The Pulchra Design Competition, based in Italy, is a beauty contest devoted exclusively to objects.  Each year the panel scour the world for beautiful objects; the 100 they consider the best are posted onto the website for a public vote.  The choice is a little eclectic to say the least; currently up for votes are a Nutella jar, The Stig’s racing helmet and a tin of Nivea crème.

This year’s winner, that Gyrofocus Fireplace, was made by French fireplace company Focus and was the cause of much laughter at its original launch 32 years ago.  It seems, though, that its time has come because it won the contest ahead of a Philips TV, a Sony Ericsson mobile phone and items by French designer Philippe Starck. Almost 75,000 people took part in the vote.

The contest, which was launched in 2007, will run for ten years and at the end of that time the ten winning objects will be placed in a capsule and buried underground for future archaeologists to examine.

That’s gonna be one huge capsule!

Not only do fireplaces make wonderful focal points for any room in your home, they can also add to the value of your property.  To be frank, in today’s current economic climate anything that does that has to be worthy of consideration.

In the video link below, (sadly this particular video won’t allow embedding), New York interior design specialists discuss how some design features of your fireplace can add more value to your home than others.

If you can manage to get over the somewhat off-putting style of delivery, there is some valuable information here.

Learn about:

1.  the do’s and don’ts for placing plasma TVs above the fireplace

2.  which room is best for adding a fireplace in terms of resale value

3.  the fuel gel fireplace trend (easy, inexpensive, and stylish)

4.  using decorative mantels and other fireplace surround materials to tie in with your room’s colour scheme

5.  the romance of coal and wood-burning fireplaces.

When it comes to fireplace design, there are several aspects that influence the final look, for instance: the hearth, the grate and the style of the opening.

The hearth is the bit that you see – that is, the outside of the fireplace; the grate is the place where the fuel is burned, and the opening is the shape the hearth makes.  As there are hundreds of variations on each of these aspects, it’s no wonder we get confused!

The Hearth

Let’s consider the hearth for a moment: it can be placed on the floor, sunk beneath the floor and, very popular nowadays, suspended above the floor.

Perhaps your first consideration should be the construction material of your hearth.  If your décor is rustic or natural, then you could consider using glass, stone, or terracotta, whereas for something might modern you might be drawn to heavily glazed or brightly coloured tiles.  Of course, you should take your existing décor colours into account when selecting the tile colours.

Fireplace Tile Design Ideas

Your fireplace should be designed to blend seamlessly with the rest of the room so that it not only creates a natural gathering place for the family but also creates a resting place for the eye.  One way of doing this is by using large tiles so that there aren’t too many grout lines, which would look too ‘busy.’   Marble and slate tiles tend to come in at 12”, which means that you can cut them down to fit the exact width you need.  If you then use the same tiles uncut to tile the hearth, you will create a harmonious effect.   You can achieve a similarly seamless effect by sticking to just one colour; especially effective if you are using tiles of different sizes or patterns.

If you want to add a decorative element, consider placing a slim, patterned, border around the opening of the grate, tiling the rest of the fireplace with solid coloured tiles, picking up one of the colours from the patterned border.   A matching patterned border around the edge of the fireplace will ‘ground’ the look.

How to Tile Over a Brick Fireplace

Choosing the Best Grate for Your Fireplace

.

If you’re lucky to have a chimney breast, turn it into a focal point.  There are a variety of ways to do this, you could, for instance:

1. Paint it a different colour

2. Use a bold and dramatic wallpaper on the opposite wall to the chimney breast, and on the chimney breast itself

3. Hang a large and beautiful mirror

4. Get a piece of glass cut the same size height and width as the chimney breast so that it becomes one large mirror

5. Place a collection of small, unusual mirrors on the mantelpiece

Speaking of fireplace mantels, don’t forget it makes the perfect place to display all sorts of collections; what about: photographs, shells, dried flowers, fresh flowers, pretty antique teacups and saucers, teapots, antique jugs and art pottery

We all dream of sitting cosily around a glowing hearth, but how can you arrange the space for best effect? Symmetry always looks good, although it’s not always possible.  Use ‘pairs’ of things, such as:

1. The same chairs either side of the fireplace

2. Matching lamps

3. Matching picture frames

4. Bring the eye into the centre of the arrangement with one large picture on the chimney breast, or an impressive vase of flowers

When the fireplace is unlit, place vases of differing heights in front of the grate, perhaps mixed with pebbles, shells and pretty pillar candles.

When the majority of folk think about installing a fireplace into their home, they think in terms of traditional, usually Victorian, hearths and mantels. Yet, by doing so, they eliminate a whole world of stylish comfort from their plans.

Of course, the traditional fireplace styles so admired now were, once upon a time, contemporary; in the Victorian age, cast iron was de rigeur!  Likewise, the modern fireplaces of today will one day be viewed with nostalgia.  If there is a downside to going for the contemporary look it is that fashions change quickly, so you would be well advised to ensure that your up-to-the-minute fireplace is based upon classical lines – classic good looks never go out of fashion.

