emmelinewe

POLL: Do you have a fireplace in your living room?

Emmeline Westin
8 years ago

As the days grow shorter, isn't it nice to get cosy with a book, a blanket and a cup of tea? Or to light a candle and get into a really, really good TV show.

Fireplaces definitely have the cosy factor needed for cold autumn evenings, especially if you can light a fire (perfect if you're reading a book!). Do you have one in your living room? If it's working, how often do you use it?

English Farmhouse · More Info



Yes - a working one
Yes - a non-working one (decorative)
No
Other - tell us below

Comments (50)

  • stefanmh
    8 years ago
    We have a standard Barratt Homes fitted gas fire but hardly use it as the central heating does the job. Have seen many photos of living rooms without and thought about removing it but somehow when it is on it does feel more comforting.

    Also if the boiler ever broke down we wouldn't freeze.

    Lastly if we ever sold the house it may lower the selling price if we didn't have it.

    Think we just need a nice more modern design one.
  • PRO
    Amber Jeavons Ltd
    8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    Hello Emmeline,

    Have to say I love a roaring fire... Open and logs! I have one in the living room and the bedroom... I do also really like a wood burning stove.. but here I'm really selective! It would only have to be an old Jotul- At home where I grew up the living room was parquet... an open fire at 1 end... a Jotul and french doors onto garden at the other... Nearly every room had a fireplace though... even the bedrooms... Jotul have newer styles but I'm really only talking about 1.... With a nature scene and animals on the side... They are rarer but I loved it, they are so beautiful.. You can take the top off and smoke fish too! (here's a pic of one... : ))

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  • minnie101
    8 years ago

    We have a wood burner in the living room and an open fire in the dining room. They are yet to be used as I couldn't get a chimney sweep last year, however I now have one booked for next week. I must admit we are looking forward to using them but extremely apprehensive (understatement!).The idea is to sell the woodburner and swap it for a traditonal grate so it's in keeping with the house at some point in the future although I strongly suspect we may change our mind after using both and opt to keep the safer option! I may well be back on here soon looking for foolproof instructions on how to use. I also can't wait to use them at Christmas, last year I put the led candles inside so you'd just get a glow from the "fire" but it clearly wasn't the same thing...

  • Tom Flanagan
    8 years ago

    I've got one but it's purely decorative at this stage. I'm planning on filling it with pinecones and fairy lights when the Christmas season hits!

  • Linus Reimann-Kaißer
    8 years ago

    Bought the house with one, never used it.

  • Sherbert Barnes
    8 years ago
    Yes - have open fire - only lit a few times a year but lovely and cosy on a cold dark night.
  • soozmacrae
    8 years ago

    I find if I'm in a home without a fireplace it just doesn't feel quite right. Its the real focal point of a living room not the tv.

  • Susan Wigginton
    8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    I live in a Cemetery, well The Lodge inside it. I have lovely cast iron fires in my Sitting Room and Dining Room and a Pot Belly stove in the conservatory area and yes I light and use them all Winter long, everybody loves them it's what a cosy home is all about. So get your chimneys swept and get using them!!!

    I also have a fireplace in each bedroom, boxed in with a gothic shaped board to replicate the stone mullion windows, also I have a non working fireplace in the bathroom, with a lovely roll top cast iron bath, tempting to re-open that one, how good would that be!!!


  • dawniej2
    8 years ago
    I live in a very rural area in Northern Ireland. We had one fitted into our new house and it will be used all through the winter months as it also heats the radiators throughout the house. Keeping the cost of using the heating down immensely. The dogs love it also!
  • maggotpie
    8 years ago
    We have two wood burning stoves and no central heating. Very cosy and effective.
  • PRO
    Torn Edge
    8 years ago

    We have two - a wood stove in the sitting room/dining room and and an open one in the living room. Wouldn't be without them. Lifts your spirits on a grey day like nothing else. But on a daily basis, central heating is far more practical.

  • User
    8 years ago
    Have a standard gas one but rarely use it as we have central heating too. Who doesn't love the cosiness of a real or even faux fire, but having grown up having to fill coal scuttles and clear out fire grates, the advent of central heating will be something I will never fail to be grateful for. Fires are lovely, but the work involved isn't.
  • PRO
    The Nursery Blind Company
    8 years ago

    We used to have an open fire in the living room but changed it for a wood burning stove a couple of winters ago. An open fire is lovely but most of the heat goes up the chimney and even with a guard it can spit and we had damage to the carpet and also an armchair. Absolutely love my stove - worth all the effort of sweeping it out and other half has become the complete hunter gatherer as he sources and chops wood!

