Put deposit down on Fireview...

Great choice on the stove. I was thinking the same two colors for my new Keystone and ended up picking the Charcoal. Woodstock sent me a piece of cast iron painted with the honey glo brown and it looks more bronze than brown. Whichever color you pick you can get spray paint to match your stove pipe. Woodstock offers every color from stove bright.

http://forrestpaint.com/index.php?page=stove-bright-aerosol-numbers-colors-2

It doesn't show you how it looks on the stove, but Woodstock will mail you a palette with samples of most of the colors on it. FWIW, I share your opinion of the flat black, but I worried that any color I picked would turn out to look g00fy. I decided on charcoal after they told me that it's very similar to the color of unpainted cast iron. As for longevity, they said all of the colors 'flatten' over time, with the blue showing this the most of the 5 standard colors.

I had a tough time deciding too, but then I found out about a custom color they didn't include on that card. It's called leather, but it's really more the color of coffee beans or dark chocolate. This is what it looks like after a few months of use. There's no metallic fleck in it, but to me this was the perfect color. It's very subtle, but it still provides a nice, strong contrast with the stone of the stove.

Very nice! They should make that a standard color. I'll bet it would outsell everything but black. An interesting option listed at the bottom of the color sample card is "medium-temp clear." Show the natural color of the cast iron. Probably fades/flattens though. I'm guessing that's why it's not called "high-temp clear."

gypsy-spirit said:

My computer has been down a couple days, but before it went down I saw the original reference to the leather color, (when I searched honey glow on the forums.. or maybe the other brown color) and decided that would just fit the bill..

So.. I've ordered it in leather! lol

On about the third viewing of honey glow, I decided it looked "rusty".. so wanted something darker.

Unfortunately my computer color isn't the best, so I figure I'll just be surprised when the stove comes (the stove really does just look black to me)

Thanks for the pic though, and the recommendation .. even the saleslady didn't know about leather! lol

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Cool.

Yeah, in dim lighting, you might just think it was sort of an off black. It is subtle, but I think you'll like it based on what you've been saying.

Both our stoves are in the "stock" black. There was no option when we purchased the Fireview in 1991! But when we bought the Classic I had "options". I briefly thought about a "high gloss", shiney black but decided against it. Here's why: when we bought the Fireview we chose it because it was efficient, but also because it was comfortingly "traditional" in appearance. Something that was essentially timeless in its design. I knew that if I selected the "stock", flat black color of the castings the stove would retain its comforting, "traditonal" appeal... and if I decided to change the color scheme of my living area in the next few years the stove would continue to be a the quiet, unassuming, beautiful piece that lends a wonderfully "traditional" bass note to the entire room.

I work in the interior design field. I see lots of very high-end homes and I see what the designers hired by owners help them select. "Keep it simple, stupid". For most of us the purchase of a woodstove involves a lot of "discretionary cash". I think "overthinking" the color of the castings on something as expensive as a Woostock stove is dangerous from a design standpoint.

Sure, you may think earth tones are great in '10, but how about in '15? times and styles change. What you think is hip and cool now may well be passe in 5-10 yrs.. What you decide for the castings is a very personal choice. But if you are nervous, unsure... opt for the default option. What looked great in 1850-60 and inspired the stove you've just decided to buy will look great in another 10-15 yrs..

Congrats, Gypsy. All good points, Bobbin, and your post on "classics" in the other thread on Fireview colors had me convinced that I had chosen wisely. But I switched from black to charcoal because, to my eye, the black contrasts too starkly against the soapstone. . .kinda has a black//white effect, to my eye. I didn't want a fancy metallic color, but decided that the color of unpainted iron, which 'charcoal' mimics, would look good on our hearth of natural stone. The hearth is framed by dark brown wood trim that matches the room's wainscoting. The walls are white, and I will be "changing the color scheme. . ." um. . .never. Dreezon's pic may not be brightly lit, but I *think* that color would look fantastic in our room. I was actually looking for a dark brown, but the closest thing on the paint sample card is "rich brown metallic." FWIW, black is Woodstock's top seller in the Fireview, followed by charcoal. I think a good dark brown would also be a top seller. Kudos to Dreezon for finding this color.

. . .and how cool is Woodstock for offering stoves in any color you want! . . .provided the high-temp paint exists. However, I do agree with Bobbin that so many choices make it easy to get yourself into trouble.

