplaces have been the focal point of the home for a long time as well. They can either set the style for your house or blend seamlessly with it. Marble fireplace mantels, admittedly, tend to set the style. Marble is expensive, however, which might make you rule it out as an option. Don't do that. You aren't stuck with the choice of real marble or no marble. Between cast stone styling and faux painting techniques, marble fireplace mantels are very much an affordable possibility for your new design scheme if that's where you're leaning.

Marble is such a classical element that certain fireplace accessories almost suggest themselves. Among the more obvious are candlesticks and antique picture frames. Fresh or silk flowers, though, whether on the mantle or the hearth, might strike a good balance of textures. Thick carpets on hardwood floors can do the same. But your imagination and sense of design open a whole new world of possibilities. Be creative! Be bold!