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Fireplaces not only provide architectural beauty, but they are the cosy hub of the home. Whether you have a fully working traditional fireplace, an electric fire or a wood burner, you will know what it feels like on those cold evenings to gather around and stare at the flames.
Even if you have a non-functioning decorative fireplace (or if you want to build one from scratch!), you will want to make it look and feel like it is from the pages of an interior design magazine.
Whether you restore an old fireplace or put a new one in where one was missing, there are many ways to ensure your fireplace commands attention.
Fireplace Safety
It would be best to have your chimney swept at least once a year as a bare minimum. This ensures your chimney is kept as clean as possible and prevents build-up that will become harder to remove if you leave it.
Advice from Chimney Safety Advice – The National Association of Chimney Sweeps (NACS) is worth a read as it gives you up-to-date details of what you need to do with your chimney to make your fireplace safe to use.
Focal Point
The thing about fireplaces is that, more often than not, they are already the natural focal point in a room, be it a living area, study, or bedroom. It naturally draws the eye and makes the hearth the heart of the home. This is true whether it is a real fireplace or an architectural design element.
Adding artwork, planting and a new colour scheme will enhance the fireplace and make it the main feature of any room, especially if that room also contains a television.
Cosy Fireplace
In essence, aren’t all fireplaces supposed to be cosy?
If you have a un cosy fire, then adding a new and darker colour scheme will help. Not just by painting walls but adding furniture that faces the fire or a rug to lie on will entice you and your guest to snuggle up and enjoy the heat.
Personalise Your Fireplace
Hanging family heirlooms on the mantelpiece or family photos on top of the mantel will make it feel more like your own fireplace. Using colours that are prominent in other rooms in your house will also add that personal touch.
Whilst you already have flames, introducing scented candles that you have will make it look and feel that little bit more special.
Install A Wood Burner
If you have a fireplace complete with mantel, surround and hearth but want to avoid the maintenance and possible mess of a traditional fire, then installing a wood burner is a fantastic option.
With the addition of a stylish and contemporary log store also fitted into the fireplace, you can have all the benefits of the fire without as much work.
Colour Schemes For Your Fireplace
Brave and bold are the keys for fireplaces in 2023, and none more so than make the chimney breast a feature wall by adding a dark paint colour and brighter walls to surround it.
One of the most popular colour schemes is a dark grey chimney breast and a light-coloured mantel—one definitive way to ensure that the fireplace becomes the room’s focal point.
Seating
As our ancestors had no electronics to stare at, the fireplace was where they sat and talked. We do not expect you to sit on old logs, but clever seating around the fireplace will help you and your friends engage in conversation or quiet contemplation.
Chairs directly facing the fire can easily be turned around to face the sofa if you have guests, and those chairs can have throws and cushions that make it a more personalised experience.
Artwork
Even though a raging fire is one of the most delightful sites on earth, adding some artwork around the fireplace will give the effect that the whole thing is framed.
Paintings and pictures can be hung on walls or simply lent onto the mantel for a relaxed and effortless look.
Tiled Fire Surround
Some fireplaces, and especially those with a metal surround, would have fire-resistant tiles already, but if not, then why not add some of your own? As with most fireplace designs, these tiles, which can be brand new or reclaimed, are usually vibrantly coloured and patterned.
It is also a consideration for the hearth to have a new tiled look that completely contrasts your existing colour scheme. Be daring, be bold and be brave in your tile choices.
Exposed Brickwork
In days gone by, the chimney was usually exposed brickwork, but there was a trend to cover up this brick for a more sleek and, in all honesty, more easily manageable style. That said, exposed brickwork does have the uncanny ability to fit in with almost any style of fireplace you can think of.
Who Needs A Fire?
If you have a beautiful fireplace but do not want or need a fire then why not fill that area with, for want of a better word, ornaments.
Stacked logs to keep the fire theme of candles will maintain the fire analogy or simply put in a plant or painting. If you’ve got it, flaunt it as the unused fireplace can be a backdrop for your creative flair.
Utensils And Fire Screens
One thing that all fires will need is a fire screen and fire utensils, and this is yet another way to make your fireplace pop.
Gone are the days of plain old brass fire screens and utensils, and here are the gold days when a local blacksmith can make a bespoke set to give your fireplace a modern and contemporary feel.
Always Remember
You should never leave your fireplace burning and unattended overnight while you sleep. This represents a significant safety hazard. A fireplace should never be left burning if it is going to be unattended in any capacity.
