What type of fireplace is your favourite?

7 years ago

last modified: 6 years ago

When it's cold outside, nothing is more welcomed than returning to a toasty home (and in the case of this poll - a home that is made toasty by a fireplace!). There's something classic and old-fashioned about a wood burning fireplace, but the attention and persistence required to light such a fire and keep it burning make it a fairly laborious process! As a result, some might prefer the ease of installation, cost effectiveness or contemporary feel of other fireplaces, such as electric, gas or ethanol.

So - which kind wins it for you? Does the fireplace in your home correspond with your favourite type? Vote, comment and if you're fireplace-proud, share photos of yours below!

Central heating is enough for me!

Other - comment below!

Featured Answer

sianember

7 years ago

So the wood burner gets the most votes? I have a multi-fuel burner, but I think I'd rather have a gas fire (I don't have mains gas so that's out). Woodburners - nice to look at a real fire & nice to not have bits of burning stuff escaping the way they do with an open fire but still - the mess, the carting around of wood (or coal), desperately trying to find somewhere dry to store logs & kindling, cleaning the ashes, carrying the ashes away with dogs & cats determined to sabotage your efforts, the grimy bit of floor around the fire from the inevitable spills, the lack of heat control. I see photos of pristine rooms with wood burners & in them & marvel at the way the room remains spotless...

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (18)

Julie Scales
7 years ago
But it's worth all the effort
Related Discussions
What's your favourite painting?
Q
Comments (8)
Hubby would love almost anything by Jason Martin; in fact he bid on some of his paintings, but the price always went way higher than estimated. http://www.lissongallery.com/artists/jason-martin I'd love Escher's Relativity. Not because it's my favourite (it's not), but because I could play with it, turning it around every day and spending years deciding which side would look best in my living room light.
...See More
What's your favourite thing about winter?
Q
Comments (16)
My wife and I detest winter and head for the canaries every year for a month or two. This year we leave in mid September and will be back by the end of November ( Unfortunately ). We have reached the point where we now have to consider selling everything and making the permanent move. Let's face it, we haven't even had a summer yet !!
...See More
Vote for your favourite film-inspired interior!
Q
Comments (1188)
The NewYork apartment in the movie 'Down With Love' is my personal favourite. Sunken, circular longe, lofty spiralling staircase and that view! I'd change up the colour scheme, a bit too pink for my tastes. Or even it out by spending time at the equally stunning, James Bond-esque bachelor pad, with its wood tones and blue velvet goodness. Oh yes!
...See More
POLL: Favourite room in your home
Q
Comments (5)
The sitting room. It's what made me want the house - it's larger than I'd hoped for, overlooks the back garden, has an original 1920s fireplace (which I love), original picture rail and has reasonably tall ceilings. It has a great feel - everyone visiting says so - which makes it very easy to relax in. A close second is bedroom two - smaller than the principal bedroom, it too has a great feel and I love its slightly quirky shape. The downside is that it overlooks a hugely busy road so it's hard to sleep in there ... looking forward to the day when I can replace the windows (original wood) with double, perhaps even triple, glazed glass also in wood.
...See More
mboerner
7 years ago
I have a house in London in which we have installed a gas fire burning fake coal--coal because that's what London used to burn (and create horrible "fog"/smog). Suits our Georgian house.
Pam Hill
7 years ago
i am about to replace my ancient gas fire [an early attempt at a 'real' fire look from Valor] with a new electric flame effect fire. the flames are pretty cool, it has 'smoke' too. it works with water vapour, and the joy is, you can have the look without the heat if you want. i am asthmatic, and can't live with real fires.

http://www.dimplex.co.uk/products/fires_surrounds/Opti-myst/danville/index.htm
angelboyman
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
We have a wood burner which we inherited when we moved into our house. By all accounts, it's pretty rubbish and lets out limited heat - a fault of the burner itself rather than wood burners in general, so I'm led to believe. I have bags and bags of wood ready to be cut up to use in the burner, but I can't be bothered TBH. I have an open fire planned in a new build, but I'm also building an open fire in the garden, so I've decided that a real-flame type gas fire would get far more use than the hassle of a a real fire in the house. My folks live in a big old house with a big old fire and it takes some attention - yes the real flame is great, but you loose the romance when you have to do build it and clean it everyday just to keep warm. My opinion has reversed based on the time and hassle factor verses the romance that soon fades! I'll get my wood burning fetish out in the garden and keep the gas inside where I can have a fire at the click of a switch.

