Houzz TV: Flickering Virtual Fireplaces to Warm Your Heart
Even the look of flickering flames can cozy up a room. Here’s a virtual fire to enjoy whether or not you have a fireplace — plus decorating ideas for every kind of living room.
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So many beautiful fireplace settings! Here are two of our favorites.
Have to have a fireplace! last place, I had 6 working fireplaces which was wonderful. Really nice selection. Even the ones not to my taste are very well done. I'd love to have the integral wood storage, but then I'd have to give up book shelving...
Quick correction on #4- It's from a New Hampshire cottage, http://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/29771649/list/my-houzz-creativity-flows-in-a-new-hampshire-cottage.
Thanks!
How sad, not a single illustration of a beautiful craftsman style tile fireplace. Lots of rock and brick examples.
These are all lovely however I didn't see a double sided fireplace. We are considering this for our bedroom which has 20' ceilings. The other side of the bedroom wall is our living room with 20' ceilings that stays cold in the winter.
In the old days the fireplace had its own platform. And it's useful even nowadays!
I haven't yet met a fireplace I don't like and these are all lovely examples. My favorite in this group is probably #3...the primal quality of being outdoors in front of a fire is beautifully evoked here and it's irresistible.
I really like the fireplace mantel in that bathroom in #5. The idea of a fireplace in a bathroom suddenly intrigues.
#36 needs some interesting and comfortable pillows on that cement bench surround. Everyone wants to sit around the fire but that hard, cold surface wouldn't invite lingering.
What an amazing collection!
These are lovely!Favorite from the list: 66 - that is extraordinary!!!!
Few older homes. Mine will soon have wood burning stoves for efficiency but it is fun to document them when they are just fireplaces...Lots of ideas for how to soften all the stone. Thanks
Truly a inspiring and unique collection
Mine is an Edwardian Walnut mantle with carved art nouveau decoration. Its located in the Drawing Room of my home.
Cape Cod fireplace ar Christmas!
Our cozy fireplace looking out at the beautiful snow falling in the Rockies
My clients' cozy + contemporary sitting room....
Many are great but my favorites are 21, 25, 56, 61, 63, 68...of all I felt more comfortable in 21...but oddly enough it is not my new decor for our new house. Nice job all.
#61 is absolutely stunning! Love the whole room and the view!
In our former home we installed an RSF high efficiency unit where we previously had a closet.
Our current home has 3 wood burning fireplaces. We remodeled two existing brick fireplaces and installed 2 Supreme high efficiency wood burning units. One brick fireplace we left.
The Supreme in the kitchen gets used every day during the winter. It is our favorite place to be :-)
The RSF in our former home
The Supreme in our kitchen/dining room area
Supreme in the family room. Doesn't get used as often
Brick fireplace in the living/music room. Never used once. Not sure why I have a ladder in the picture!
Enjoyed the article and I must confess. . . living on the Sun Coast of Florida does have a few disadvantages, such as having a real fireplace.
However, it did bring back a lot fond North East snowy winter memories.
We love #34 and #40! Here are some of our favorite fireplaces from our customers' Timberpeg homes.
It seems I'm the only person with a 60+ inch TV above a (gas) fireplace! The sound bar sits on the mantle---ugh! Any ideas (besides changing the location of the TV) on how to hide/camouflage the sound bar, and not obstruct the view of the TV screen?
We have a small open-plan house and the fireplace surround took up so much room, so we got rid of the logs and stones and replaced them with tile and gas. I'm so thankful to not have to haul wood anymore!
If you're looking to remodel an ugly fireplace, consider granite split face stone tile. This all natural product is 100% recycled, beautiful and very versatile.
Here's the world's most efficient (and incredibly beautiful) fireplace. A 100% soapstone masonry heater in my home in Quebec - complete with pizza oven! http://www.soapstonesupply.com/031.php
I love the ideal of a corner round fireplace. Can you tell me how you built it? Thanks.
I wish I can have one of these kiva-like designs in my New York home. Do not know if I can find anyone who can build one around here. Thanks for showing more.
#34 hands down!! I love it.
Fireplace in our recent project.
more important is the style of the firebox.. look up Rumford fireplaces, we just had 2 built in our family cottage and they really throw the heat.
#3, hot tea w/milk, real woodburner and operable windows. wonderful.
Despite reading all the cons against a corner fireplace ( from a furniture placement point of view), we concluded,when building our house, that the corner option was the most feasible for the great room. The stones are slate "sheets." It was challenging for the stone installer as the return is not a 90 degree angle. The mantle is a reclaimed wood beam. We couldn't be more pleased.
Love the Kiva look as well.
