12 Trendy Ideas of a Fireplace Without a Mantle for a Minimalist Look

Some of us may think that a mantle in a fireplace is one of the essential things. It should come with a fireplace, similar to a hearth.

A mantle, a fireplace, and a hearth are a combination that should go hand in hand to create a complete look.

While in fact, a mantle is actually a product from a medieval era.

Indeed, it’s an essential part to add if you have a classic, traditional, rustic, farmhouse or a country fireplace. But if you prefer having a contemporary or modern fireplace, then it’s not necessary to use a mantle.

In a modern or contemporary design, simplicity and minimalism is a key. It means that you should remove every unnecessary object and eliminate the clutter.

Did you know that a mantle over a fireplace can create clutter because people tend to add some things to it, like pictures, artworks, or decorations?

To create a modern style fireplace, artworks, decorations, or such can be replaced by bold and textured materials surrounding the fireplace.

So, instead of a mantle, you can add more textures and characters to your fireplace simply by incorporating a contrasting material.

Don’t know where to start? Here are the curated looks of a trendy and modern fireplace without a mantle to create a minimalist look in a modern setting:

1. Modern Ribbon Fireplace Without a Mantle

A modern ribbon fireplace with a rectangular shape like this will always be able to exude a modern vibe.

It’s because a ribbon fireplace has sleek and clean lines and looks perfect in this contemporary setting. This ribbon fireplace is from Montigo.

Instead of a mantle, the designer surrounds this fireplace with a stone wall. This is Virginia Ledgestone from nsvi.com.

It’s obvious that this ribbon gas fireplace is installed in an accent wall, so no wonder the designer wanted to keep the fireplace as simple as possible because they wanted to let the stone wall get the most spotlight.

The way high above the fireplace, the designer designed a wall extension that is connected to the white walls around the room.

The white wall extension is way too high to become a mantle, so it’s safe to say that it’s simply a decoration, a spot where the designer could install some recessed ceiling lights to illuminate and highlight this accent wall and the fireplace.

2. Heat & Glo Direct Vent Gas Fireplace Without a Mantle

This square-shaped fireplace without a mantle looks small in this large living room, but it seems that this gas fireplace can serve its function very well.

Its placement is perfect for this living room because it is located in the center. Surely a centerpiece of the room.

There’s no detailed information about the fireplace, but it looks similar to Heat & Glo direct vent glass.

The polished chrome trim surrounding the fireplace made it look like an art piece. Simple but stunning.

The designer didn’t even use any textured material for the wall around the fireplace. They just simply painted it in a light tan color, a shade that you can easily pick from a Benjamin Moore Historical Collection.

3. A Simple Fireplace Without a Mantle Surrounded by Steel Plates

Who needs a mantle if you can evoke the elegance by just treating the wall around the fireplace with a simple finish like this?

We can’t deny the luxury and elegance of black.

If you want to incorporate a neutral color surrounding your fireplace, try black, because white is way too mainstream, and it can’t really give you a look as stunning as black does.

According to the designer, the black element that surrounds the fireplace was actually a steel plate.

These steel plates were hand-waxed to achieve a glossy finish like this and finished with a gunmetal blue patina. It’s enough to decorate a fireplace without a mantle.

The black steel plates look dramatically to contrast the white walls around. It proves that you don’t need to go the extra mile to create drama in your room. Sometimes, all it takes is just a simple color contrast.

Let the room stay minimalist with less furniture and decoration. Make sure the contrasting color is in the center of attention.

Make sure it is raised from the surrounding walls as an accent wall. This way, the fireplace also becomes a centerpiece, an element where people flock around it.

4. Aluminum Frame Around a Fireplace Without Mantle

This modern fireplace is beautifully framed by aluminum, finished in a light tan shade to match the glass tile surround.

The small rectangular-shaped fireplace without a mantle serves as a focal point because it’s installed in an accent wall.

This fireplace is Hearth Sence, a vent-free fireplace that can easily be mounted on the wall. You can find the product at efireplacestore.com.

This fireplace is surrounded by glass tiles that perfectly complement that aluminum-framed modern fireplace.

The glass tiles can actually be easily found anywhere. Ann Sacks makes similar glass tiles like this, but this product can also be the “Field Tile” by Heath.

It’s clear that the designer wanted to make this fireplace area look pop. Even though it is not raised, this accent wall looks in contrast to the surrounding.

The rest of the walls in this room is painted in Benjamin Moore – Wythe Blue.

5. Wall Recessed Fireplace Without Mantle in a Bathroom

If you think that a fireplace should have only been in a living room, think again. The designer of this project managed to think creatively to add a fireplace in a bathroom.