Something like this for me - http://www.burningquestion.co.uk/stoves-bellfires-vento-classic.php
PRO
House Lab
7 years ago
Check out these cool fireplaces by Antonio Lupi
PRO
House Lab
7 years ago
Fred Wonder
7 years ago
My stove is a multifuel Nestor Martin Harmony 13, and I love it. It generally starts the day burning wood, but I move to coal in the evening, which allows it to burn through the night. Emptying the ash in the morning is no big deal, as it burns very efficiently, although I do have to make room for log baskets, and vacuum the area occasionally. No problems at all with heat control - there's even a convenient remote control to raise and lower the burn rate without leaving the sofa!
Isidora Markovic
Original Author
7 years ago
@fredwunder - what a lovely wood burning stove, by the sounds of it you really make the most of it too (well, you would!)
User
7 years ago
When I win the euro millions I will certainly have real fires, because then I will also have the staff to deal with them and all the mess that goes with it. Until then, no thank you, give me gas every time, no mess and instant controllable heat. No contest.
Beth Bayley
7 years ago
I'd love a home with one of those double sided fireplaces between two rooms, I think they're a lovely feature.
Sandra Marshall
7 years ago
I voted for wood burner, but I have a simple fake coal gas fire, bought last year. I won the argument for a wood burner but then really thought about the effort and the mess, I would have done it if I thought my husband would have become a plaid shirt wearing wood obsessive satisfying a primal urge for flame, but realistically we would have used it twice and then never again.
PRO
Bio Fires
7 years ago
Bio ethanol for sure, it allows everybody to have warming fireplace anywhere they wish. It's the cleanest, and easiest fireplace, without the need for chimney, flue or gas, and comes in all the beautiful styles one can want, from contemporary to traditional.
RitaS
7 years ago
When we extended our house last year with a large fireplace we wanted a multi fuel burning stove. However the regulations regarding flue and chimney meant the neighbours would have been subjected (and may have objected) to this eyesore, even if at the back of the house. We settled for a Gas version. The stove itself (Huntington) looks exactly the same as the multi fuel version. However, we are really delighted with it. The flame looks really genuine and as others have stated there is no cleaning out and we have instant heat and sometimes so much output that we no longer have to turn on the central heating in the lower rooms! A real success. (Awaiting our first gas bill however).
Carol Taylor
7 years ago
We recently installed a multi fuel stove to supplement the central heating if it gets really cold. It is absolutely wonderful. We had a gas fire at our old house which looked like coal but there is no comparison and it's worth the cleaning up afterwards.
PRO
Lifeshapes
7 years ago
If your fireplace isn't your primary source of heating, you definitely shouldn't overlook a bio-ethanol fireplace. Much less expensive than gas and no need for flue venting or pressure checks, so you can have a freestanding unit that doesn't need to be installed. Also, in most cases, a bio ethanol flame will give you a much nicer effect than gas.
PRO
Ards Fireplaces
7 years ago

From experience we have found that more of our customers are going for gas fires, stoves and inset fires as they are more efficient, cleaner and less time consuming for you hard working people coming home late on a cold winter evening.
PRO
Greenflame Installations Ltd
7 years ago
We love woodburners! They are so much more efficient than they used to be and are a renewable way to heat your home.

What type of fireplace is your favourite?

sianember

Comments (18)

Julie Scales

Related Discussions

mboerner

Pam Hill

angelboyman

House Lab

House Lab

Fred Wonder

Isidora Markovic
Original Author

User

Beth Bayley

Sandra Marshall

Bio Fires

RitaS

Carol Taylor

Lifeshapes

Ards Fireplaces

Greenflame Installations Ltd

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

What type of fireplace is your favourite?

Comments (18)

Related Discussions

Isidora MarkovicOriginal Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Isidora Markovic
Original Author