Wow what a great article. Feature focus articles are always mind opening and beautiful to view. I'm not much of a modernist but I do appreciate good design and construction. Keep feature focus articles coming. Would like to see one, don't laugh, on cool places to incorporate or hide a liquor storage. We put ours at the end of the cabinet run beside the dishwasher and the sink. Cabinet is 7 3/4" inside with a single door and small face panel beside the dishwasher. This makes this space look like an unassuming end panel that frames in the dishwasher in a pretty way. The dishwasher is well insulated so there is vertically no heat transfer and the end cabinet acts as an additional sound barrier and also serves to give us a little extra counter space.
Great range of fireplaces. A sampling of some the fireplaces I've designed for various clients over the years.
Cantilevered glass mantle.
Massive stone fireplace wall with custom iron brackets and fireplace doors. The small iron door left of firebox opens to a dumbwaiter which brings wood up from the basement wood storage area.
too many to choose one favorite...thanks for the peeks...
...and now I have fireplace envy...just sayin'
Here's a traditional craftsman styled mantle to add to the mix! Mandi @ Dura
Here's one I designed for a 1914 house.
2 and 4 look good. 57, 61, 69, all of the stone and traditional looking fireplaces look good. I dont like most of the modern looks, and it's difficult to find a gas fireplace that really looks good.
The number 2 his my favorites ! Keep warm looking at the snow falling .....imagine...now here's mine this smooth afternoon in the beautiful Laurentiens ....
How safe is it to install a television above a fireplace, for example, the contemporary "ribbon" fireplaces, like fireplace #50? Any issues the the heat affecting the television electronics?
#30..makes me want to travel to Italy
Ivylynnlarson. Oh how lucky you are. So beautiful and soooooo cozy. Like yours better than any of the houzz ones
Love the idea of a secondary heat source. Please do a similar article on wood stoves. They new ones have catalytic converters or other options that clean the smoke so there is less pollution in the air and they generate a better heat distribution so are perfect for a secondary heat source in a home. Free standing ones are a little tricky to blend into your home decor so appreciate some inspiration. Our new Blaze King stove will be installed this week actually and we are so excited.
My personal preference is a warm and cozy fireplace that invites family and friends to gather 'round and cherish the holidays. Many of the examples seem so cold and aloof as if to say "stay away family and friends, we don't want your presence or presents". To each his own I think. A peaceful and Merry Christmas to all!
The smoke stains/soot on the fireplace surround indicates there's a problem, and it's typically accompanied by the smell of smoke in the house when a fire is going. It prompted us to have our fireplace and chimney looked at. We received conflicting information and some costly proposals to fix the problem from various professionals so we went online for some guidance. We decided that before pulling the trigger on any of the more costly proposals that we'd try installing one of those smoke guards ourselves first to see if that would help. It basically changes the size of the size of the fireplace opening. My husband installed it in less than 5 minutes but waited on using the black heat resistant caulk in case it was a bust. It worked great so he caulked it the next day. We haven't had the problem since, and it's been 3+ years since installation. Believe it was around $40 or $50.
I love #57 ... a fireplace that you can also sit on, when the stones in front get all warmed up. And I love it to look welcoming and large stones do that, like #61.
Love them all, especially the stone ones. But ours is very comfy and enjoyable fall through spring. I can be in the kitchen and enjoy seeing it across our great room.
This one is really nice. Thanks for sharing.
So beautiful. I especially love those with glass surrounds. We hope to build a Tulikivi Finnish soapstone fireplace in our new home. http://www.tulikivi.com/
The soot stains on fireplace #34 isn't "charm," it's an indication the chimney doesn't draw properly.
My after and before
How could 85 fireplaces leave me cold?
When we were designing our new home. we went to Houzz and found hundreds of big stone fireplaces...great examples. I'm glad you didn't show me these.
I would like to paint the inside of my gas fireplace black. What kind of paint should I use on the bricks?
Love modern style
I built it a month ago
I have to wonder at so many pictures where the fireplace is clearly unused - and unusable. Really, what's the point? Most of these look like a decorator's setting, not a home made warm and ruddy by the primitive power of fire. All icing, no cake.
cathyandvinny and stepping_stones: tv over fireplace
After remodel. Fireplace insert remained.
before remodel. 18' of orange stucco!
57 is the closest to my in-laws', which has good memories for me, 68 looks cozy, I like the idea of 76, and I prefer the decor of 75 and 21.
I like the rock style or the brick but my favorite is..........
Not technically a fireplace, but I loved this when I first saw it & to this day it's my favorite!
Simply simple....
I'm debating painting our brick fireplace. It's not bad; a fairly subtle mix of colors in there, more shades of rust and light browns than red, and not bold. The problem is the room itself - there's a sloped ceiling that goes from 9' on one side to probably 15' on the other. The top of the fireplace goes right with it, with the blank walls on either side doing the same. Instead of the fireplace being the focus of the room, all you notice is the stupid slope. I think if I paint it, that will be minimized - then again, the plan is to paint the walls on either side a fairly deep grey-blue, so I might have the same problem!
