A fireplace hearth is often the center of attention in whatever room it’s in. For this project in an older home in Franklin, TN, the hearth extends the entire width of the living room. The homeowners had removed the old brick and had plywood installed when they called me.

The tile was a glazed porcelain that had a linen texture. It was a more modern look that would fit the room well. The question that came up was what to do with the corners. The fireplace had several corners and edges that could look awkward and even be sharp which is not good for the toddler that plays in this room. I suggested that we look at using a Schluter trim.

Schluter has a wide variety of trims for various purposes. In this case, I wanted to round the corner so their “Rondec” was the perfect choice. It also has inside and outside corner pieces for matching up trim that comes from two different directions. We chose a trim color called “graphite black” that would bring out the nearly black grain in the the hardwood flooring surrounding the hearth. The result is a professional-looking and eye-catching hearth.

Before installing the tile, I spent time carefully laying everything out and actually pre-cut all the pieces.  The trim was especially important to test fit because I wanted to end up with tight corners.  I started by cutting some short pieces of trim that I knew would be scrap and used these as test pieces while I cut the actual ones to be installed.  I’ve been really impressed with Schluter product like the trim and how great it looks when it’s all done.