A porcelain beam, stove hearth and chamber in Solihull

Every so often a customer wants the material itself to become the statement. For this home in Olton, Solihull, that meant a beam, stove hearth and chamber cut from Sodalite Marazzi porcelain, chosen for its striking blue and black pattern.

The project is now one of the clearest examples on the site for stoves in Solihull and for the new beams, hearths and chambers category. It shows how the stonework around a stove can carry the design of the room, not just provide a practical surround.

The local setting

Olton sits within Solihull, close enough to the Sontuoso Stone showroom for customers to see stone and porcelain samples before choosing. That mattered here because the decision came from seeing the Sodalite sample in person. The blue and black movement in the porcelain was the feature the customer wanted, so the finished chamber needed to show the material clearly.

This is not a blue marble chamber. The corrected material is Sodalite Marazzi porcelain, and that distinction matters because the project is a porcelain stove setting rather than a marble fireplace surround.

For Solihull stove projects, the surrounding material can change the whole room. A quiet hearth and chamber can make the stove feel traditional, while a bold porcelain finish makes the wall itself the statement. This customer chose the second route after seeing the sample in the showroom.

The brief

The customer wanted a fireplace that would become the focal point of the room. After seeing a sample of Sodalite porcelain in the showroom, they immediately knew it was the material they wanted, thanks to the striking blue and black pattern.

The brief was to use that material around the stove in a way that felt deliberate and seamless. The beam, hearth and chamber all needed to work together, so the porcelain became the main visual feature rather than a small accent.

Made to measure

We manufactured a bespoke stove chamber, beam and hearth in Sodalite porcelain, carefully cutting each piece to create a complete installation around the stove. The bold veining and rich colour variation give the fireplace depth and character, so the room gets impact from the material as well as the stove.

Making the pieces together allowed the hearth, chamber and beam to read as one setting. That is important for stove projects, where the stove body, opening, hearth and surrounding finish all affect whether the fireplace looks settled.

The finish

With the stove in place, the Sodalite porcelain naturally draws the eye and transforms the room. Its dramatic blue and black tones create a unique feature wall that makes a statement without overpowering the space.

For similar work, start with stoves and beams, hearths and chambers, then compare materials on the colours and finishes page. The Solihull marble surround is a related local stove-setting project, using a different material route around an existing stove.