Perfect timing! Agree with lionscale - would love to see a flip book for wood stoves - especially some enameled ones. We're replacing the firebox fireplace (with a blower to distribute heat) with a catalytic wood stove, and I like to "pretty" ones, where you can see the fire through glass. The problem is figuring out whether to use the existing faux brick hearth/wall/mantle and just pull the firebox, or rebuild something more "timeless" with stone around a wood stove. The weight is definitely a factor... Anyway....
P.S. Thank you HOUZZ for doing flip books that scroll. I can't stand websites that make you click on 'next-next-next' and perpetually reload the page (and ads) to get to each picture. Probably, this is why I'm on Houzz all the time instead of those other sites!
Bryan- These are all cool but where is the ceramic tile?
tiled-fireplaces on pinterest
No, this is concrete not marble. In my opinion, it does not need a mantle.
Picture #3 is how I would picture heaven. A perfect place to just be...
You might want to look at firebirdsweep.com and see what such an important living element can bring to your very breath.
Did someone request Craftsman? We have that!
HATE everyone of the modern "interpretations" loved everything traditional. THAT is me.
Thanks. Thinking about changing my painted brick fireplace surround and wooden "rough hewn" mantel and this gives me several ideas.
I enjoyed this article, but was hoping for some ideas on the newer ventless and fake fireplaces being offered now. I am giving up my fireplace soon and am trying to visualize life without one. The house I am moving to was built pre-1900 and there is an unused chimney in the middle of the house. At one time I thought about removing it to improve the traffic flow but it dawned on me it could be holding up the house. Now I am toying with the idea of unearthing it then I noticed the assortment of fake fireplaces at the home store. Hoping for maybe another article with a little less tradition (i.e., no flue or surround).
cheryloja, you are the first person I am aware of who has a Finnish Tulikivi!! My husband is determined to put one in our underground house, and I agree. How do you like yours? Do you have an oven? Is it as efficient as advertised? Can you tell that the smoke and gases are burned off before exiting the house? Thank you!!
Cheryloja, your home sounds perfect. So glad to hear that the Tulikivi is a good choice. You have made many choices that we plan to put in our retirement home, including in-floor radiant heat (we have it in a new-build garage/office and adore the pure warmth,) a heated garage (ours is to be bermed, connected to our house, heated, and can be converted to bedrooms by the next family,) propane, and, of course, a Tulikivi. Do you have concrete floors? Tile? Wood? Congratulations on a beautiful, well thought out, and functional home!
Your fireplace is great, but what caught my eye was the photo in the long frame. I have a similar photo/frame that sits on our brick mantle. It was taken of Co. H 322nd Infantry when my grandfather was fighting in France during WWI
Cheryloja, I just sent you a message on your page. I hope you can receive it.
Fireplaces have such an impact as a main focal item. Here is one Portland Fireplace and Chimney and I worked on designing together - major difference.
Many beautiful fireplace designs here, from modern to traditional. Here's one of our favorite client fireplaces. We used stacked stone, board-formed concrete, and a reclaimed ash beam with iron band detail for the mantel. We call it rustic industrial.
I love these fireplaces - warm and inviting!
Now that I have seen everyone in America's fireplaces, it would have been great to hear the crackling fire instead of the music.
Who is the beautiful Christmas music by in this video?
I was going to ask the same about the music. It's not credited in the video. Can you share the artist or name of the recording? It doesn't sound like a stock piece.
Great music to accompany the pictures too... who is this artist?
Loved the music! Who is the artist? What is the name of the recording?
Please who is the music by?
Very easy, soothing and just enough jazz!
Love the fireplace thread. Here are a few more.
Amazing to see the exact same logs and fire in every fireplace. Who knew????
You do realize that every fireplace has the same image transposed in the firebox. liztopdrawer I was 4 minutes behind you.
Not true the 1st picture in our show room and is burning right now just as is shown. The second photo is from Mendota Fireplace. At a recent show I talked to the photographers about the photos and they claimed that the Mendota brand is the only brand they have not had to photo shop the flames that is an actually photo of the fireplace.
Let us know their name and album.
Your presentation was great! Thank you!
Stoneaxe3 and cheryloja - My mother built a house and had a large Tulikivi placed in the center of the first floor. It was beautiful with soapstone tiles depicting bears and other wildlife. I have no idea where she got the tiles - she was very resourceful. It was the most magnificent heating system I have ever known. For such little wood consumption it kept the entire house warm and cosy, even in the frigid high desert Oregon winters. My sisters and I still talk about it. Out of the 30 houses my mother owned (yes, 30!) that was our favorite especially because of the Tulikivi.
About the music...is it Beegie Adair - Jazz Piano Christmas??
