10 Jun
Thinking About Remodeling Your Fireplace
If you’re thinking about remodeling your fireplace to your home, you’re in good company. Fireplaces create ambiance and warmth with the flip of a wall switch or tap of an app, offering convenience and beauty all at once. But remodeling fireplace is not something we do every day, so it’s normal to have questions about where to start. Whether you are adding a fireplace as part of a remodel or having one installed in a newly constructed space, consider these important questions first.
What Is Fireplace?
According to Wikipedia, a Fireplace is a structure made of stone, brick, metal, or a combination of all to contain the fire. It is an essential component in a building in cold regions of the world to create heat to warm up space.
Historically, the fireplace was used for heating a dwelling, water, and cooking the food for additional purposes. Nowadays, the fireplace offers a relaxing ambiance and remains as a place to get together, be it a home or an office.
Typical Structure of the Fireplace
According to Wikipedia, an ideal fireplace has some essential structural elements in a layout.
“A foundation, hearth, firebox, mantelpiece, chimney crane, grate, lintel, a lintel bar, home over-mantel, damper, smoke chamber, throat, flue, and chimney filter or afterburner.”
However, variations occur in design and component-based on fuel used in the fireplace and regional needs.
Different Types Of Fireplaces
Traditional Fireplaces:
Typical fireplaces found in historical places, which burnt mostly wood, coal, charcoal, and coke like traditional fuels.
Wood Burning Fireplaces:
For centuries, we are witnessing different kinds of wood-burning & coal-burning fireplaces, such as traditional open hearth, enclosed fireplaces, fireplace inserts, and combined stoves.
Modern Fireplaces:
The modern fireplaces are mainly used flammable gases and Ethanol as bio-fuels. However, we have green options, which mostly use electricity to generate heat in environment-friendly ways.
Gas Burning Fireplaces:
Against wood & coal-burning fireplaces, gas and ethanol burning fireplaces have several advantages like cost-effectiveness and less hazardous fumes. Of course, gas-burning fireplaces come in different designs, including direct-vented built-in fireplaces, ventless built-in fireplaces, and modified/converted fireplaces.
Similarly, Ethanol burning fireplaces come with some inserts to convert your existing traditional fireplaces into ethanol burning fireplaces. In addition, wall-mounted and tabletop fireplaces are available in the market, which is adapted to burn Ethanol like fuels.
Electric Fireplaces:
Electricity-based fireplaces are the most advanced types of fireplaces found in the modern age. Electric fireplaces come with several advantages, including fuel efficiency, cost-effective, and the most convenient option to create warm ambiance without environmental hazards.
If you are fond of traditional outlook, you can get electric mantel fireplaces. Otherwise, you can get a custom design like a combination of modern equipment such as TV, or Game Console like entertainment centers. Here, the sky is the limit for designing.
An arch-type fireplace is a traditional style of fireplace that has a curved opening at the top. The arch shape is typically created with bricks or stones and can be finished with a variety of materials, such as tile, stone, or marble. This type of fireplace is often more ornamental than functional and is often used to create a decorative focal point in a room.
Of course, stone makes an excellent fireplace surround, but you can really raise the bar on your own fireplace appeal by laying the stone in a creative way. This stone seems to move across the fireplace face by wave – a fabulous elemental contrast to the fire itself. Absolutely stunning.
Fireplaces themselves can’t be made of wood…for obvious reasons. But that doesn’t mean this warm natural material should be avoided altogether. In this stunning fireplace setting, for example, a chunky wood mantel and equally substantial corbels bring warmth and provide a distinct separation between the mantel face and the upper wall.
In a living room filled (literally) with natural light and a bright wall color, darker marble tiles on the fireplace surround are stunning. The tiles’ reflective properties enhance the window lighting, and, despite the fact that the tiles are dark, they make the room feel even brighter.
The fireplace surround is typically more notable than the fireplace itself, but not always. Your fireplace could stand out in a crowd if you laid heat-tolerant stone tiles in a herringbone pattern. Completely and utterly stunning, even in a room with plenty of other things going very, very right.
For a completely modern aesthetic, place a narrow, long fireplace below knee height. This stone example is a stunner, juxtaposing fantastically against the smooth, grey wall above. Of course, you’ll need to consider the room’s use – the presence of young children and pets might put this design on the backburner.
Open fireplaces are open-flame fireboxes with no glass panel. They are still featured in many homes, both traditional and new ones. An open fireplace should be considered a furnishing object, used very often in order to enjoy the decorative function of the flame or to occasionally cook food over the embers.
A double sided fireplace wood burning, also
Raw concrete is all the rage in the industrial style, and its use as a fireplace surround and mantel face is en pointe here. Although the contrast between the harsh concrete and the tree branches overhead is impactful, if you’re unable to incorporate the natural look in this way, the concrete fireplace itself would be an eye-catcher in any space.
We’ve all seen fireplaces in which the mantel face is stone from floor to ceiling; however, consider this stunning impact when the stone is laid floor to ceiling, end to end on the entire wall. The fireplace wall is immediately and entirely the focus of this space, and no other art or décor is even needed.
So often, a fireplace box is an expected size. But if your mantel face is tall and slim, it might make excellent sense to have the fireplace box itself mimic this silhouette by being taller than the standard form. This design is remarkable in its simplicity and aesthetic appeal.
A simple fireplace insert can really stand out with the right frame. Use wide heat-tolerant tiles to frame out the insert in a simple, clean-lined way. This is a great way to soften the transition from the harsh black edges of an insert to the rest of your space.
Push the envelope a bit with how you choose to lay the tile on your fireplace wall. Long, slim tiles laid vertically, like a waterfall, draw the eye upward and work beautifully with the concept of the fire’s flames. We love the juxtaposition of water and fire in this concept.