Your home interior decor is a fascinating extension of your self-expression when you think about it. Just as people see our clothes and hair, or the car we drive, and discover from that (or at least make certain assumptions from it!) about who we are and the kind of person we aspire to be, so it is with the style choices we make about our soft furnishings, ornaments, textures, layouts and colour schemes. And what could be making more of a statement about your home sweet home than your very own hearth, and the focal point of family life at this time of year - your heating source.
Whether we’re talking about gas or electric fireplaces or stoves, your fire projects a particular atmosphere and evokes a unique personality. That’s why today we’re going to focus on what exactly your fireplace says about you, and the style features you might want to adjust if you prefer to project a slightly different image to the world.
So how about the basics. A traditional look and feel of fireplace is perfect if you enjoy a romantically vintage setting. Or a contemporary feel with a rustic and a homely twist. You can have a cosy open fireplace with a gently flickering flame, or a hearth burning actual wood, and that way you’ll be showing your guests that you enjoy investing time and energy in home life. That aroma of burning wood and real flame is hard to beat isn't it. The crackling and sparking adds to the atmosphere. But if you want to avoid the drawbacks of burning solid fuel, you can always opt for gas or electric and get a convincing alternative that's easier to maintain. You could also go for a stove. Whether it’s woodburning or an alternative fuel equivalent, you'll get the same homely presence, and it’ll transform the centre of your domesticity like a touch of magic.
What if you’re a business person, or you have a busy no-nonsense lifestyle? You can signal that by choosing one of the contemporary wall-mounted electric fires or inset gas fireplaces. That way you can dispense with using up valuable floor space and enjoy almost complete freedom from maintenance and cleaning. That convenience of flicking a switch to get all the heat you need is going to really show the world you’re organised, efficient and that you make time in your life for the things beyond running the home. You won’t need to bother with logs and solid fuel, and that means you'll free up physical space as well as the precious hours in your evenings and weekends. For some people, the art of building a real fire is part of the joy of the warmth they get. But for others, the chance to enjoy the heat and flames without the hard work is a real incentive!
Of course, if your budget allows and you have the right scale of room, you could always invest in a really stunning and unique bespoke fireplace that brings a gas flame behind glass into the room itself, or acting as a stunning room divider. With that kind of fireplace feature, you’ll be the talking point of your friends and you’ll have even more of a reason to open your house to dinner parties and entertaining this season.
So there are some ideas, ranging from the classic open fire through to the cutting edge designer feel. The most important thing of course is that your home feels like home to you - the perfect place to relax and enjoy time off with your loved ones. You should make that your top priority, whatever else.