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Amazing Modern Stove & Fireplace Ideas for Your Project
Fireplaces and stoves are most commonly associated with traditional homes that ooze old-fashioned or farmhouse cosiness.
However, this long-standing focal feature doesn’t always have to look classic – you can introduce the character that a natural flame brings with a contemporary appliance and put your own individual stamp on your home decor.
From dual-sided models that can be integrated with broken-plan schemes, through to the ultra-modern suspended fires that will add a wealth of wow factor to your living space, here I’m exploring the best modern stove and fireplace ideas alongside some expert top tips to help you specify the best design.
Dual-Sided Stove & Fireplace Ideas
With dual- and multi-sided designs, the stove or fire insert will have a glass front on more than one aspect. For instance, fire inserts can be built into a double-breasted chimney or wall with the glass fronts visible from either side, creating a ‘through view’.
A multi-faceted design can also be achieved using a fire insert placed at the edge of the wall, where the front and side windows are visible. Double-fronted stoves can deliver the look in a freestanding appliance.
SLE125t tunnel fire, Solution Fires
If you’re using a dividing wall to create a broken-plan living arrangement, consider incorporating a dual-sided fire – such as this electric tunnel model from Solution Fires. The glass fronts on either side of the wall allow the room’s separate zones to benefit from just one fire.
Essential Advice: Woodburning Stoves: Your Guide to Choosing & Installing Woodburners
EXPERT VIEW Designing a media wallMike Coke from Stovax Heating Group takes a look at how to design the perfect media wall: A media wall is a modern and multifunctional feature, designed to combine entertainment, storage and aesthetic elements into one cohesive unit. They typically incorporate a television and a fireplace, which is surrounded by shelving, cabinets, or decorative elements. The benefits of a media wall extend beyond just housing a TV. They’re usually chosen by homeowners looking to create an inviting focal point, efficiently utilising space while offering a media-centred experience. Media walls can be designed to complement the room’s decor, making a statement feature that enhances the overall interior, whilst also offering a practical solution to housing everything needed for a modern home cinema. Some media walls even include integrated lighting systems to illuminate areas of the centrepiece. For those looking to incorporate a fireplace into their media wall, Gazco’s selection of electric fireplaces are a great solution. This collection of media wall electric fires seamlessly blends with the user’s lifestyle and offers a range of sizes to suit many TV screen configurations – like the eStudio 135R which is recommended for use with a 50-65” TV.
Above: Gazco’s eStudio 135R electric fireplace makes the perfect addition to a media wall Gazco eStudio electric fires also have a slimmer depth than many other electric log burners, making them even more appealing where floor space is limited. This range offers a host of energy-saving and eco features such as Open Window Detection, or even daily and weekly programming to adjust to your specific lifestyle. Mike Coke is biomass & electric development manager for Stovax Heating Group, one of the UK’s leading stove and fireplace manufacturers. |
Suspended & Hanging Fireplace Ideas
Want to truly make a centrepiece out of your fire design? Suspended models shout wow factor and can make a stylish statement in an open-plan living space.
This is where the stove or fire will be hung from the ceiling, rather than secured to the floor or wall, giving you more freedom as to where you place them.
This hanging electric fire from Onyx offers a panoramic view of the exposed LED flame effect. It can also rotate up to 340°, allowing you to alter the viewing angle if you switch up your furniture layout.
Orbit suspended electric fire, Onyx
The fire itself is often a circular or oval shape, great for a contemporary design. Just bear in mind you’ll need enough circulation space around the appliance.
More Inspiration: Open Plan Living Ideas – Kitchen, Living & Dining Rooms
Cylindrical Stoves
A stove with a more innovative shape is a simple way of achieving a modern look, without needing to consider the placement or the surround of the appliance.
Cylindrical stoves do this well, taking a traditional design and adding a contemporary twist. These models are readily available from a vast range of retailers.
Novus multifuel stove, ACR Stoves
This minimalistic curved design from ACR Stoves is a simple modern update on a traditional stove. Its black glass front and gloss black ceramic top panel give it a sleek edge. Its multifuel capability means it can burn both wood and smokeless fuels.
Jotul’s Scan 68-2 wall-mounted woodburning stove
Jotul’s Scan 68-2 wall-mounted woodburning stove is available in black or white. Its elevated position turns it into a focal feature, plus three viewing panels help the flames be seen from everywhere in the room.
Bold & Colourful Stove Designs
For something showstopping, colourful stoves are a way to make even a more traditional design look contemporary.
Modern doesn’t have to mean minimalist. If you’re one for a bright and bold aesthetic, incorporating a pop of colour into your home through your stove is a way of turning the traditional into something contemporary.
Hamlet 5 Solution, Arada
Pictured here in Flamingo pink, this Arada woodburner also comes in Miami blue, Peapod green and Raincoat yellow. Why not team it with a creative paint scheme, too?