This recessed linear fireplace is from Spark Fires. It’s got four feet wide, which is enough to cover the whole bathroom and enough to deliver warmth around this space.

The designer incorporated tiles to decorate this fireplace that was installed without a mantle.

The mosaic tiles framing the fireplace deliver an elegant look to the bathroom. The green and white tiles can also be found as trim in a shower stall, creating two parallel lines that contrast the white tiles around.

The green and white tiles are both from Dal Tile. The green one is from the “Egyptian Glass” collection, while the white one is from the “White Porcelain” (Polaris) collection.

To create a decoration around a mantle-less fireplace like this, you don’t need to use expensive materials. Sometimes, it only takes tiles to make everything look pop.

As long as you know how to combine the tile colors, you can create an accent out of them.

6. A Stylish Fireplace Without Mantle with Porcelain Tiles Around

This fireplace is big and wide, suitable to complete this large living room.

This fireplace is different from the other modern fireplaces because of the blue rocks inside. See how beautiful these rocks are when the fireplace is on.

Who needs a mantle if you can make your fireplace look striking like this?

This fireplace comes without a mantle. However, it has a gorgeous wall treatment around. It looks like it is a 12×24 porcelain tile, a series called Tailor Made, with a Lappato finish.

The fireplace itself is framed with black plates that are a bit raised from the porcelain tiled wall accent.

Instead of the mantle, the designer only incorporated a simple hearth below the fireplace. The black hearth is narrow and short, so it’s quite impossible to add any decoration.

This is how the designer keeps the fireplace simple and minimalist with less clutter.

The hearth is more decorative than functional because it perfectly matches the black frame around the fireplace.

7. Using Wallpaper to Decorate a Fireplace Without a Mantle

Everything in this area looks warm and cozy. It’s because the designer managed to combine the warm tones seamlessly, making the entire area appear more inviting.

This is a mid-century living room with a touch of modern design.

One of the modern elements that you can see in this area is the ribbon fireplace. The long and rectangular-shaped fireplace perfectly fits the accent wall.

The accent wall is made of brown wallpaper, a darker tone that subtly contrasts the beige walls around.

This shows that only by wallpaper you can create something modern like this.

The fireplace comes without a mantle because installing a mantle over it will only ruin the sleek and seamless lines of the accent wall.

If you want to simply decorate a fireplace without a mantle, all you have to do is opt for a warm-toned wallpaper without texture to complement the surrounding drywall.

8. A Fireplace Without a Mantle as a Focal Point

Even though a fireplace without a mantle may look simple, that shouldn’t limit you from creating an excellent focal point.

In this project, the designer made the fireplace without a mantle as a center of attention. It is surrounded by two built-in bookshelves on both sides. The bookshelves are made of wood with a polished finish to create a sleek look.

In contrast, the accent wall around the fireplace is filled with tiles. They look a lot like Ann Sacks tiles in “Luxor Gray” color, a kind of limestone. Wall treatment like this will create a look of an indoor chimney.

The color palette is elegant, too. See how the gray tiles contrast the wood bookshelves and the beige walls.

Even with no mantle, this fireplace is attractive in its own way.

The black finish brings out the trendy and stylish look, and it complements the gray tiles. This is a genius way to add decorations around your fireplace without adding clutters.

You can build built-in shelves on both sides of the fireplace and fill them with your book collections, artworks, or other decorative items that match your personality or the general theme of the room.

9. A Linear Fireplace Without Mantle but Completed with a Hearth

This fireplace without a mantle is also decorated with tiles, almost the same as the previous picture. However, we all agree that this fireplace has a cooler tile treatment!

Compared to the last picture, this fireplace and the bookshelves on both sides are way smaller, but the decorative items are more prominent.

The only drawback is the clear bookshelves. It would be better if the bookshelves were more opaque because clear bookshelves like this seem cluttered, which is quite an eyesore to all the clean lines next to them.

This fireplace may have no mantle, but it surely has a hearth. The hearth is used as a display area to showcase some decorative items with a splash of color.

This hearth is made of concrete, which blends harmoniously with the steel and the tiles above and around the fireplace.

The vertical surround between the hearth and the shelves is hot rolled steel. It complements the tile above the fireplace, which is from Heath Ceramics.

As an accent wall, this fireplace area has a uniform gray look, a dark one that dramatically contrasts the white walls around.

It’s important to keep everything clean and free of clutter if you want to copy the look of this modern living room.

10. A Sleek Fireplace Without Mantle with Black Plate Surround

It’s just incredible how the stones sit in this gas fireplace. That’s the first thing that people see when they enter this living room.

