The Great Room - Fireplaces

What mansion would be complete without fireplaces.  In fact, the Great Room has two!

These are no ordinary fireplaces.  The mantel ledge sits at five-feet, four-inches tall (5'4"), with an overall width of eight-feet, four-inches (8'4").  A set of fluted pilasters sit atop the fireplace, topped with a rounded lintel, transforming the fireplace ensemble into a two story structure.  A large mirror (which itself is over 10 feet tall!) reflects light, contributing to the sense of vastness of this room.

When designing fireplaces, it is important to consider the scale of the room.  Fireplaces that are too small make the room look awkward and paradoxically "stick out like a sore thumb."  The great room, with its thirty-five-foot width (35') requires a large fireplace as a complement.  In fact, this room is on such a large scale that two fireplaces (one at each end of the room) have been included. 

The days of using fireplaces as a primary source of heat may be gone, but preserved is the function of providing a venue for engaging conversation.