Fireplace Design Ideas: 12 Looks From the Showroom Floor
Good fireplace design ideas start with the room, not the catalog. The twelve looks below are the ones customers ask us about most, and you can see most of them on our showroom floor in Downers Grove or in our gallery of finished jobs. Each gets a few sentences: what it looks like, what sits behind it, and the house it suits.
Twelve fireplace design ideas from the showroom floor
1. A linear gas fireplace in a plaster wall
A long, low flame set into a smooth plaster wall in a soft white or a warm gray, with no mantel, no hearth and nothing to compete with the fire. It needs a direct-vent gas unit, which draws its air from outside and vents through a sealed pipe, so it can go on an outside wall with no chimney. It suits a new family room or a remodel where the wall is being rebuilt anyway.
2. A see-through fireplace between two rooms
One fireplace with glass on both sides, set in the wall between the living room and the kitchen or dining room, so both rooms get the flame and the wall stays open. It needs a gas unit made for the job. The custom linear gas fireplaces we install, and DaVinci is one of them, come in almost any length, can be ordered see-through, and can run to the ceiling if you want the wall to be all fire and glass.
3. A corner fireplace
A corner unit uses the one part of a room that furniture never does. A gas fireplace with glass on two sides, or an electric unit built into an angled corner, gives the room a focal point without taking up a wall. It suits a small living room or a bedroom, and it leaves the main wall free for the television.
4. Stacked stone, floor to ceiling
Thin-cut stone veneer laid in layers from the hearth to the ceiling, with a rough timber mantel or none at all. Gas, wood or electric can sit behind it, and because the veneer is light it goes on an ordinary framed wall. It suits a two-story family room and any house with a little of the lodge about it.
5. Painted brick
The brick fireplace that came with the house, painted or limewashed white, cream or a soft black. It is the least construction of any look here and one of the biggest changes. Keep the original wood mantel and it reads as cottage; swap it for a floating shelf and it reads as modern farmhouse. A gas insert in the old opening makes it a fireplace you actually use.
6. A tile surround
A band of tile around the opening, from plain white subway tile to a bold pattern or a hand-glazed green. Tile is thin, so it works on a wall that cannot take stone, and it is the easiest surround to change later. It suits a bungalow, a craftsman and any small, tidy fireplace that wants some personality. Our guide to fireplace surround ideas goes deeper on the materials.
7. A wood mantel on stone
A substantial wood mantel, a reclaimed beam or a painted paneled frame, resting on a stone or brick surround. It is the classic pairing: the stone takes the heat at the opening and the wood carries the warmth and the style above it. The mantel becomes the shelf the room is arranged around, and it suits almost any traditional or transitional home in the western suburbs.
8. An outdoor room
A gas or wood fireplace on the patio, with seating around it, a roof or a pergola over it and a wall of stone behind it, so the patio becomes a room you use for many more weeks of the year. It needs an outdoor-rated fireplace and, for gas, a line run out to the patio. A fire pit gives a lighter version of the same idea in a smaller yard.
9. An electric fireplace in a built-in
A long electric fireplace set into a wall of cabinetry or shelves, often under the television. It plugs into an ordinary outlet, needs no vent or gas line, and runs the flame with the heat off on a mild night. It is the look for a condo, a basement or a bedroom, and these are the ones you can see lit on our showroom floor.
10. A double-sided indoor and outdoor fireplace
One see-through gas fireplace set in the outside wall, so the living room and the patio share the same flame. The glass on the outdoor side is built for the weather. It is a new-construction or major-remodel look, because the wall has to be built for it, so plan it early with the builder.
11. Traditional brick with a raised hearth
A full-height brick fireplace, a raised hearth you can sit on, a wood mantel and a real wood fire or a gas log set behind a screen. It is the fireplace of a colonial or a split-level, and it does not need to change to be beautiful. A new gas log set or a wood insert brings it up to date without touching the brick.
12. A stove on a slate pad
A freestanding wood, pellet or gas stove on a pad of slate or stone tile, with the flue pipe rising behind it. For its size it is the warmest fireplace on this list, and the simplest to add to a room with no fireplace at all, because the pipe can run up through the roof or out through the wall. It suits a cabin-style family room and any house where the point is heat.
Choosing the look for your house
If none of the twelve jumped out, start from the house you have.
- Modern, with clean lines and little trim: looks 1, 2, 9 and 10, with concrete, large tile or plaster.
- Traditional, colonial or Victorian: looks 7 and 11, with marble, brick or a carved wood mantel.
- Farmhouse or rustic: looks 4, 5 and 12, with stacked stone, shiplap and reclaimed timber.
- Transitional, the mix that many newer suburban homes are: looks 6 and 7, with a simple wood mantel over neutral tile or limestone.
- Industrial: look 12 with a black steel stove, or look 5 with the brick left raw and a steel-faced insert.
What each look needs behind the wall
| Look | Fireplace that suits it | What the house needs |
|---|---|---|
| Linear in plaster, see-through, indoor and outdoor | Direct-vent gas | A gas line and a vent route to an outside wall or the roof |
| Stacked stone, wood mantel on stone, tile surround | Gas, wood or electric | Whatever the fireplace behind it needs; the surround is the finish |
| Painted brick, traditional brick with a raised hearth | A gas log set, a gas insert or a wood insert in the existing opening | A sound chimney, checked before the work starts |
| Corner, electric in a built-in | Electric, or a corner gas unit | An outlet for electric; a gas line and a vent for gas |
| Outdoor room | An outdoor-rated gas or wood fireplace, or a fire pit | A gas line to the patio, or somewhere dry to keep wood |
| Stove on a slate pad | A wood, pellet or gas stove | A flue pipe up through the roof or out the wall, and a hearth pad |
Seeing it before you commit
A photo of a look is one thing; standing in front of the fireplace is another. The showroom has gas, wood and electric fireplaces on display, so you can see the true size of a linear unit against a wall, and the electric ones are lit. The gallery does the same for finished jobs in local homes. Bring a photo of your wall and we will tell you which of the twelve fits it.
Common questions
Which fireplace design ideas work in a small room?
The corner fireplace, the electric unit in a built-in and the tile surround. Each gives the room a focal point without taking a whole wall, and keeping the stone or tile to the surround stops a small room from feeling smaller.
Which look needs the least construction?
Painted brick, a new gas log set in an opening you already have, or a plug-in electric fireplace. None of them touches the structure of the house. A gas insert in an existing masonry fireplace is the next step up.
Do any of these need a chimney?
Only the wood looks need a chimney of their own: a wood fireplace or a wood insert needs a sound chimney, and a stove needs its own flue pipe. A gas insert or a vented log set uses the existing flue, which has to be inspected first. A direct-vent gas fireplace vents through a sealed pipe out a side wall or the roof, and an electric fireplace needs nothing but an outlet.
Can the television go above any of these?
Above an electric fireplace, yes. Above a linear gas unit, usually, if the fireplace is built to keep the wall above it cool and the screen sits above the rising heat. Above a tall traditional fireplace the screen ends up too high, and the wall beside it is the better spot.
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.