apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

call your local dept of planning and permitting and ask about the code first, before you worry.

Better consult Vesta.

Is it a gas burning fireplace? Because I believe you only need a hearth around a wood burning fireplace so if any embers fall out of the fire it wouldnt start a blaze.

A gas fire has no fear of embers, so I would thing a hearth it totally optional.

Doesn't appear to be a wood burning fireplace - so no hearth necessary.

i was looking at the BoConcept catalog recently and saw a "hearth" made of glass. what i mean is that they (whoever they are, the designers, i suppose) put down an actual piece of glass in front of the fireplace.

i guess it would keep any embers off the floor, but i could help think how impractical it was. it seems breakage would be imminent!

some cities require a hearth for gas flame fires also.
I would get a thick glass hearth done in frosted glass and put gray flet fabric (thick as I could find) or double it up under the glass. That would make it easy to move around to clean and give it a soft cushion. You could also use rug cushion felt.
If you use dark glass or clear it will show the scratches real fast.
You could also get some granite cut (Lots of money) and put it on felt also. You do not have to have it cut into the wood floor.