Fireplace Makeover With Tile Giant

[Paid Partnership With Tile Giant]

I’d been wanting to add some interest to our non-working fireplace recess for years but never knew quite what to do with it. Although I like the sleek, contemporary look of not having a surround or mantle, I struggled to make it anything other than a dead space, so when Tile Giant asked if I wanted to work on a project with them, I knew this would be the perfect spot!

I didn’t have a set idea of what kind of tile I would go for, so I just had a good browse knowing that I wanted something quite neutral as I’m prone to changing the wall colours in our house and I didn’t want something more permanent such as tiles to potentially clash with future changes.

After browsing the site and Pinterest (obviously!) for some inspiration, I realised that I was drawn to the idea of something more matt than high gloss, so although many options caught my eye, ultimately I headed to the Natural Stone section to see what was on offer, as stone tends to have either a completely matt or soft sheen finish.

I fell head over heels for the Tumbled Travertine White Brick tile which was the perfect contrast to our existing smooth marble hearth. I just love the beautiful colour with natural variation and so much texture so I knew it would be perfect to add a layer of interest to the space, without being overwhelming or loud. 

Rather fortuitously, the size of the tiles meant that they were also the perfect fit, meaning I had to make very few cuts - six tiles fitted perfectly across when laid in a vertical stack, and I only had to cut six tiles in total for a third row to fit at the top of the recess. Our trusty old electric tile cutter did a really good job and the tiles cut easily and accurately which was a huge relief I have to say!

Although I was lucky with the tile size fitting perfectly, the recess itself was less than perfect and presented quite a challenge for a novice tiler like me. It’s wonky and uneven (to match the rest of our Victorian home!), with a sloping gradient of four centimetres from the bottom to the top of the back wall. This meant more prep work than I had bargained for, and as it’s a non-working fireplace, I opted to use a piece of 6mm ply, supported by wooden batons of appropriate differing thicknesses to create a straight, even surface on which to tile.

Once that was in place (secured with heavy duty adhesive) I left it to dry while I selected my tiles and mixed the tile adhesive. I used Mapei Keraflex Maxi S1, which is recommend for use with Travertine, following the instructions but just mixing an appropriate amount for the area I was tiling.

I had already cleaned the tiles with LTP Grimex Heavy Duty Cleaner to make sure they would adhere properly and let them dry completely.

Then it was finally time to get on with the fun part - the actual tiling!

With a natural product like Travertine, it’s a good idea to over order a little more than usual, as there will be a lot of variation in the texture, and in the case of Travertine there is LOADS of texture and actual holes too. For my project which is purely decorative it wasn’t necessary to fill the holes prior to laying, but if you’re using them on a floor or walls in a bathroom or kitchen for example, this would be essential, to not only stop moisture going through to the sub-floor, or surface, but to make sure the natural faults don’t cause the tiles to break under pressure. Believe me though, these natural beauties are worth the extra work!

As mentioned, I used a vertical stack laying pattern but these tiles also lend themselves to various other laying patterns, including a horizontal stack (another favourite of mine), and a herringbone pattern too which would look incredible on a floor in a kitchen or bathroom.

Again as this was a decorative project, I opted to butt the tiles right up next to each other and not grout, but of course you would need to in other circumstances, and travertine should always be sealed (like all natural stone) using LTP Mattstone Sealer.

I decided against tiling the sides of the recess, and tiled the base of the instead as it was looking a bit worse for wear and I liked the more streamlined look of simply carrying the tiling down rather than across.

I couldn’t be more pleased with the result! It looks brilliant, the Travertine was indeed the perfect choice, and all members of the family are equally impressed with the finished look.