Fake Fireplaces
If your home doesn’t have a fireplace, you can still experience warmth
and ambiance with a "fake fireplace." These alternatives to wood-burning
fireplaces are less expensive and much easier to install without any invasive
and costly construction. Gas fireplaces, electric fireplaces, and gel-fueled
fireplaces are preferred by many homeowners for their convenience and style.
Portable fireplaces can also provide an instant, decorator touch with a mantel
perfect for an immediate splash of personality. And because the image of a
hearth and its fireplace tools conjures feelings of comfort and security, any
style of artificial fireplace can transform your living room into a warm
gathering space with or without a fire.
Gas, electric and gel fireplaces come in an array of “surrounds” (the wood,
metal or marble enclosing the firebox) from unfinished pine to Italian marble
and are available for every budget. Usually available in “straight” or corner
styles, most artificial fireplaces can be placed anywhere within a room. And
with Brick-Anew’s complete line of fireplace accessories, you’ll not only have
the tools necessary to manage your new artificial fireplace, you’ll pull
together a total new look for your living room.
Gas Fireplaces
Gas fireplaces typically have ceramic “logs” that glow and a real flame
that’s fueled by direct access to the home’s gas line or via a hook-up to an
outside tank. The clean-burning natural gas produces less smoke than a wood
fire, and the fuel certainly costs less.
There are two types of gas
fireplaces:
• Direct-vent gas fireplaces are vented through an outside
wall.
• Vent-free or vent-less gas fireplaces require no venting at all.
Gas fireplaces can usually be installed into an existing wood-burning
fireplace. You can buy them with convenient technology like a remote control, thermostat
control, heatless setting and safety glass. And many styles of ceramic logs for gas
fireplaces are available to choose from.
Electric Fireplaces
Electric
fireplaces offer the convenience of portability and the added benefit of
economy. Usually cheaper than gas fireplaces, homeowners can place them in any
room where there’s an electrical outlet. They don’t require venting, usually
have logs that glow rather than flames, and are fueled just by plugging it in.
It has advantages for the renter, too. With its easy portability, the electric
fireplace is the perfect way to create the comfort of a hearth and mantel on a
smaller scale to make a temporary living space feel like home.
Gel-Fueled Fireplaces
Gel-fueled fireplaces are a growing trend! Also called portable fireplaces or
vent-less fireplaces, gel fireplaces are fueled by small canisters of alcohol
gel that are placed behind the “logs” after being lit. Gel fireplaces are
economical—many are available for less than $500. Also popular with renters for
their small-scale heating, gel-fueled fireplaces are used primarily for
ambience, and the canisters are available in a variety of scents to help that
atmosphere along.
Making a Fake Fireplace
The U.S. Fire Administration reported that only about 1/3 of the population
actually uses fireplaces for heat. If you want the beauty of a fireplace without
worrying about chimneys, venting, or smoke and fumes, why not build your own
non-burning fireplace? This doesn’t have to be a throw-together job, either;
consider a hand-carved
hardwood mantel that you can finish and install yourself. Non-burning
fireplaces that don’t burn anything can still warm up a room, especially if set
with real fireplace
candelabras. And during the holidays, where else are you to hang stockings
and holiday cards if not on a mantle?
An artificial fireplace or non-burning fireplace can provide warmth and
ambience to transform a cold living room into an inviting gathering space for
the whole family. Why not consider our Electric Fireplaces? And we should know, at Brick-Anew have been in the business
of bringing families together around beautifully renovated brick fireplaces for
years.
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