The most traditional of the contemporary fireplace designs, if that’s not a contradiction in terms, look very much like standard fireplaces – aside from the fact that, rather than standing on the floor, they are set into the wall. They are usually elevated and flush with the wall, creating a sleek line; sometimes, in relatively low-set models, a mantel is added above.  Another idea along similar lines is to flush-set the fireplace higher up the wall so that it looks like a picture – this is where the gas burning, faux wood models come into their own, creating low-maintenance good looks.

The Superior Argon Fire pictured here is a fine example of the classic contemporary look that will never go out of fashion.

Your major consideration, after deciding on fireplace style, is what fuel you want to burn. Wood-burning fires and stoves are probably the most popular choice but there is a lot of ‘cleaning out’ involved, as well as the smell of woodsmoke, which is fine in its place.  That place is probably not your newly decorated interior!  To avoid these pitfalls, you might prefer to cheat a little and go for a gas burning fireplace with faux wood; nowadays they actually look very good indeed.  If wood doesn’t ‘light your fire’ you could choose fire rocks instead, which are not only on trend but can be changed on a whim.

There’s more to fireplaces than, well fireplaces! Whilst this seemingly humble piece of architecture can be the hearth and soul of every room in the house, it takes a bit of savvy to make the best of it. For a start, there are so many architectural styles. Whether you are looking for French country flair or American south west down home comfort, its the details you put with your fireplace installation that will dictate the final effect.

Modern Cosiness

A cosy corner that owes just as much to the use of paint and pattern as it does to the style of hearth and mantel.  If this is the sort of look you’re after, the secret is to stick to a single colour.

If your taste is for something altogether more modern and streamlined, this limestone fireplace pictured above offers just as much cosiness without the fussiness of the model shown below. These two distinctly different styles just go to show that, as with everything else in life, when  it comes to heating your home its very much a case of horses for course. More than that though, these images also illustrate the fact that the fireside isn’t just for winter evenings but can serve as a decorative  feature in your home whatever the season.

Make the Most of your Hearth – Whatever the Season

Seasonal - Every season has its own ‘feel,’ from the sweet pastel colours of spring through to the russet tones of autumn.  When there is no fire burning in the grate, use it as a ‘picture-frame’ and display glass bowls or vases filled with fruits and flowers of the season.  Pick up these colours in a throw draped over the sofa.

Fireplace O-la-la

Celebrations – Make birthdays feel traditional with displays of birthday cards on the mantelpiece. Do the same at Christmas, with the addition on some festive stockings just waiting to be filled with all sorts of goodies. And nothing says Christmas more traditionally than a garland bedecked mantel, complete with twinkling lights!

Whatever the season and whatever the occasion, you should hang something special on the wall above the mantel. A stylish mirror is the traditional choice, but a stunning piece of artwork also works. In recent years it has also become fashionable to hang a large family portrait on this wall. The main rule is to keep the decor here simple – one large piece above the mantelpiece and one or two classic pieces on the mantelshelf itself.

The Edwardians appreciated space and comfort and were fond of quirky Arts & Crafts-style cosy corners;  panelled alcoves including bookshelves and cushioned benches beside the fireplace. These are  houses of the Great British surburbia; squat semi-detached, two-storey houses featuring large, light-filled rooms, dado rails, plate rails, picture rails and any other rail that you can bring to mind. It shouldn’t surprise you that these original features can help to sell a property, particularly if they include stained glass in and around front doors, and elegant cast iron fireplaces with Art Nouveau or Arts & Crafts tiling.

Arts and Crafts Fireplace

It makes sense, then, if you are thinking of selling your Edwardian property in the current slow, if not stagnant, market, to ensure that the period features in your house are both present and well-maintained. And a fireplace of the correct era is probably the number one selling point, with a reproduction fireplace of the right era coming a close second.

So, exactly what features make a fireplace and hearth ‘Edwardian.’

At the start of the Edwardian era most fireplaces featured a cast iron frame  incorporating tilesets. The Edwardian mantel would probably have been made from slate, pine or deal and it would have been painted. Mahogany and oak mantlepieces, however, were never sullied by a paintbrush! on sliders on either side.

The final days of the Victorian reign were dark as the Queen continued to mourn for her late husband. When her successor Edward VII acceded  the throne, the populace were quick to throw off  dark tiles and even darker woods.

Small cast iron frames known as canopies on legs with larger tiled panels became popular and, replacing the old tiled strips were replaced with completely tiled inserts.  Unsurprisingly, pastel colours became incredibly popular.  In terms of interior decor, Edward VII’s reign opened the windows and allowed fresh air into the stuffy Victorian parlour.

Coal was still burned in Edwardian grates, although the rising Arts and Crafts Movement were more attracted to the thought of  wood, kept in free-standing dog baskets and burnt in inglenook fireplaces.  However Arts and Crafts fireplaces, mostly handcrafted from copper, were more-or-less confined to larger, wealthier homes.