Den said:

Congrats, Gypsy. All good points, Bobbin, and your post on "classics" in the other thread on Fireview colors had me convinced that I had chosen wisely. But I switched from black to charcoal because, to my eye, the black contrasts too starkly against the soapstone. . .kinda has a black//white effect, to my eye. I didn't want a fancy metallic color, but decided that the color of unpainted iron, which 'charcoal' mimics, would look good on our hearth of natural stone. The hearth is framed by dark brown wood trim that matches the room's wainscoting. The walls are white, and I will be "changing the color scheme. . ." um. . .never. Dreezon's pic may not be brightly lit, but I *think* that color would look fantastic in our room. I was actually looking for a dark brown, but the closest thing on the paint sample card is "rich brown metallic." FWIW, black is Woodstock's top seller in the Fireview, followed by charcoal. I think a good dark brown would also be a top seller. Kudos to Dreezon for finding this color.

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They didn't tell me about Leather until after I got a couple samples (one being rich brown metallic) and didn't feel either was as dark as I wanted. I was told that the reason they don't show the full range of custom options is that they're afraid it would be too confusing for customers and lead to indecision. I can understand that, but I do think Leather should be a standard choice. I think it has that same classic, goes-with-almost-anything quality as black and charcoal while also having a slightly warmer, richer quality.

18 paint samples on the card, including stuff like "shimmering r0se," and they don't want to overload us with a basic dark brown? They could've sent me 99 colors, and I would've just focused on the browns. Wait, here are 16 more not shown but listed at the bottom, including "Bark Brown." What kind of bark? Who named these? Anyhow, like I said, I think offering all these color options is very cool of Woodstock. They said that charcoal used to be a custom color, but they had so many requests for it that it became one of the standard colors. I think the same thing would happen with a "Coffee." (Yes, the name should be changed too.)

Den said:

Wait, here are 16 more not shown but listed at the bottom, including "Bark Brown."

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Those colors are shown on on a second "Colors not shown on color card" color card. Sort of an oxymoron, I suppose?

You can find it on the Stove Bright, NorthlineExpress, and other sites.

RenovationGeorge said:

Den said:

Wait, here are 16 more not shown but listed at the bottom, including "Bark Brown."

Click to expand...

Those colors are shown on on a second "Colors not shown on color card" color card. Sort of an oxymoron, I suppose?

You can find it on the Stove Bright, NorthlineExpress, and other sites.

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George,
What are you doing digging up old Woodstock threads? I thought you were sold on the Magical Blaze Kings? We would all welcome you with open arms in the cult of the Fireview as well. ;-)

Todd said:

RenovationGeorge said:

Den said:

Wait, here are 16 more not shown but listed at the bottom, including "Bark Brown."

Click to expand...

Those colors are shown on on a second "Colors not shown on color card" color card. Sort of an oxymoron, I suppose?

You can find it on the Stove Bright, NorthlineExpress, and other sites.

Click to expand...

George,
What are you doing digging up old Woodstock threads? I thought you were sold on the Magical Blaze Kings? We would all welcome you with open arms in the cult of the Fireview as well. ;-)

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Really?!? You like me?! You really like me!!?? :wow:

Thanks Todd, I sincerely appreciate it.

I have my biases, and get stuck on something right up until the moment that I change my mind, then be just as ardent about that. I guess that's part of my process--using a strawman to explore the implications and see where they lead me.

But at the same time, I like lots of stoves besides the BKs--Woodstock, Hearthstone, PE...

I won't hijack this thread rehashing my decision process, but I love soapstone in look and function, and am keeping a excited eye out for Woodstock's upcoming big boy. If they put a thermostat on that... soapstone + thermostat + cat... ahhh.... (drooling like Homer)

Well, the reason I did not comment on this thread is that I was gone all of June and part of July. This is the first time I've seen it.

I did like Bobbin's comments on choosing the colors.

Gypsy, congratulations on a fine looking stove and install.

Great looking install Gypsy, keep us posted how it works out.

Great install.

Just guessing, but I think jet black would've looked much darker than the leather...I like the leather.

gypsy-spirit said:

I had just been thinking that I should get back on here to let y'all know how my fireview worked out...

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It's *alive*! Ah, so something good came out of my zombie thread resurrection--I was nosing around looking at stove colors, and was a bit embarrassed when I realized how old it was.

Thanks Gypsy, for taking the time to share how it all worked out. I always enjoy the closure.

I can definitely see the Bark, er Leather color, and it looks great.