    Also have a wood burning stove in our cottage in a remote part of Wales. This is a monster as it has to heat the water for the radiators, but there is nothing nicer than sitting in front of it in the winter when the wind is roaring off the mountain behind us. You have to be organised to have enough dry wood and coal but we wouldn't be without it.

    If in doubt - just go for it - you will never regret it !


  • winterfloods
    8 years ago
    There was a woodburner in our home when we bought it but we removed it as it gave out way too much heat for a house of modern construction. We used to have to open the windows to let heat out! The gas fire isn't too bad but it doesn't have the appeal of a woodburner so, guess what, we're thinking of putting one back in - but it'll be a small one.
  • 163 hrd
    8 years ago

    Love our wood burner, and always look forward to keeping a pot of mulled wine warming on the top.

  • Dave Parr
    8 years ago
    We opened the old living room up to make a kitchen diner and make a feature out of the old fire place. Granite surround, gas converted log burning stove and metro tiles we had left from the kitchen. The rad is 13000BTUs so plenty for 2 rooms on its own (no room in kitchen for 1) The big difference was all external facing walls insulated with 1" polystyrene backed plaster board. The front room we took the chimney Breast out to the ceiling. Then 50mm rock wool stud plasterboard 2mm rubber them plasterboard. Sound proof and warm. The stained glass was EBAY last year from up north. hope it gives you a few ideas, a lot from Houzz, time to pay back.. Good luck
  • douglasgdmw
    8 years ago
    We love our wood burner and it gets lots of use in the winter to keep up nice and toasty.

    Love the preparation that has to go into a wood burner, choosing the wood, getting it from the wood store then stacking beside the fire for layer. Then eventually reaping the benefits of a lovely warm relaxing fire
  • Dave Parr
    8 years ago
    I would mention that wood burning opens up a lot of issues. There is separate building regs in the UK compared to gas. It produces a lot of heat and is slow to warm up. HETAS engineer costs a bit, chimney lining. Regular sweeping so you don't get a chimney fire. A stone hearth..
    Don't let me put anyone off if that's what you want. But I had to Opt for gas conversion to keep the budget below £2000. The gas Fire fox stove was £500.. surround boarding tiles porcelain tiles Granite surround... Wood multi stove adds a lot more... Get quotes and do a realistic budget. good luck
  • margretg2
    8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    margretg2's ideas · More Info

    Yes, we have a Clearview woodburner and it's wonderful. It's not just that it produces a phenomenal amount of warmth on the coldest of days, but because it has a flat top we can use it to keep plates of mince pies warm at Christmas. I even simmer the pudding on it if we're short of space on the cooker.

  • Trisha Goodwin
    8 years ago

    We live in the Scottish highlands where wood burning stoves are quite normal in rural areas such as ours. I think it looks nice, but never use it myself when my husband is away from home. He always lights and looks after it, probably a man thing. Also, I was rescued from a fire as a child and instinctively err away from anything that burns! My friend locally had a nasty chimney fire this year, fire engine and all, which frightened me all over again. When you get the thing swept, there is mess everywhere and I am never sure of keeping my curtains and blinds (all of which I make) nice and clean with dust and ash in the room sometimes. Generally, I think they are too primitive for me, but again, they do look nice and warm the place as a secondary heating method throughout the winter.

  • Tracy Sidaway
    8 years ago

    This is our non working fireplace. We light candles in the evening for a glow

    Sorry about the clutter! We have a really good central heating system and wasn't using the fire. We took out the old fire and fireplace nearly 3 years ago and haven't missed it.

  • Dave Cooper
    8 years ago

    We like to make a TV & media wall unit the focal point of a modern British living room. :-)

    Luxury TV Media Unit · More Info


    Luxury TV Media Unit · More Info

  • PRO
    Amber Jeavons Ltd
    8 years ago

    Talking.... family, friends, eating, drinking, reading, social interaction, discussion, debate, learning. That's what I call a focus point.. With the fireplace if you have one.. . : ))

  • PRO
    Stonehouse UK
    8 years ago

    We design, hand carve and fit beautiful bespoke fireplaces. Order now to enjoy in winter 2016.

