Get warm from all angles

 

What if you could double or triple the value of a fireplace? The hearth has always been synonymous with a warm and welcoming home, a place for the family to gather, a retreat to reflect in comfort. In days gone by, people gathered around the fire to tell stories, play games, cook, and carry out small chores such as knitting and mending. Certainly, there’s nothing more romantic than a glass of wine before a crackling fire. Recent advancements in fireplace design are adding to these traditional values.

“If you roll the clock back 20 years, everyone wanted a square 36 x 36 fireplace,” says George LeBlanc, the general manager at Maritime Fireplaces in Moncton, NB. Fireplaces haven’t gone out of style, he says. Far from it. They add ambiance and resale value. They’re still a portal to those feelings associated with gathering around the home fires.

As for traditional wood burning fireplaces, there’s certainly still a demand, but preferences are evolving. For example, says LeBlanc, “As trends changed, we went to a bigger fireplace, openings that might be five feet wide in large, suburban housing.” But size is not all that’s changing.

“The linear fireplace market has grown over the past 10 years,” says LeBlanc. Rather than serving as a feature on one wall and heating a small area, these contemporary designs—also known as multi-view or multi-directional fireplaces—now serve as room dividers, often between a dining room and a living room, occasionally even a bedroom. Usually gas or electric, the enclosed flame is viewable from either side of a glass wall. Some are even three sided. In some cases, one of those views is through an exterior wall that provides ambiance for an outdoor room.

 
Tabletop fireplaces provide a source of heat and can function as tables. Photo by Bigstock/Nadine123

Ambience and warmth

When placed in the right location, not only do multi-directional fireplaces provide more comfort and warmth in a wider part of the home, but they can also help reduce heating costs and total carbon emissions. That’s according to Laura Litchfield, executive director of the Hearth, Patio and Barbeque Association of Canada. She says, no matter how they’re powered, such units can double the radiant heat of traditional models, warming furniture and other features while heating the air as well. Unlike traditional wood-fired fireplaces, these new gas and electric hearths provide instant heat. Quiet, efficient fans push the heat further into the home.

“It’s not a standard cookie cutter anymore,” says LeBlanc, referring to how these new designs have changed the way his customers buy fireplaces. There are now so many options, rarely are any two fireplaces the same. “Twenty years ago, I had to build it out on a piece of scratch paper. We had choices of maybe a dozen units when we began. Now we have choices of three or four hundred units. Every one we do now is custom.”

Some customers work with an architect as they design the fireplace for their new home or think through a major renovation. However, most of LeBlanc’s customers simply design their own fireplace with user-friendly digital tools. “People are going on a website themselves, building their fireplace and coming in with a print,” says LeBlanc. As the customer chooses options—brick or tile background, faux driftwood or firewood fuel, for example—the image on the screen changes to reflect each selection until a final, complete design is reached.

 

Beyond the traditional hearth

Online tools have brought European design styles and features to Canada. Suspended fireplaces hang from the ceiling. At the bottom of the chimney column, the egg-shaped fireplace is suspended about a meter above the floor. Wood pellet burning stoves now come with glass on three sides for multiple views of the live fire. LeBlanc likes to think of new products like these as both artistic and practical additions to a home.

Because people stayed home over the past couple of years, many spent big on making their houses much more livable. The rise of the outdoor room is part of that trend. Creating an outdoor room starts with considering a multi-directional heating unit that will extend both the day and the season. The popularity of the outdoor room has added to the proliferation of fireplace styles.

“Right now, I’m doing a 16-foot fireplace on the edge of a swimming pool,” says LeBlanc. While customers are getting more imaginative with exterior, open flame designs, the most popular style is the tabletop fireplace. These are literally square tables with fireplaces built into their centres. They’re popular because they look and function like a table. Chairs are placed around them. Food can be served on them. But they also provide heat and an animated design element. Tabletop fireplaces are a compelling combination of indoor comfort and outdoor ambiance.

 

Budget options

An inexpensive alternative is the chiminea, an emerging style that’s a throwback to the traditional brick or stone fireplace. Originating in Mexico centuries ago, chimineas are large, handmade terracotta pots designed with mini hearths and short chimneys. With its southern rustic feel, a chiminea adds a unique aesthetic to an outdoor room, functioning equally as a heater and an accent piece around which to build a theme.

Before deciding among the hundreds of multi-directional fireplace options, ask yourself some questions. Are you renovating an existing home or building a new one? Is your multi-directional fireplace mainly for aesthetic appeal? Do you need a unit that will supply heat in a power outage? Whether it’s inside or outside the home, where do you want to install it? How much work are you prepared to do each time you want a fire? What’s your budget?

When you have the answers and you’re ready to choose and install a multi-directional fireplace—regardless of the style—it’s time to call on a trained hearth retailer. These professionals have all the options at their fingertips and can guide you to the final design that’s right for you. After all, there’s nobody more qualified to help you transform your house into a home with the addition of a fireplace and all the warmth it can bring.