The Newport: a closer look at our most-specified surround.

The Newport is the most-specified surround we make. The reason is restraint. A generous mantel shelf balanced by tapered legs and a clean header that frames the firebox without competing with it. No carved excess. The proportion is the design.

The profile.

Flat panels on the legs transition into a proportioned header with a subtle shelf return. The molding is classical but not ornate — a deliberate decision that keeps the model usable across colonial revival, modern transitional, and clean European farmhouse rooms. The same surround reads three different ways depending on the wall around it.

That cross-style flexibility is why the Newport lands more often than any other model in the collection. An interior designer specifying a 1920s Tudor restoration and a builder finishing a 2025 transitional new-build often arrive at the same model.

Finish options that change the room.

Standard limestone is the default — a warm, restrained tone that holds against plaster, painted wall paneling, or shiplap. Aged limestone deepens the surround and anchors the room toward European farmhouse. Custom color matching is no upcharge: send a chip, a hearth sample, or a stone fragment, then order the sample set to approve the finish in person before we manufacture.

Architects working a specific palette tend to use the matching service more than the standard finish. Builders doing spec homes default to standard limestone and let the room around it carry the color narrative.

Where it lands best.

Living rooms and master bedrooms most often. Dining rooms in older homes where a fireplace is a real feature, not a decorative remnant. We’ve seen the Newport set as the architectural anchor of a room, with shelving, paneling, or stone veneer built up around it afterward. It carries that load.

It accommodates both gas and wood-burning fireboxes. A standard 36-inch opening is typical. Width and height are adjustable in our shop without leaving the standard price band — most Newports get a one- or two-inch resize to fit a specific firebox.

How it compares to the closest sibling.

The Verona is the closest model in the collection when a project asks for more presence. Carved leg detail, a deeper header profile, and a heavier visual weight overall. Same six-week production, same finish options. The decision usually comes down to how much the surround should hold the room: the Newport recedes when the room is busy; the Verona steps forward when the wall around it is plain.

What buyers consistently say.

Clean, well-proportioned, and on time. The on-time piece is structural, not stylistic. Six weeks from confirmation, every time, means a builder can sequence rough-in, surround set, and trim without padding. That predictability shows up in how often the Newport gets re-specified on the same builder’s next project.

How to specify it.

Send firebox width, firebox height, and the wall depth at the planned surround location. We confirm the standard model fits, propose a resize if it doesn’t, and quote the finish. For custom color matches, the $55 sample set ships ahead so you can confirm the finish in person before production. Production starts on confirmation. Six weeks later the crate is on a FedEx Freight truck.