hearth protector

[lucyp]

Does anyone have any idea where I might get a hearth protector from in Australia?

What I am after is the cushiony stuff for the rise up to the fireplace - not an actual whole fireplace gate thingy. I have seen them on the net overseas but none that post to Aust.

Alternately ideas of how to stop bumps and scratches from this thing?

Thanks

[Chickadee]

I haven't seen what you're looking for, but if you go to any good foam and/or rubber supplier (the only one I can think of is Clarkes) they should be more than willing to cut a big piece of thick foam/rubber however you want it, so that it sits over and against the edge of the hearth. They may even be able to arrange to get it covered in fabric or something else for you. It won't be fire resistant though so no good if you wanted it for when the fire is on.

We had a brick hearth in the house we were in when DD was learning to crawl. We put down foam pad, like we use for camping, with an area rug overtop, and an extra folded up rug over the edge of the brick hearth for more buffering of bub's head.

[lucyp]

Hi Martha - thats what I thought I would have to do.. It is more to stop scratches and bumps as our fire place is brick and quite rough. How did you get it to stay put?

[Chickadee]

The weight of the rug itself was enough to keep it in place over the bricks. It was a sort of braided rag rug that we folded over to make a decent thickness. For a foam pad cut to size and shape and extending down to the floor you could try rug tape which is a double-sided heavy duty tape used to keep rugs in place on hardwood floors. Or if you go to a shelving/storage store you can buy a thin bit of webbed stuff, it looks a bit like spiderwebbing and is meant to be used to keep stuff from sliding around cupboards. It would provide some friction between the mat and the hearth and stop the mat slipping.

[lucyp]

thanks again Martha!

Looks like there will be a bit of "better homes and gardens" happening at our house as we try and baby proof it!!