  • PRO
    Hetas aproved and trained stove installer JVStoves
    8 years ago

    I design and install fireplaces and stoves, love the heat in winter


  • PRO
    Roscoe Interiors
    8 years ago

    I believe a fireplace in a living room provides a focal point even when not lit, and can add warmth on chilly days and somewhere to display artifacts in the summer.

  • PRO
    O'Rourke Fireplaces & Stoves Ltd
    7 years ago

    We have a beautiful working wood burning stove for lots of living rooms. Perfect for those cold evenings even in the summer!

    Fireplaces · More Info

  • PRO
    J Rotherham
    7 years ago

    voted! we love Fireplaces

  • PRO
    Cahalan Construction Services
    7 years ago

    like the look of a fireplace in the living room

  • PRO
    Beshoff Stoves
    7 years ago

    We find that our clients like to set our fireplaces in their living rooms for the warm family atmosphere.

  • ianthy
    7 years ago

    I have a fireplace in every room including 1 of the bathrooms, It's a period house and we couldn't bear to rip them out so had them stripped of paint and blackened. I think they looks stunning with all the details fully exposed.

  • clarence100
    7 years ago

    We have a very bland looking fire place on an outside wall in our newly built Hopkins Home. I miss my Victorian terrace house open fire very much. Is it ever possible to install an open fire in a new build? There is no chimney! This is the best picture I can find...please excuse the cat.


    no chimney?!

  • PRO
  • PRO
    G&E Fires Stoves Bathrooms Ltd
    7 years ago

    A working one because I like practicality and style.

  • PRO
    Architectural Heritage
    7 years ago

    Ask your dog! Other than an AGA where else do dogs like to lie! And when do you see people lying on the floor just because its got under floor heating? They like to sit in front of a real fire and enjoy the heat as well as its beauty.

  • PRO
    Pamela Langbridge Curtains and Upholstery
    7 years ago

    I have a large inglenook with a log burner which I try to keep going all night when its cold. Luckily we have an endless supply of wood. I love the fire on when its a cold night

  • PRO
    Innes Architects
    7 years ago

    A small stone fireplace which helps create a focal point in the living room.

  • lisa77226
    7 years ago
    I have a working Victorian cast iron coal fire. I burn wood though because it's easier to clean up! Moving to a house with nothing this winter and though I haven't quite picked kitchen or tiles or flooring, I have obtained several quotes to have a fireplace installed! Priorities! Lol
  • PRO
    Dorking Stoves
    7 years ago

    We're a business with two fireplace showrooms in Surrey and we would say that our clients always want a fireplace in their lounge. Gas or Real fire, or even electric.

  • PRO
    Architectural Heritage
    7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    A flickering flame surrounded by ancient carved stone - Antique stone fireplaces add both character and a sense of place to any room, the knocks and bumps of the decades nay centuries, connecting hearth to home. Even with the advent of central and underfloor heating we crave that focal gathering point that a fireplace provides - a room without a fireplace? Nowhere to hang the picture, mirror or tapestry, no were to put your cards and certainly no place to hang your Christmas stocking!

  • PRO
    Fireplace & Design
    7 years ago

    working in the fireplace industry we find people love to have a fireplace as a focus point in their home

  • PRO
    Atelier-M Ltd
    7 years ago

    Every house should have one!!

  • PRO
    Caldicot Kitchen & Bathroom Centre
    7 years ago

    Absolutely adore a real fireplace - grew up with 5 open fires in a big old drafty pile in Scotland! Yet when I lived out in Germany, I didn't miss it at all - but loved the "Kachelofens!

  • PRO
    Bio Fires
    7 years ago

    We have more than one haha ;)

  • PRO
    Matthews Rea Interiors
    7 years ago

    Yes, particularly good at this time of year. I thoroughly recommend an open fire!

  • PRO
    DRU Fires
    7 years ago

    We manufacture contemporary gas and wood fires that can be installed with or without a chimney

  • PRO
    Architectural Heritage
    7 years ago

    Nothing beats sitting around a real log fire preferably surrounded by a lovely chimneypiece. Either antique or reproduction.


  • PRO
    Alex Burgess Carpentry
    7 years ago

    Would certainly like to have a fireplace with a wood burner in my living room, it gives such a cozy feel and I love the aroma of burning wood.

  • lessher
    7 years ago

    Love my fireplace.

Ireland
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