Add some warmth to your home with one of these fireplace ideas.
While the Pacific Northwest is pretty temperate in relation to the rest of the country, it can still get really cold here, especially in December! The perfect solution to a chilly winter’s night? A fireplace, of course. Regardless of the design or style of a home, a fireplace can almost always be included to make the space feel cozier.
Traditional spaces often have a fireplace as the focal point of the room. This NW Portland remodel (below, right) designed by Emmons Design and this whole house remodel (below, left) both feature traditional style fireplaces complete with mantels.
One common design struggle is managing dueling focal points in one room. This living room addition (below) designed by Emmons Design solves the problem by putting a television set and fireplace right next to each other for a balanced look.
If the living space is small it can be easy to give up on the idea of adding a fireplace, but you don’t have to! Just scale the fireplace down to fit the room. In this arts & crafts remodel designed by Emerick Architects (below, left) a masonry wood burning firebox warms up a small inglenook. A small fireplace (below, right) adds warmth to the small living space in this West Hills contemporary remodel.
A corner fireplace is a great way to tie together two separate spaces while effectively warming each. The corner fireplace in this Mid-Century Modern home remodel designed by Celeste Lewis Architecture ties a living space together with the small kitchen.
Fireplaces aren’t just for inside the house. Landscape architect Steve Shapiro (Shapiro Didway Landscape Architecture) designed the backyard landscape of this Portland home remodel to work as a comfortable outdoor living space. An outdoor fireplace keeps the area warm and enjoyable at night.
While fireplaces are great for creating a warm and cozy atmosphere, there are other, more energy efficient ways, for staying warm that we’d be remiss not to share. Guided by 21st century building science, home performance retrofits employ air sealing, insulation, efficient appliances, and window upgrades to make homes comfortable and efficient. So that fire in the hearth doesn’t need to be quite as large.
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