Unwinding in front of a fireplace during a cold evening is a simply an enchanting experience.  The roaring heat drives the cool air from the room while one drinks in radiant light.  Although fireplaces are meant to be practical, they should be beautiful as well.  This is true in the South, where winters are rather limited, as well as in the North during their extensive blustery winters.  Contemporary fireplaces feature captivating mantel shelves and surrounds and strive to achieve artistic designs as a source of heat.  Wooden mantel shelves and surrounds have been the preferred decision for hundreds of years and have maintained fame among homeowners.  As a result, cabinet manufacturers and millworks companies now specialize in fashioning unique surrounds and shelves for their clients.  Every client’s design and size specification can be achieved through this resource.  At one time, cabinet builders and millworks companies were unable to manufacture hand carved mantels.  It was also hardly possible for homeowners to locate a accomplished artisan to shape such an exclusive piece.  If found the price would have been excessive.  Engineers have designed machinery that can carve wood (as well as other mediums).  The majority of current manufacturing methods lie in CNC (Computer Numeric Controlled) technology - essentially a router robot that shapes wood following computer generated three-dimensional drawings.  As elaborate as these mechanisms are, hand carved examples can never be accurately imitated. The small nuances and imperfections of a seasoned artisan are impossible in today's impersonal mass-production based assembly. Seasoned artisans have the talent to chisel undercuts and small details and shapes not possible with the steel tooling used in CNC machines. The contrasts between the two techniques - CNC and hand carving - are obvious even to the casual observer.  The good news is that there are seasoned carvers in other countries that continue to exercise their fascinating expertise and make their pieces of art available to the US marketplace at acceptable costs. Though these are not custom made for each and every specification, they are crafted to fit the majority of fireplaces. If a fireplace requires additional height, hand carved mantel extensions can be included to boost the height of the mantel surround.  This is no problem for a mantel shelf since it rests above the fireplace.  Mantel shelves will accommodate almost all openings and can be customized further with hand carved corbels and other carved embellishments.  So if you are seeking a genuine hand-carved mantel surrounds or mantel shelves, they can still be had for an resonable price through distributors here in the United States.