The Fireplace

Ok...so this has to be one of the coolest things we are putting into the new house and we weren't even the ones who thought of the idea.  Thanks go to our builder for giving us this idea.

Our fireplace is a two sided indoor / outdoor see through fireplace.  How awesome is that?  There is glass on both sides of the fireplace.  Since we have a fairly large deck on the back of the house, it made sense to use a fireplace that could be enjoyed both inside and out.  Here are some pictures of what we have so far:

This is the only closeup I have of the outside so far.  Please excuse the masons' idea of a ladder.  The fireplace is being prepped for stone that will be added going all the way up the outside wall.  We are going to use the same stone that is used on the front of the house, just in a thinner style meant specifically for use on fireplaces.

For the inside of the fireplace, we have picked out the mantle and it will be similar to the picture below. Our version will not be quite as tall because our fireplace insert is shorter and we will most likely have less granite showing above the fireplace.  We liked how the sides of the fireplace mirror the craftsman style columns that we will have on the front porch of the house.  Our granite will not be black, but will instead be the same granite that we are using as the kitchen countertop.  We will also have a raised hearth, I believe ours is 8" off the floor though.