With fire places and wood stoves you need at least 12 inches of room on the side and a minimum of 18 inches in front of a non-flammable material. You can buy hearths, but for those that want a more professional looking solution that you wont stub your toes on, this is the way to go. I had to cut out that ugly carpet where the tile was going to be installed. The client didnt know what she wanted, but liked the color of the tile. I went with this herringbone tile design and put a wooden border around it. This client has plans for the rest of the carpet to come out and new flooring to be installed in the rest of the room and bottom floor. I will add more pictures when i start that when she either picks out the flooring she wants so i can get it or gets it herself and lets me know when its in. I gave her the square footage she will need. So that project will be in the near future and i will add more photos from before to after.