Looking for established suppliers for your stove or fireplace? Browse Build It’s Directory of the best products
EXPERT VIEW Can fuel type affect the design options for my stove or fire?Mike Coke from Stovax Heating Group explains how the different fuel types may affect your design options: Installation requirements differ between the various fuel types, so this will impact on how and where you can incorporate them into your home. For instance, woodburning, multi-fuel and gas stoves and fires all require a flue for combustion gases to exit. A woodburner or multi-fuel product will require a conventional flue, which could be installed within an existing working chimney or, if this isn’t available, you can have a prefabricated chimney fitted. There are some gas designs which also use conventional flues. Many gas stoves are available as balanced flue options, however, which allows for installation without a chimney. Balanced flues work in conjunction with glass-fronted fires and stoves. The appliance is sealed from the room in which it is installed and a twin-wall pipe vents directly outdoors. Air for combustion is drawn in through the outer pipe whilst the inner pipe removes the combustion gases to the exterior of your property. Depending upon the model of stove or fire selected, the twin-walled pipe may exit horizontally through an external wall or vertically through the roof. Electric products, of course, do not require a chimney at all and can be simply plugged into the mains for instant heat and ambience. Their flame visuals can also function without the heat, allowing for year-round enjoyment even in the warmer months. Should you want a more traditional aesthetic, a faux chimney breast can be built to accommodate your electric appliance. |
Divide Your Room with a Contemporary Fireplace
One innovative way to use your appliance is to place it where it can act as a room divider, such as a stove placed in the centre of a zone. This design tool can help delineate areas in an open-plan room, without enclosing them.
This look often works best with dual-sided models, as the window effect helps to emphasise the flow between spaces.
Nestor Martin THS 15, Eurostove
This gas stove from Eurostove is a fantastic example of how a double-sided appliance can create identifiable zones in a room without making the space feel smaller.
It rotates 360°, too, so you can view the flames from anywhere. Its slim and elegant design means it can even be installed in smaller spaces, with the through-view helping to maintain an open-plan flow.
EXPERT VIEW Achieving a contemporary designMufajel Chowdhury, director of Concept Eight Architects explains how you can best achieve a contemporary stove or fireplace design: A stove or fire can create a true focal point in your home. As architects, we are seeing more and more clients wishing to use these appliances as a design feature in their homes as opposed to just a heat source. Instead of your traditional fireplace and mantelpiece, modern appliances with double- and triple-sided glass panels and fully suspended statement fires are becoming very popular. Don’t just think about the stove or fire itself. What will really set your contemporary design apart are the materials surrounding it, whether that be for the fireplace or to clad the chimney breast. You can use anything from metal to stone, as well as innovative materials like Dekton. Imitating marble, it’s made from a blend of quartz, porcelain and glass. However, it’s more robust and resistant to heat and fire. Budgeting is important with any key design feature – particularly if you want something that’s integrated into your home and lifestyle. For a wow-factor design that makes your stove or fire part of the architectural fabric, we would recommend budgeting around £20,000-£30,000, including supply, installation and the labour and materials for all the surrounding works. However you choose to integrate your stove or fire, if you’re going for a gas or woodburning model, it’s vital to consider ventilation. These appliances require the right mixture of oxygen and fuel to combust safely, and a route for exhaust gases to vent up the chimney or flue. Speak to your design team and heating engineer early on to ensure these details are accommodated.
In this renovation and extension project above, Concept Eight Architects used the contemporary multi-sided glass window fire from Modus Fireplaces to divide the entryway space between the kitchen and dining room. Photo: David Butler |
Contemporary Shapes & Materials
Considering a modern stove or fireplace means that there is sizeable options for incorporating new shapes and materials into your interior. As such, the nature of these products allow a fireplace or stove to double up as a contemporary design feature and heating element, with freedom to step outside the conventional.
Hergom Glance woodburning stove, Eurostove
This woodburner from Eurostove has an industrial, modern edge thanks to its top and side cast iron surround bars. Its distinctive design allows glimpses of the fire to be seen from either side, as well as a clear frontal view through the flush glass finish.
Below, this bold freestanding electric fire from Gazco makes both a convenient and contemporary addition, offering a simple way to incorporate a sleek focal point into your living space. It features a realistic LED flame picture, which can be enjoyed with or without heat.
Liberty 85 freestanding electric fire in white, and matching curved bench, Gazco
The black and white contrast design makes a modern statement, while the bench’s rounded edges break up the fire’s strong lines. Try stacking logs beneath for a natural touch.
Top image: the Air 2 freestanding woodburning fire provides a contemporary twist with its widescreen shape. Store logs beneath the stove bench to bring a rustic charm to a modern design, Stovax.
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