Great Ideas for Your Home

Stone mantles surrounding the fire offer stability and class to the family room Homeowners are using stone to decorate their fireplaces in today's homes, a trend that had died off in the 1990s. However, the look and feel of stone - which is popular on the outside of homes - is enjoying resurgence in the family room. "People are usually having them built from scratch to match the look and feel they have in the specific room," says Ray Tuckett, president of The Fireplace Place in Orem. The fireplaces used today rely on much higher efficiency than the fireplaces of even 10 years ago - both wood-burning and gas fireplaces. "Wood will never go away," Tuckett says. "Wood fireplaces are much more efficient than they were before." Gas fireplaces are also better at imitating the flame of wood-burning fireplaces, combining ambience with functionality.