The major Edwardian style, was Art Nouveau, which was characterised by long curving and undulating lines based on plant forms.  This is the style that held sway in most homes throughout the Edwardian era,  eventually falling from favour in the run up to  World War I.

The outbreak of World War I saw the cast iron fireplace industry die a sudden death as  factories were taken over by the government for the war effort and a Great British tradition died with it – only to be resurrected in the hectic world of the 21st century. The fact is, an Edwardian fireplace in your home somehow helps to turn your home into a sanctuary.

Cast iron has been popularly used in the construction of fires and fireplace mantels since the Victorian era. With the advent of the industrial revolution, the production of cast iron soared, and thus it was used to create fires and fireplaces on a large scale. In fact, a typical Victorian fireplace was made entirely of cast iron – the combination cast iron fireplace comprised the grate, insert and fireback in one solid unit, and these were commonly found in bedrooms. Although commonly found, Victorian cast iron fireplaces were beautiful, with excellent standards of craftsmanship, and are still in demand today. Also, cast iron fires and fireplaces are still in production today, in line with the demand for cast iron reproduction fireplaces.

Marble is perhaps the most opulent and luxurious of all fireplace materials, and, as a result of this, it has been used to construct fireplace mantels for hundreds of years. Several hundreds of years ago, grand marble fireplaces covering a whole wall could be seen in many a stately home, and on a much smaller scale up and down the country. These were constructed from pure marble and thus very expensive, but today marble fireplaces are much more affordable. Many marble fireplaces are made from micro or conglomerate marble, and these are much cheaper than pure marble. Marble is also a very hardwearing material – it can last a lifetime – and easy to keep clean. As a result, marble fireplace mantels always have been and will continue to be in big demand.

Other popular fireplace mantel materials are wood and stone. Stone is a natural product that is millions of years old, and rustic stone fireplaces are all slightly different in terms of markings and colour. Stone is a very hardwearing material but brings a surprising warmth and softness to the home due to its colour, which is usually various tones of beige. It looks great when contrasted with the smoothness of marble. Wood is probably the most commonly used material for fireplace mantels due to its versatility and affordability, and the fact that it is very hardwearing. Most solid wood fireplaces are made from inexpensive pine and then varnished in various wood colours, but some expensive solid wood fireplaces are fashioned from mahogany or yew. Many modern wood fireplaces are mass-manufactured from MDF, and these are sold very cheaply. There really is a huge choice of wood mantels, both period and contemporary, and this is testament to their popularity.

The regency fireplace of Burghley House is a magnificent example of a late Georgian fireplace. The chimneypiece of white carved statuary marble was made in Rome under the supervision of the famous artist Giovanni Battista Piranesi. This bears a resemblance to the work of Robert Adam, and this makes sense, as Adam worked under Piranesi for some time. The jambs are fashioned from porphyry, a type of rock made up of large-grained crystals, and upon these are the sculptures of bearded heads, which support the mantel. There is a carved frieze, and in the centre of this is a porphyry tablet in mezzo relievo (half-relief) depicting the sacrifice of a goat.

The fire itself, the grate, fender and fire irons, are made from burnished steel with solid silver furnishings – these include the lions and wheat-sheaf incorporated into the Exeter coat of arms. The silver ornamentation is removable to ensure easy cleaning, and as a result the fireplace has been beautifully preserved up to the present time.

It is well worth a visit to Lincolnshire to see in its magnificence the regency fireplace of Burghley House.

Although the regency period was a short one, its influence lasted over 30 years, from 1795-1837.  This was a time charcterised by distinctive fashions, politics and culture, and the era was also well known for its literature and architecture, as demonstrated by the English regency fire and fire surround.

During the period, the Adam style fireplace fell out of fashion and there was a return to the simple classical surround, as introduced by the architect Sir John Soane. The Greek influence became immediately apparent, with an enthusiasm for Greek culture reflected in all areas of art. Chimneypiece design became more elaborate and elegant.

The English regency fireplace opening was elongated with a low lintel and narrow jambs. Common decorative motifs to the fireplace included the Greek anthemion ornament (related in form to the honeysuckle flower), the formal and stylised acanthus leaf, scrolls, foliage and ribbons. The overmantel often featured a large mirror in a classical frame, decorated with Greek motifs, including the Greek key pattern.

Craftsmanship was at its peak during the regency period, for the machine had yet to replace the skilled hand of the artisan. The regency style has long been assoaciated with a quintessential Englishness, as a result of the culture, design and technological advances of the era.

The English regency fire saw massive advances in technology – the dog grate was replaced by the hob grate, the fender moved outwards and became freestanding and fire guards came into use. All this meant that risk of fire was greatly reduced. 

The English regency fireplace fell out of favour as Victorian homes began to lose the grace of the era and their own tastes were established.