Although I like the herringbone pattern in floors, I absolutely love the herringbone pattern in a fireplace. Specifically, in a firebox (a new term for me), the part of the fireplace where the fire is actually lit.

My favorite cover of Veranda features a beautiful herringbone pattern inside the fireplace. Interior design by Renea Abbott of
Shabby Slips, Houston.

The cover of this month's House Beautiful also features a beautiful fireplace with a herringbone pattern inside the fireplace.

Francois & Co. makes beautiful handcarved mantels, and many of the pictures on their
website feature herringbone fireboxes. I love this scene - the French chairs and trumeau paired with a simple but beautifully carved fireplace. The herringbone pattern inside the fireplace blends perfectly with this scene.

Another scene from the Francois & Co. website, this one a little more modern with the contemporary art and the more streamlined chairs (looks like a Todd Murphy painting above the fireplace). The mantle is sleek, and the herringbone firebox looks great in this setting too.

A large French fireplace with a herringbone firebox, via Cote de Texas. This is a statement fireplace!

This is a spectacular fireplace, made all the more lovely because of the herringbone firebox. Interior design by Pam Pierce, via Cote de Texas.

From Elle Decor. A beautiful herringbone pattern in the fireplace, but I can't help but wish that the soot stains weren't there; it detracts from the lovely color of the bricks. I guess a fireplace needs to be used, though!

This room designed by
S.R. Gambrel has a magnifent, large fireplace with a delicate herringbone pattern inside. I wish I had a picture of the fireplace head on; it is the focal point of the room, and I am sure that the herringbone pattern was carefully selected.

This well known picture in the design blog world features a room designed by Barrie Benson (Domino Magazine). Yes, I love the room, but the herringbone pattern in the fireplace also caught my eye!

One of my all time favorite living room pictures. No surprise, if you look very carefully, you can see that the fireplace has a herringbone pattern inside. Architecture and design by
William Hefner.
Old World Stoneworks also make beautiful fireplace mantels, and frequently advertise in many of the design magazine. This fireplace was featured on the Southern Accents showhouse cover in 2004. Many of the examples on their website feature a herringbone firebox.
So, I have found another 'must have' for my dream house: a herringbone pattern inside the fireplace. It works beautifully with the layered European look that I love, but as seen in these pictures, is so classic that it also goes with a variety of different styles.