Flagstaff is the perfect blend of forest and mountain and not the Arizona experience most expect. With temperatures reaching into the lower 80s during the summer, it makes for an ideal day on the area’s famous luxury golf courses. But the elevations of the high country mountains bring below-freezing temperatures in the winter. The essential design element to bring comfort and beauty to your modern mountain home? Impeccably designed and well-placed fireplaces.

Fireplaces add the perfect warmth to any room, so consider the style, materials, and placement when you include them in your luxury home design.

Find a Design That Fits Your Overall Style

You want your design style to flow throughout your modern mountain home, and that includes functional elements like your fireplace surrounds. Fireplaces create a welcoming ambiance that draws attention, so be sure to find a style that fits with the interior design preferences of the room it's in.

Think through how closely you want the style to reflect that of your overall home. Do you have high ceilings with a modern feel? A sleek, built-in design with metal and glass might be a good fit. Or if your mountain escape exudes an organic feel with exposed wooden beams and natural elements, then a traditional brick or wood-accented fireplace would complement the rest of the home.

The Walnut Canyon Residence, for example, combines the traditional cabin feel with more modern industrial elements. For the fireplace in the great room, UDA Ltd. teamed up with Kevin Sullivan of Steel & Stone Designs to create an intricate masterpiece. The design uses the exterior stone to bring the outdoor aesthetic in, a heavy timber truss, a polished, poured in place concrete hearth, and decorative stained glass and steel details that hide a TV behind custom doors. The overall style of the residence culminates in this fireplace.

Also, consider the details of the fireplace accessories. If you plan to burn logs, as opposed to a gas-powered fireplace, you can get creative with wood storage by creating inlets or special nooks to hold accouterments.

Make a Statement With the Placement

The placement of your fireplace can be an attention-grabbing feature in the center of the room or an element that disappears into your room design.

Many modern fireplace designs exist to accommodate an entertainment system or to accentuate a favorite heirloom. Decide if you want your fireplace to fade into the background or be the reason your guests say “wow” as soon as they walk in the room with a double-sided fireplace designed to draw people into the space.

If your mountain home aesthetic is a beautiful blend of traditional and modern then combine natural elements to mirror the custom craftsmanship of the home with modern technology. This style of fireplace lends itself to entertaining guests throughout the sitting areas of your great room, warming a cool evening on the patio, or providing a soft glow to a late-night glass of wine in the kitchen.

You can also make a statement by hiding the fireplace in plain sight. Especially with gas-powered fireplaces, minimalist designs seem to float in the wall, easily overlooked until the moment the flames jump.

Use Premium Materials for Your Modern Fireplace Design

While classic brick can be ideal for some situations, the discerning homeowner has a plethora of options for their modern fireplace surrounds. Today’s luxury fireplaces feature a variety of materials that continue to look amazing after decades of use.

Timeless: Stones such as marble and granite provide a classic look and come in patterns to match any room’s decor. They are also heat resistant and low-maintenance. Large fieldstones and other natural stones can extend a more traditional cabin feel.

Dramatic: You can use semi precious stones such as onyx or petrified wood, which create a one-of-a-kind pattern. Ledgestone–thin slabs of stone laid out like small ledges–exudes a more contemporary feel. Sleek metal, such as steel, can hide a gas-powered fireplace until it’s ready to be used.

Colorful: For rooms that need pops of color, ceramic tiles are heat-resistant and can create an elegant composition around your fireplace. From intricate designs repeated around the surround to different-sized tiles creating an interesting pattern, you can design a different feel for every fireplace.

Think Outside the Great Room

Curling up in front of the fire shouldn’t just be reserved for the great room. There are many other places throughout your home that deserve the coziness and warmth of a fireplace.

Bedrooms: Treat guests (or yourself) to the fading light and soft crackle of a fire as they drift off to sleep. The Prairie Pine Residence is the perfect example of cozy meets luxury.

Entryway: Chase away any lingering chill that follows you inside by installing a fireplace near the front door. Once again, the Walnut Canyon Residence holds all the warm and creative details including this much desired placement.

Kitchen and Dining Area: Nothing says home like a fire in the fireplace, a snack, and a good conversation. The fireplace can also double as a woodfire grill.

Patio: Fire features help make your outdoor gathering space inviting no matter what the weather.

Reading Room or Office: A warm blanket, a good book, and a roaring fire make for the perfect room to hide away for a few hours.

Bathrooms: If you like bubble baths by candlelight, imagine soaking with the warmth and glow of a fireplace at the foot of the tub.

Room separator: See-through fireplaces with glass on both sides make for a great room divider, especially between a dining and living room.

Plan for Seasonal Decorating

As you deliberate on your living room fireplace ideas, think through how your decorating needs may change throughout the year. From everyday artwork to holiday decor, make sure the mantel and the space surrounding the fireplace can create the feeling you are looking for.

If you collect art, will you want to rotate the focal point by the fireplace, highlighting new pieces from recent trips? You may want to have a neutral background, such as a mirror, to bring more attention to sculptures or other heirlooms that make their home on the mantle.

And of course, the fireplace will be a focal point during the winter holidays. Will your fireplace design work with your favorite holiday decorations?

Create Your Modern Mountain Escape

It’s hard to imagine a mountain home without a fireplace. From the added warmth on chilly evenings to the intimate ambiance of firelight, you and your guests will enjoy the benefits of a well-designed and well-incorporated fireplace any time of year.

If you have ideas for your perfect luxury mountain home plan, contact the architects of the Southwest at UDA, Ltd. We know how to accentuate the beauty of the Arizona landscape with your dream Flagstaff home.

5 Fireplace Design Ideas for Your Modern Mountain Home