To think living rooms done have fires anymore?

[OverTheHammer]

So I'm getting quite into interior design and am currently pondering how to do the living room. In my job I visit upto 20 houses a day and I've noticed that the younger, more modern folk don't have living room fires anymore.

We currently have one of those electric "stones on fire" glass wall pieces but IMO, that is dated now!

DH disagrees and says a living room needs a centre piece fire.

AIBU to think fires are "so last year"?

No fireplace
= no mantelshelf
= nowhere to put photos of wedding day, clay model of unidentifiable animal made in Year 2, half drunk mug of tea from 10.30am this morning, key to bleed radiator, expensive (unlit so far) smelly candle, posh stiffy invitation to cousin's wedding, unposh invite to friend's 40th, 3 hair bobbles, biro lid, postcards from Snowdon, St David's and Greece and Philips screwdriver.

I would never move anywhere without either a real fire, a log burner or a gas fire. If the leccy goes for any reason and it's the middle of winter, you're up the creek. At least with one of the above you can keep warm.

This.

My house was built in 1998 and has a chimney.
I never used the fireplace and had it blocked up when I had an extension and lounge rejig in 2009. The fireplace was on one of the long walls and it didn't justify the wall space.
I love MIL's real fire, but it's not something I'd bother with myself.

so if I was to put a log burner there, the TV would be sat above it which is obviously a no no

Why is it a no no? The chimney is insulated when you put in a stove. Do you mean aesthetically you don't like the idea?

I love our log burner. They add value according to my estate agent friend.

I fucking hate log burners (we get the smell of the neighbours' log burners, and cars covered in ash without any of the "amazing warmth"). And the silver chimneys around the houses makes them look like Chinese takeaways. And that's befor you consider all the additional carbon dioxide and carcinogens going into the local atmosphere for my kid to breathe.

We moved into a new build 10 years ago and it came with a built in gas fire which we removed and replaced with a log burner. To our surprise and delight we didn't even need to upgrade the chimney.

The house I grew up in had eight fireplaces… pity the poor maid who had to deal with those in the 19th century 😂

We don't have a fire in the sitting room in our current (old) house. It's in the kitchen/dining room instead.

I fucking hate log burners (we get the smell of the neighbours' log burners, and cars covered in ash without any of the "amazing warmth"). And the silver chimneys around the houses makes them look like Chinese takeaways. And that's befor you consider all the additional carbon dioxide and carcinogens going into the local atmosphere for my kid to breathe

Huh? Something is wrong with their installation then and they are burning the wrong wood. It should not smell and there should be absolutely no ask coming out of the chimney, that's bizzare. And I've no idea why the chimney would be silver. Ours are all brick and part of the original build.

In addition when they are installed a carbon monoxide monitor is also fitted to ensure there is no leaks into the house and it's completely safe when it disperses into the atmosphere above the house due to the amount. Your kids would have to be up on their roof inhaling it

. I'm not sure what your neighbour has going on there but it doesn't sound right.

You won't get a new build through the building regs with a massive great hole in the house, unless you put on masses of renewables.

If the tv trumps the fireplace in the context of design might I gently suggest you need to find a different hobby.

We have one 28" tv on a corner stand In the family room. It's only 12x14 so no need for anything any bigger at all and certainly no need to have it on the wall.

We have a real fire and it's wonderful in the winter. Love putting it on in the evenings and getting all cosy.

I would agree the massive telly on the wall is the bigger design faux pas in this scenario....but still not getting why the op can not have a log burner and a tv on the chimney breast.

We had the most ugly gas fire until just before Christmas when I finally took it out and replaced it with a freestanding electric job that isnt as modern as the 'matt metal with glass pebbles ones'...

I was tempted to take the whole lot out but it would of meant a big hole in the carpet so we went with what would fit in with the room. So moderness alludes me..again

I love those fires, i think they look and feel cosy

I have a massive telly next to the fireplace

How does having a massive telly trumping a fireplace in the context of design (not sure what that means) mean you need to find a different hobby? I have a massive telly because I enjoy some of the most important and popular products of the culture I live in - films, TV, and video games. It's like telling someone their design is bad for having a decent bookcase in the era when that was the most important medium for the transmission of information and cultural products

We removed up and plastered over gas fire in recent reno, we wanted the wall space in smallish lounge for large sofa, rather than a fireplace that we never used.

I miss our real fire and so does DD! They are fab.

We moved from a 300 year old house to a new one. Now and again I miss the Woodburner and fire but then I remember the horrible gritty dust everywhere and the chore of clearing it and lighting it and decide if prefer living without them.

Ditch the TV and get the log burner. One of the reasons we got this house was the wonderful log burner. I've just been cutting down a cherry tree to make next winter's firewood for it.

I've got a log burner and my massive tv fell off the wall and died, bloody thing!

I love open fires. They're not a matter of fashion, they're timeless.

Our house was built ten years ago. it doesn't have a fireplace. But hey ho we prefer to stare at our mahoosive telly rather than into the flames of an evening.

And our house is cosy anyway because, you know, it's a modern house built ten years ago. And surprisingly the electricity has never gone off long enough for us to even get mildly cold.

Don't get me wrong; I like a log burner in a country cottage. I think they are a polluting affectation in town though.

We have a real fireplace in most rooms, we put them back in when we brought our Victorian house which had been stripped of all period details. I love a real fire and we often use it in the winter, it's so cosy. I can't imagine not having one. I wish our kitchen was big enough for a log burner