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2 long days and 1 short one
Difficulty: Hard
Requires an eye for symmetry and some deftness with trowel
Why is it that the mantel always gets all the attention? Sure, it flaunts the grand shelf, the carved legs—it's the frame around the flames. But mantels come and go. It's the hearth that's always been there, an ornate buffer between the fire and the shag rug, descendant of the glazed bricks used by ancient Babylonians to decorate the foot of the fire.
So now that you've pulled up that shag in favor of some new hardwood, think about upgrading the fireplace as well. Ditch the worn and scratched masonry pad that's been in front of it for decades and jazz things up with some colorful new tiles. As This Old House technical editor Mark Powers shows on the following pages, you can change the whole look of a fireplace—and the room—in one or two weekends. Then, when you're finished, you'll be able to truly say that the hearth, ahem, goes on.
Field tile in Rothwell Gray, from Motawi Tile, about $108 per square foot.
