I really should have posted this last week on Valentine’s Day… because today’s blog post is all about love… my love of fireplaces.
If there is a feature in a house that I tend to go nuts over, it’s a fireplace. When a house catches my eye from the street, one of the first things I do is count chimneys. When I look at a real estate listing I find myself fawning over homes for sale with multiple fireplaces. Weird? Probably so. But, what can I say? I love a pretty fireplace. In my dream home, I’d have a fireplace in every room… indoors and out. I wish I was kidding… but unfortunately, I’m not.
I love homes that have a combination of wood-burning and gas-log fireplaces. There’s a lot to be said for the ease and cleanliness of gas logs; but NOTHING compares to the sound, smell and feel of a real, roaring fire in a fireplace.
Sadly, our house only has one fireplace. We added an outdoor firepit several years ago and I love it to pieces. But, starting a fire in the firepit is always a production and if there’s an area regarding fireplaces that I need to be educated and need to improve, it’s in my fire-building skills. I am the worlds worst fire builder. Ironic? Probably so.
We have a painted brick fireplace in our family room. Upon Mike’s insistence, we removed the gas logs a few years back, so it’s now wood burning. To compensate for my poor fire-building skills, I’ve been known to throw one of those peat-logs onto the fire on many a night. They might not put out a lot of heat, but I love the ambiance.
I have plans to eventually add a gas log fireplace to our living room… the room has an exterior wall that a fireplace could be centered on and I love the idea of curling up by the fire in a cozy club chair with a good book… no TV blaring, no beyblades battling and no Wrestlemania XVII taking place. Mike’s got some mad DIY skills… although it takes some major cajoling and bribery to get him to put them to use. Surely he could build a fireplace for me…has anyone heard of any good DIY fireplace projects? If so, point me in their direction!
But, don’t get me started on my love of outdoor fireplaces. An outdoor fireplace makes me weak-kneed, makes my heart go pitter patter and makes me swoon. When we built the firepit on the patio outside, we debated between that and a fireplace. Guess which one I wanted?? But while I do love our firepit… it’s great for roasting marshmallows and can accommodate tons of people standing around it basking in its heat… I long for the more intimate feel of a fireplace on the screened porch. I love the idea of snuggling under a blanket on the porch of a cool night with a glass of wine in hand and a little fire cracking in the fireplace. Believe me when I say that I’m plotting and scheming to get a fireplace added to our porch. A fireplace on the porch and a firepit on the patio isn’t overkill… is it?
I’m telling you… it’s an obsession and a full blown love affair. But to me, there’s nothing more beautiful… there’s nothing that says “you’re home” more than a gorgeous fireplace. What’s your favorite feature in a house… what’s the first thing you look for?
A masonary fireplace with the core built out of blocks, not metal. We put a brick fireplace in our first house ourselves and our current house has a real fieldstone fireplace. My inlaws built two fireplaces in the home they built themselves. Thinking of a cabin next and we will build our own fieldstone fireplace in the cabin and it’s screened porch. Have practiced laying the stone on our light post and at the base of our flag pole. Love a real fire but daughter was allergic to burning wood so we have a gas log now.
We must be related. I even had to have a fireplace in our first apartment! It’s a definite must on my list. There’s nothing like it. Thanks for sharing the gorgeous images! ~ Angie