A fireplace can be the centerpiece of a room, breathing personality and life into an otherwise ordinary room. It draws families together for warmth, conversation, and entertainment. But fireplace mantels - more than the fireplace itself - reflect the home owner's unique personality and create a focal point for an entire room.

The style and material of fireplace mantels - as well as the way in which they are decorated - tell a story about the homeowner and their very specific tastes. But more than anything, a mantel should be integrated into the overall design and theme of the home.

For instance, if you have an older home with a traditional fireplace, then a mantel made from natural wood or stone would be best suited to complement the fireplace. For a more contemporary home, a sleeker wood or laminate may best offset the beauty of the fireplace and make the type of statement befitting of your home.

Most fireplace mantels are built alongside the fireplace when a new home is built. When a homeowner purchases a home and wishes to change the mantel, there are a number of ways in which to go about it.

Some mantels can be purchased as a single unit through home improvement or fireplace stores. But to really reflect the personality of the homeowner and create a unique and interesting design deserving of being the focal point of a room, it should be built to custom specifications.

There are a variety of companies that specialize in building fireplace mantels by hand to the customer's exact specifications and material. Such companies will often come directly to your home to take measurements and establish the overall design of the room so as to best create something that works within the space.

For those companies who operate online, you need only supply them with proper measurements and a decorative guideline. Often, they will even have a gallery of styles from which you can choose so as to best meet your needs.

However, for those ambitious do-it-yourselfers who wish to design and build their own mantels it is possible to create a beautiful and unique piece with which to complement the fireplace and the room as a whole.

With proper measurements in hand, visit a local home improvement store where you can find a variety of materials with which to create a beautiful mantel. Be creative in your design; you can include a number of beautiful embellishments to infuse your own style into the piece.

Of course, in addition to the design and hanging of fireplace mantels comes the decorating of them. Choose wisely what you plan to display on your mantel as it will further reflect your style and personality.

A fireplace can act as a grand centerpiece in our homes - drawing family and visitors alike - as a source of heat and as a focal point of beauty. Fireplace mantels do much to illuminate that beauty even further by framing the fire and complementing a room.