Chimneys

Many attics, especially these in old houses/buildings, have chimneys in them. So is my own attic - as I will describe in a separate post. Since most renovation do not include dismantling the chimney, one has to work around it in designing the attic space. Here are some options that addressed the issue in different ways. Some left the bricks unpainted, some painted them. In all the pictures it is clear that the chimney has a presence in the room, in one way or another. My advice to the attic renovator is to treat the chimney as an architectural element in the room, and to decorate it according to the decorating scheme and of the whole space.

Here the chimney was covered with wood to create an architectural modern element in the room. Covering the chimney all the way to the ceiling emphasize the height of the room and the vaulted ceiling. the use of wood adds warmth to the all-white room.

 

In the pictures below the designers lest the chimney red bricks un-painted. In the next three pictures the designers built walls incorporating the chimneys in them. This left the interest that the chimney adds to the room but allowed the addition of a closet to the room (in the first room). Smart and beautiful.

In the next four pictures the designers left the chimneys "as is". The brick color and texture add interest to the all-white rooms.

 

Another beautiful example of the decorating aspect of a cheimny in a room (houzz.com, room designed by James Madson).

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Here the odd corner next to the chimney was used to store a chest of drawers. (By Ocean Interiors - houzz.com). The chimney was used as a background for art.

In the picture below the chimney bricks where painted the same color as one of the accent walls in the attic. Personally, I would have chosen a more dramatic color that would have accentuate the wall and the chimney. Dark red maybe? teal? orange?

A different "chimney approach" is demonstrated in the pictures below. Here the designers painted the chimneys bricks to match the walls of the rooms. Painting the chimney the same color allows the chimney to "disappear" into the surroundings. This way the chimney does not seem as an obstacle in the middle of the attic. The chimney becomes a backdrop and allows other elements to take center stage - art, accessories etc.

In my own renovation I decided to paint the chimney white due to the reasons mentioned above.