Should I get rid of fireplaces in bedrooms?

[voluptuagoodshag]

My musings on this so far:
Pros
They look nice
We've modernised the whole house (Victorian) so it would be nice to keep a bit of it traditional
The two bedrooms are for my Dd(11) and ds(10). At the moment they can accommodate a wardrobe, bed, chest of drawers and bedside cabinet easily at the moment as they are quite large rooms.
Kids don't spend that much time there just now though that likely to change in future
The kids like the fireplaces
It would save us money if we keep them as we don't have to fork out for builders.
Cons
They take up a useful wall in each room so can't put any furniture against it.
They will never, ever again be used as fireplaces as long as we live here so why keep them

Mitigating factors
Have to decide by next week as carpets and decorator coming
Do older kids actually spend time in their bedrooms these days? We only did because we grew up in a small house and it was the only place you could get peace/privacy
Could sell them if they come out intact and recoup the money
DH hates them

Help

[AbsintheMakesTheHeart]

I definitely vote KEEP. If nothing else, original features add value and saleability to your house (from people like me, who weep to see a blank chimney breast in a Victorian house.)

Also, kids spend most of their time in their rooms as they get older. (I haven't seen my 16yr old since mid-July...)

[naturalbaby]

I would. Our house won't be modernised for a while but the upstairs fireplace will stay and the one that was removed will hopefully be replaced.
Your only big issue against them seems to be your DH's opinion!

[BucktoothedGirlinLuxembourg]

Keep.

[voluptuagoodshag]

I was originally for getting rid when we first moved in but a gut feeling tells me I'd regret it if I did.

[eatscakefornoreasonwhatsoever]

exactly what abs said. There is nothing sadder than an old house stripped of original features. And you could always put a desk/chest of drawers in front of it if you had to, the mantelpiece then just acts as a shelf

[HarrietSchulenberg]

Def keep. Everything has been ripped out of my house by its previous incumbents and I desperately wish the old fireplaces were still shere.

[OliviaBenson]

Another vote for keeping them- I hate houses that have modernised and stripped out every bit of character.

[HRMumness]

I would say keep if you can manage with them and as you say, the rooms are a reasonable size.

We bought a house that did have the chimney breasts left in the bedrooms and in one of the receptions. Sadly, they had removed one from the reception but left the one above it in the bedroom unsupported so it also had to be removed. That meant the one in our bedroom had to go as well as they joined in the roof. I wasn't too sad about losing the (non-functional) one from our third bedroom as it was a tiny box room and it gave us a bit more space but would have preferred to keep the others. We've left the chimney breast downstairs and plan to restore it, even though it will be non-functional. I think it makes a nice feature in the room.

[onedogatoddlerandababy]

Keep. Fireplaces in bedrooms are lovely, add character and ventilate. You will be glad of the air circulation when your DS is a teenager

[Sandthorn]

Keep. I loved the bedroom fireplaces in our house as a kid - they helped fix my ideas of how a house should be. And they pretty much sold me my current house!

[WhatWouldCaitlinDo]

Another vote to keep, original features add value. They are a lovely focal point.

[Dapplegrey]

Definitely keep them for reasons given by other posters.
Also, why will they never be used? We have a fire in our bedroom when it's very cold as does dd, and it's so cosy.

[Floggingmolly]

I've kept. I love them. Although some part of me would have been happy for them to have been removed already, iykwim, as furnishing the rooms would be so much easier. But I couldn't do it myself.

[awsomer]

Keep! Please oh please keep. Think of the history!

[Stopmithering]

Keep.
You've already mentioned the key reasons to keep!
In addition to those reasons, I also think we over-furnish rooms these days. Do you really need any more furniture in those rooms?

[Bambi75]

Keep!! Too many victorian houses these days follow the stripped out-modern-soulless formula. The fireplaces are part of the history of the house, they are what adds to its vibe and soul. You could always put shelves on the wall above the mantelpiece so at least half the wall could be used.

[Bambi75]

By the way I do think that original fireplaces (along with other period features like picture rails, stained glass windows etc) will make a major comeback in the near future. They are not fashionable at the moment but there will come a day when they are back in fashion again. Just like there will come a time when everyone will shudder at the thought of farrow and ball elephants breath and bifold doors ;-)

[FriedSprout]

KEEP - will be a huge plus point if you ever need to sell. My modern box had no fireplace, we spent a lot of time and money putting one in! You are very lucky!

[nonicknameseemsavailable]

keep them, we have one in our room and in one of the other 2 bedrooms (the 3rd room never had one - we also still have the 2 original ones downstairs). In the kids room we have storage units in front of them, they stand out a bit from the wall but it isn't an issue to us, in our room nothing is in front of it so I use the space for the bin - fits really nicely in the gap.

[LadySybilLikesCake]

I have one in my room and it has dried lavender and candles inside. The one in ds's room was ripped out and the room look so bare Another vote for keep them.

[minkah]

Keep! I wish I had the fireplace in my bedroom, the one in the bedroom next to me is the only upstairs one left, and it's so pretty.

Don't go ripping out original features!

[KatherinaMinola]

Do you mean the chimney breasts? Definitely keep them - much nicer to have furniture snugly nesting in the alcoves rather than jutting out from a blank wall.

Lots of buyers look for original features too, so if you get rid of them you are cutting out a proportion of the market (assuming you might want to sell on at some point).

When we were buying I cursed all the homeowners who'd ripped out the chimney breasts from lovely period properties. (And then double glazed and pebble-dashed said properties, usually).

[burnishedsilver]

Keep. Although I must admit I'd never use them either. Definitely investigate ways to stop heat loss through them.

[Kittykatmacbill]

Keep! It makes rooms looked unbalanced if removed...
Also it will devalue your house.

[lavenderhoney]

I have a victorian house and the fireplaces have been blocked off upstairs. Downstairs the lounge and dining room are in place, but removed from the kitchen. Its ok in dds room as its not so big, but in mine its a huge room and would be lovely.

However- the extra space is good and it works for us. I can see why they did it years ago with the excitement of central heating:)