Pity the homeowner who views the fireplace as a seasonal accessory.

    ``The fireplace is like a piece of furniture in the room,'' said Michael Carter, owner of Carter and Co., an interior decorating company in Boston.

    Carter likens the space to an armoire, and said it deserves attention, not neglect.

    Enter Allison O'Neal of Boston, who is deep into renovations of her four-story Beacon Hill brownstone. Her challenge to Carter: What to do with the shallow mantel atop the fireplace in the second-floor living room?

    Armed with finds from the showrooms at the Boston Design Center, Carter set to work. He was gaga over the graphic quality of the black marble fireplace surround, and opted to accentuate the scale and verticality of the space with tall decor.

    ``Many people are afraid to go high,'' he said, choosing a giant framed fern botanical as the centerpiece.

    Additional nature-themed items, all in a neutral palette, helped create contrast with the formality of the home. The finishing touch: one of O'Neal's caned-backed chairs from the first-floor foyer.

    ``Rooms almost have to have a meditative quality to them,'' he said. ``The decor needs to help create calm.''

    But where are the candles - aren't they a mantelpiece standard? ``It's a little cliche,'' he said. ``You already have a burning source. Why repeat it up above?''