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Fireplace Design

This article, Fireplace Design, was written by Joe Hayes on February 19, 2009 08:19:32 PM

Prior to starting the design of any room's fireplace, there are a few basic elements that are by and large dealt with so that a complete fireplace design can be structured. Essentially there are three strategic components to fire place designing, and great care should be taken to ensure they all fit well with each other so that the overall look and feel of each piece flow well amongst each other.

The three key elements to designing and styling a fireplace include the hearth, the firebox and the opening between the firebox and the room where the fireplace is. We'll begin with the hearth. A hearth could be flush with the room's floor, raised above the floor, or found below the level of the floor. Often times, there might not even be a hearth. In these cases the firebox should probably be raised a few inches above the floor, as the hearth is there to protect the flooring from the intense heat that the fire can produce. Another kind of hearth might include various kinds of heart seats. More commonly, the type of fireplace with hearth seats feature two blocks on both sides of the firebox opening. Along with the many styles of of fireplace hearths, the designs of fireboxes generally have mainly to do with the relative height in relation to the floor and / or the hearth.

You'll find raised fireboxes, flush fireboxes built level in height with the floor, in addition to dropped fireboxes that are built in below than the hearth and / or floor in front of the fireplace area. Finally we have fireplace openings, also known as the surround and where the mantle can be found. The design of the opening can deviate dramatically; from straight, flat rectangular and full arch along with the more common u-shaped fire place opening. We'll touch on some of the deviations below:

The most frequently used type of fire place opening is the rectangular opening. Generally, this kind of opening will be just that - shaped in a rectangular form. However, even with rectangular openings, the sides commonly open outward from the firebox toward the face of the fireplace.
Flat arched fireplace openings, with even sides, yet the opening has a slight arch design. As with more traditional rectangular shaped openings, the edges often times open outward from the firebox towards the front of the fire place.
In addition to flat, there are also full arch openings which have no straight lines. This kind of fireplace openings usually have a continuous bend all around the fireplace opening. Usually, this is the typeyou are probably used to finding in American Southwestern fashioned fireplaces.
Corner fireplace openings allow for a couple sides open to the fireplace. Just as its name hints, corner fireplace openings are located in a manner allowing for the exposure of all of the corner area of the firebox.
Finally, u-shaped openings in which the firebox is visable on a total of three sides: the face, as well as the two side areas. These last couple styles of fireplace openings will broadly offer improved volume of heat. If you plan on providing warmth for your living room, these are in all likelihood the better openings for your fire place to think about.

Clearly, there are quite a lot of unique kinds of fireplaces and fireplace designs. Of course, they're pros and cons to each of them, therefore you should take your time while selecting the firebox, hearth and opening of the fireplace. By choosing the best design, not only will you improve the warmth of your house, you'll also make your living area more cozy.

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