"The mantel must always look fantastic, since about 90 percent of the time, the fireplace is off," says Michael Horovitz, president of Delray Beach-based Twin Star International. "We work closely with furniture retailers to make sure that we have styles that work with popular furniture styles."

Traditional full-surround mantels have a wood cabinet and firebox, separated by surrounding stone or other non-combustible. Mantel cabinets have a cabinet and firebox with no separating stone or other surround. Both types are available in a wide range of styles from most manufacturers.

Choice of materials include wood (usually a veneer over medium density fiberboard, also known as MDF), stone-looks (a stone-like finish over MDF), cast-stone (molded stone with resin) and man-made (dry-tamped ground stone and binder) stone. New and antique stone mantels can be custom-fit to hold inserts, which some manufacturers sell separately.

Wood is a leading choice. Twin Star's best sellers in South Florida include the Classic Flame fireplaces, the Florence and New Castle models with cherry finishes, says creative director Kevin Killough. Nationwide, oak is the favorite finish. On the West Coast, white rules.

Classic Flame also makes stone-look mantels. A number of companies offer stone-look fireplaces online, including Sears and Fireside. Several have impressive overmantels -- mat
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