Who needs a mantle if the fireplace has already been completed with beautiful fireballs like this?

The fireplace wall itself is also beautiful. Isn’t it lovely how the wood stain and the black plate around the fireplace complement each other?

If you’re wondering about the fireballs, they appear to be Rasmussen fireballs. However, this fireplace also seems to be a direct-vent gas fireplace; you can easily judge it from its glass front.

Both are contradictory because you definitely can’t put the mixed size fireballs in any gas fireplace like this, unless it has been tested and approved by the manufacturers.

These fireballs are only suitable for a wood-burning fireplace. So, if you want to incorporate this kind of ball in your fireplace, make sure you check the details first.

The matte black metal that frames the gas fireplace enhances the sleek modern design in this area. Moreover, it is combined with a wood-stained panel wall.

This panel wall is undoubtedly an accent and is custom-made to specifically meet the needs of the homeowners.

11. A Stylish Gas Fireplace Without a Mantle with a Recessed TV Above It

This contemporary living room features a stylish gas fireplace without a mantle to showcase the sleek lines of the walls.

Both sides of this fireplace are filled with built-in bookshelves made of dark tone wood, clearly used to contrast the white accent wall around the fireplace.

The fireplace is installed in the right spot, around 7’ from the sofa, so it can radiate heat evenly to the sitting space.

This fireplace is a Heat & Glo Cosmo SLR, a kind of gas fireplace with a direct vent that goes up to the soffit and then out.

Around the fireplace, the designer used drywall painted in Sherwin Williams – Aesthetic White 7035.

Drywall is considered the best to decorate a fireplace if you want a simple yet stylish look because it is minimalist and non-combustible. So, it’s safe to build around a fireplace.

If you think that a fireplace without a mantle should stand alone, you’ve got it all wrong. You can still add a TV over it.

Most people think that a mantle is useful to block the smoke and heat from the fireplace, so it won’t affect the TV above. But it’s a wrong concept. In a gas fireplace like this, you can still add a TV.

Don’t worry about the heat, because the designer of this project stated that the TV wasn’t really affected by the fireplace.

If you want a safer option, you can copy this look by recessing both the fireplace and the TV. This way, the TV is hidden inside the wall. The depth of the TV enclosure is 5”, way narrower than the cabinets, which are only 1’11”.

FYI, this fireplace starts at 16” above floor height, while the TV is at 42”, quite far from each other.

12. A Square-shaped Fireplace Without a Mantle Surrounded by Travertine Stone

The most exciting part of this contemporary living room is the neutral color palette. The beige tone around the fireplace makes the room look elegant.

The fireplace looks a lot like SoHo Wall Mount Ethanol in black finish.

To promote the neutral tone of this living room, the designer installed a custom-cut travertine stone, which was specifically hand-selected for this project.

The travertine stone delivers more textures to this area’s sleek and polished surface.

This fireplace still looks trendy and attractive without a mantle because of the travertine stone. The main concept is to accentuate a fireplace without a mantle; stone can also be your option to create an accent.

Make sure you differentiate the material of the surrounding wall and the accent wall to add contrast.

This is useful if you want to keep a neutral tone but at the same time want to highlight the contrast.

Remember that contrast doesn’t only come from the color but also from the texture. Wood and stone are both natural with a neutral tone, but they contrast each other when juxtaposed.

To top it off, the natural grain of the wood and the natural texture of stone are totally different, so they can make your room look richer and more appealing.

Closing

In fact, you can do many things to decorate your fireplace, even without a mantle.

One of the simple things is to frame the fireplace opening with some kind of plate to create a sleek look. You can also use tiles for a more versatile look, for tiles come in various colors, designs, and patterns.

Or, you can also surround your fireplace with a material that runs all the way up to the ceiling.

This works better if you use an accent wall as a focal point where you install your fireplace. The material options are endless. You can pick one that fits your need.

Some of the pictures above show fireplaces without mantles that were surrounded by materials, like a plate of steel, porcelain tiles, and travertine stones. It indicates that you can use basically anything to create an accent wall around your fireplace.

This way, even without a mantle, you can make your fireplace look stunning. Let the textured and patterned wall around it speak for itself. It will make the best decorative element in a minimalist and simple modern room.

In a modern room, the modern fireplace is commonly a gas fireplace. It can come in any design, from a ribbon to a linear fireplace.

There should be a vent to let the smoke out, but it doesn’t need a conventional chimney as a traditional wood-burning fireplace does.

For some, this design delivers a sleek and polished look.

So, what do you think about a fireplace without a mantle?

Do you think it really fits your needs and suits your personality?

Share your thoughts below!