Fireplace Trends for the 2026–27 Season
The fireplace trends for the 2026–27 season are easy to name, because we hear them every week in the showroom: long electric fireplaces that plug in anywhere, wood that burns cleaner than the old open hearth, outdoor rooms built around a fire, walls of plaster or stone with no mantel, see-through units between rooms, and controls on a remote or a phone. This is not a survey; it is what customers from Downers Grove and the western suburbs ask us for.
The six fireplace trends we hear about most
1. Long electric fireplaces, anywhere there is an outlet
More people now ask for an electric fireplace first, not as a fallback. The units they want are long and low, set into the wall or into cabinetry under the television, with layered LED flames in a choice of colors and the flame running with the heat off on a mild evening. A wall or recessed electric fireplace plugs into an ordinary 120 V outlet, needs no vent and no gas line, and can go in a condo, a bedroom or a basement. The limit is heat: on that outlet a unit gives about 1,500 W, enough to take the chill off one room.
2. Wood that burns clean
Wood is not going away; what has changed is what people mean by it. Nobody asks for the open masonry hearth that sends most of its heat up the chimney. They ask for a sealed wood fireplace or a wood insert that burns hot behind glass, re-burns the smoke before it leaves the firebox, and sends real heat into the room. Some of the newest are hybrids, with a catalyst and a second set of air jets, so the fire stays clean at a low burn as well as a high one. The result is the smell and sound of real wood with far less smoke.
3. The outdoor room
The patio has become a room, and the fireplace is what makes it one. Customers ask for an outdoor gas fireplace with a stone wall behind it, a roof or a pergola over it, and seating that faces the fire, because it stretches the patio season by weeks at each end. For a smaller yard a gas fire pit does the same on a smaller scale. It needs an outdoor-rated unit, built for rain and freezing, and for gas a line run out to the patio.
4. The wall as the design: plaster and stone
The heavy carved mantel is asked for less each season. In its place is a wall. One version is smooth plaster in a soft white or a warm gray, the fireplace set into it, no shelf, no hearth, the fire the only detail. The other is stacked stone veneer from floor to ceiling, with a single beam for a mantel or none at all. Plaster suits a long linear unit; stone suits gas, wood or electric, and because veneer is light it goes on an ordinary framed wall.
5. See-through units between rooms
Open floor plans want a fireplace that does not close a room off, and the answer is a see-through gas fireplace: glass on both faces, set in the wall between the living room and the kitchen, so both sides get the flame and the sight line stays open. The indoor and outdoor version puts the same unit in the outside wall. The custom linear gas fireplaces we install, and DaVinci is one of them, are built to order in almost any length and height, single-sided, see-through or open on three sides.
6. Controls on the remote, the wall or the phone
Most new gas fireplaces come with a thermostat remote, so the fire holds the room at a temperature rather than running flat out, and a timer that turns it off after you have gone to bed. Many run the flame height, the fan and the accent lighting from the same handset, and a growing number link to a phone app. Many gas units also have a battery backup for the ignition, or a pilot that needs no power, so the fireplace still lights in a power cut. Electric fireplaces do the same from a remote or an app.
What each trend asks of the house
| Trend | What it needs | Who asks for it |
|---|---|---|
| Long electric fireplace | An outlet and a wall or built-in to set it into | Condos, bedrooms, basements, anyone who wants the look without construction work |
| Clean-burning wood | A sound chimney, or a new chase and flue | People who want the real thing and real heat |
| Outdoor room | An outdoor-rated unit and a gas line to the patio | Anyone with a patio |
| Plaster or stone wall | A wall being rebuilt or refaced, planned with the fireplace | Remodels and new family rooms |
| See-through unit | A direct-vent gas unit made for it and a wall it can vent from | Open plans, new builds, indoor and outdoor rooms |
| Smart controls | Included on some models, an option on others — it depends on the ignition and control package | Almost everyone |
Trends are not rules
A trend is only useful if it suits the house. A colonial in Hinsdale with a good brick fireplace does not need a plaster wall; it needs a gas insert and a coat of paint. A new open-plan family room in Naperville probably does want the linear unit. The showroom in Downers Grove has gas, wood and electric fireplaces on display, and the electric ones lit, so you can see the size and the flame before you fall for a photo.
Common questions
Is an electric fireplace good enough to be the main fireplace?
As the look of the room, yes. As heat, it is a 1,500 W heater, fine for a bedroom or a den and not enough for an open main floor. If the fireplace has to warm the room you live in, choose gas or wood.
Is wood still worth it?
If you want the real thing, yes. A sealed wood fireplace or insert gives you the smell and the sound with far less smoke and far more heat than an open hearth. It does need a sound chimney, dry wood and the yearly sweep and inspection the national fire-safety standard recommends.
Can I control a gas fireplace from my phone?
On many current models, yes, through the maker’s app, and on most through a thermostat remote or a wall control. Which one depends on the fireplace, so tell us early that it matters.
Do I need a mantel?
No. A linear gas or electric fireplace in a plaster wall usually looks better without one. A traditional fireplace with a taller opening usually wants one, and any shelf over a gas or wood fireplace has to sit outside the clearance distance the maker specifies.
Talk it through in the showroom
A Fireplace Store and More is at 1202-B 75th Street in Downers Grove, open seven days. Bring a photo of the wall or the opening, or just the question. We size it, quote it in writing and install it with our own team. Book a showroom or in-home visit, ask for a written estimate, or call (630) 241-1919.