The living room serves as safe space for the family to relax, enjoy films and generally spend time together. This is where the household members talk to each other, invite friends over, and laugh before retiring to their bedrooms.
However, the living room is arranged not only with the comfort of the household members in mind, but also of the received guests, therefore the equipment and decor of the living room should be well thought out.
One of the obligatory elements of a modern and at the same time cosy British living room is a fireplace. The Brits love a fireplace – even if it isn’t functional, they use the hearth & mantle as a decorative piece. Many insert a fireplace like heater or burning furnaces into the hearth. Others go for imitative products such as wall mounted electric fireplace inserts where the fire is either digitally displayed or steam and LED glow replicates the burning.
Our obsession with fireplaces is unmatched. One of the first questions people ask during a living room re-design is: A fireplace vs log burner or fireplace versus insert or fireplace vs central heating – which to choose? Nowhere else across Europe, beside Scandinavia perhaps, is the fireplace so popular as it is in the UK.
Which fireplace types are considered most fashionable in 2023?
There’s no doubt that a fireplace was, is and always will be trendy. In our British environment, culture and geography, it’s a given. The British people are driven towards fire that’s lit internally.
It’s associated with a common room where the family can gather, relax, play games and chat about nonsense or important topics. A fireplace is embedded in our minds as a connotation of integrity, safety and socialisation.
As we mentioned above, you can either select a hearth that is cladded in stone material (from granite offcuts for example) which suits traditional styled homes: wooden elements, granite tops, tiles, plaster or wallpaper.
Or, there are modern alternatives e.g. the electric imitative insert furnaces that are an ideal fit for contemporary interiors: lots of concrete, grey tones, glass elements, white paint, minimalism. A fireplace for media wall, fireplace and TV wall or a fireplace with a TV above is a fantastic feature that’s present in most professionally designed houses.
Either way, a fireplace of any kind will be an important feature for your 2023 Home Design. A living room that only consists of a couch, TV and a coffee table hits different than one that has a source of fire nearby.
In a survey done some five years ago exactly that was asked: what felt more homely and cosy, after which two pictures of living rooms were shown: one with and one without a fireplace. 9/10 times the public instantly picked the fireplace inclusive interior. And not for lack of reason . . .
Why British people love fireplace ideas?
The British are so obsessed with fireplaces because we crave a lot of warmth in this country because of the persistently cool climate all year round. Even summers in the UK are relatively cold. So, just as our homes are designed with insulation in mind, so are the fireplaces and chimneys a central, fundamental piece of the architecture. Nowadays the use of real fireplaces is forbidden in a lot of places due to safety measures, but we still long for that cordial, soothing effect offered by natural flame.
The use of fireplaces, after all, has been used by our ancestors for centuries. Even as far as the Neolithic, the use of internal fire in Brochs and other mud-huts was essential to keep the family alive. In the Roman times there were numerus bathouses or villas with underfloor heating systems. Then we has the medieval central hearth that warmed the great hall of Anglo Saxons and Vikings. In the Victorian times the most common type of labour was chimney sweeping – an activity even performed by kids!
The need for internal fire as a source of heat has passed through generations and we now crave it in our own spaces because it’s a part of our DNA – an inherent drive to survive.
Why it’s worth buying a fireplace for home? And are fireplace inserts worth it?
Investing in a fireplace is profitable for many reasons. The benefits of fireplaces are many:
First of all, it is a protection in the event of failure of a boiler, which is usually the primary source of heat in the house. Of course, the fireplace can also be used as the basic heating device in a building, but most often it is an additional device that ensures energy security for the household. This is especially important in 2023 – a time of energy crisis, where gas and electricity are very expensive.
Investing in a hearth, wood / pellet stove or furnace, especially if you have an operating chimney could be very beneficial. A coal or wood burner can quickly warm up your home for a fraction of the gas or electric costs.
The fireplace also allows you to heat the given room on long winter evenings, especially when someone in the household is feeling unwell or the cold season starts. Once again, this is also relevant as new strains of the infamous flu are constantly on the rise. Vaccinations and medication are one thing – protecting our immune system via healthy diet and warmth is another.
Why a fireplace and surround should be considered for winter 2023?
The warmth of the fireplace in combination with a blanket and hot tea with honey and lemon will allow you to relax and regain strength. A lit fireplace creates a pleasant family atmosphere that positively affects the well-being. At this point, we should also touch on the aesthetic function of the fireplace. Jumping fires make the living room look very charming, it associates with safety and comfort. Of course, fireplaces also look great during the day, even when they are extinguished. A modern fireplace insert and aesthetic casing emphasize the character of the interior.
And before you ask, nowadays anyone can opt for a fireplace. It doesn’t have to be a traditional log or coal burner, but even if you have a flat or apartment with no chimney, an electric counterpart will do its job. You can even purchase granite offcuts underneath the electric stove and place it in the corner – without a doubt such fireplace without chimney will look authentic and fitting for the interior.
Where to get advice on fireplace inserts & fireplaces designs?
If you want to find out which living room fireplaces are the most fashionable at the moment, it should be enough to ask the manufacturer of fireplace inserts. They are the specialists after all – they constantly deal with interior designers and architects who are up to date on latest ideas and current trends.
They will tell you which fireplace devices best sellers and what type of casing are asked for the most.
We’re pretty certain that the most fashionable fireplaces nowadays are those with a simple design. A simple metal casing or a humble cladding of marble or granite plates that aren’t just decorative but also functional as they help to retain the heat.
Smooth, shiny surfaces, despite their simplicity, look exceptionally effective. A big advantage of the sleek granite casing is that it’s easy to clean, it does not scratch nor stain.
Where to get advice on fireplace surrounds?
When it comes to fireplace surrounds ideas, it’s not a matter of what material but what colour. It shouldn’t even be debated – granite and quartz are the best fireplace surround. As we already mentioned, stone fireplace surrounds are durable, scratch resistant and stain resistant. In such a harsh environment as a stove or fireplace cover, it’s a no brainer.
It’s now a question of which granite or quartz to choose. For this, we highly recommend you contact a local specialist, or better yet a company named Polish Granite LTD. As far as we know they are a reliable supplier of fireplace surrounds from stone, their reviews are fantastic and their delivery and installation exceptional.
If you wish to get more advice regarding anything else related to fireplaces, we highly recommend that you visit Here. You can also freely comment below this article – we highly recommend to start or engage in a debate. We’ll try to reply ourselves but it would be fantastic if we could get a few users with different home design ideas share their opinion.