Builders Materials - beautiful fireplace - and you should be flattered because they've taken your fireplace log set and transposed it into the other images.
Builders Materials - beautiful fireplace - and you should be flattered because they've taken your fireplace log set and transposed it into the other images.
I'm sorry I did not watch the attached slideshow. (Where they transpose the fire) I was talking about the original photos I posted.) Thank you for your comments.
Like I
Delightful. Thank you, houzz. And, the music was perfect.
what a lovely sound track! What is it? (absolutely love the fireplaces! Beautiful!)
Very well done - audio & visual !!!
Great fireplaces, and the MUSIC. can you tell us who did the arrangement and if it's available? Thnx!
Love these; just an extravaganza of wonderful photos. No.5 is the most elegant bathroom I think I've ever seen. And No. 20! Just recently I solved a thorny problem: A small living-room space (as part of a big loft-type space) dominated by an big intrusive ugly fireplace with uglier cast-iron wood-burning insert. The only solution was to do a kind of modern Druid woods-nature thing, make the stupid fireplace work for the room, until I can afford one like in these pictures . . . and No. 20's designer gave me some wonderful ideas! Loved it! Thank you, Houzz!
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Great fireplaces. Love the music! Can you tell me the name of the recording?
Love the music! Anyone know who it is??
Love all the live fire places, would like a little info. on making one and position of chimney, to avoid a smoky room. Thanks
Has anyone built a fireplace in the finished basement with or without wide windows? Is there a safety issue with the idea?
All I can say is thank you! - for the beautiful and enjoyable video with the Christmas music. I stumbled over this after Christmas, in January, and it was such a pleasure to take a pause and pretend it was Christmas again (even though most of the photos were not actually decorated for Christmas). My favorites were the rustic ones that involved brick, stone or wood because I love a warm and cozy vibe. I did notice the same yule log throughout, but positioned differently, but who cares - just love the beauty of a crackling fire in a fireplace and the mood you set. I have a lovely brick fireplace but we live in Central Florida so in lieu of a fire, I group large candles in the hearth and intertwine flame/flicker lights and twinkling white lights to achieve the effect. Again, thank you, and... good tidings of comfort and joy the whole year through!
Apparently these fireplaces all look so real that few picked up on the VIRTUAL word! That is why the same log was "burning" in most of them! It is amazing how the virtual fireplace has become its own furnishing now. Although these are beautiful, I still prefer the kind that I can cook on in an emergency!
The designs were really nice. We are in the midst of trying to choose a gas fireplace for our 9.5 x 17 ft. livingroom. The diningroom is to the right of the livingroom but is small also. Our tv will likely be placed above the fireplace do to room size. There is a bow window at the other end of the livingroom which faces the street. Not quite sure what to choose yet as far as mantel, stone or wood front etc. Any suggestions welcome. Thanks
So many gorgeous fireplaces, and all the reader submissions.
WHAT GORGEOUS FIREPLACES and decor from different minds.....in a show of glory.
Someone at Houzz has a talent for putting music to video. Please, please tell us where we can get a CD of that music, who did it... please... And, Houzz, keep that person making videos. Thank you for the magnificent treat.
Where would I buy the fire feature which is exactly the same in each photo?
Love the video, thought it was such a cool uh I mean hot idea! We don't have a fireplace. My husband is always telling me fireplaces loose heat and are inefficient whenever I admire them. That might be so but still I want one. My proof is that almost every single photo I've saved into my private idea book called 'retirement home dream house' has a fireplace in it. I have a lot of photos in my idea book and a lot of fireplaces. Maybe by the time we retire someday, hubby hopefully may begin to appreciate fireplaces so we can have one : }
Loved the crackling fire and music as well as the beautiful rooms. Thank you!
Love for fireplace and specially loved the crackling fire and music.
That was fun! Thanks! I also liked the music... can you provide information on that recording, please?
That was perhaps the loveliest selection of decor I have seen in any houzz feature.
(The one with the very blackened brick was a bit of a concern though).
Who is the music by?
Music by Beegie Adair. Great musician.
LOVE #s 3 and 63!
Winner go me every time. Others can be nice but........
They all have the same fire in the little movie!!!
#38 is stunning! I'm also curious as to the music artist. I would love to know what type of fire is shown in the video. Real or gas? And what brand if gas?
In my happy place and the reason we bought our Nashville house.
@hoot1968 I'm sure that was the video editor's way of adding life to the still photos.
Nice!
If I go to my friends house and see that same log in the center of the fire in their fireplace I'm going to LAUGH!
I feel just the opposite. Glad I’m not carrying logs into the house to feed the fire and can sit back and relax, not needing to clean up. Far more pros than cons to me.
Just finished our linear fireplace.
For this contemporary house we designed a large wall with three dimensional ledger stone and an adjacent bookcase with backlit floating shelves. We used an electric fireplace due to venting limitations.