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"?

TV snobbery is so gauche dontchano 😂

They're building fireplace in the naice houses in my development. Sadly I could only afford the smaller 3 bed, not the bigger one with a fireplace

"and I've noticed that the younger, more modern folk don't have living room fires anymore."

Replace "folk" with "houses"

Our house is 20 years old and has a fire place with a gas fire. I would never not have an alternative form of heating, just in case of power cuts.

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

That's also very unusual, we have no gritty dust escaping from either of ours, and one of them is very old, and cleaning it goes as far as emptying th ash drawer into a bin liner, it takes a whole thirty seconds. Occassionally spraying some stove glass cleaner on the door and literally wiping it off. And that's it.

Lighting it is easy, shove some kindling a log and a fire brick in, open the air vents, job done.

In October/November we find we can manage with just the CH for a cpl of hours in the morning and again from about 4-6 and just one fire lit for the rest of the evening. We tend to light the hall fire (a large inglenook) in the mornings at weekends and it means we don't have to have the CH on throughout the day.

We have a fireplace, hearth, mantelpiece and fire but I wish we didn't. The mantelpiece is useful for school photos but the fire has been condemned because the chimney doesn't meet modern safety standards so we can't use it. I wish we could have it all taken out but the expense is too high - we'd need new flooring, replastering and redecorating.

I really wish I had a real fire

I live in a 1970's council house with only gas central heating that I can't afford to put on anyway

To have a real fire would be amazing!

"the focal point of a living room"

Trying not to come over all Rees-Mogg, but is everyone aware that the Latin word for fireplace is ‘focus’, and it’s where our word came from?

We don't have a fireplace (new build, no chimneys). There are a couple of filled holes on the only wall in the living room without a door/window that are about the right height and distance apart for what I suspect was a wall-mounted electric/fake flame job.

If It's as cold tonight as it was last night I'll light a fire

We used to have a proper open fire which we loved but we moved and now have a log burner. I thought I would miss the open fire but to be honest the log burner is so much more practical. During the winter I light it as soon as ds is home from school sometimes earlier if it's very cold. At weekends or times when we are home all day we have it on 24/7. It's so cozy. We also cook jacket potatoes in it as it makes the most amazing jacket potatoes you have ever tasted. We also cook sausages in it and heat up baked beans on top. Going to try cooking stew on it this season. I wouldn't buy a house that didn't have either an open fire or log burner. Hate houses that have huge tv as the centre point of the room. Ours is small and is rarely used. We tend to curl up infront of the fire together in the winter put some music on, pour a glass of wine and chat too each other.

well, that how we heat the room, so how can it be "last year?" far more efficient and renewable than burning gas or using an electric heater.

I think you will find, with cutting back on fossil fuels, burning wood is very much "next year", and indeed "next century"

We have a very modern interior but have two woodburners.
It works for our house.

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.

Smoke smells.

None of their houses have inbuilt chimneys, so they have big silver ducting chimneys around their houses (and in one case through the garage roof) hence the takeaway look.

It's 3 neighbours who all buy expensive seasoned wood to burn. Whatever it is it's my car that has a lovely layer of ash on it, I can't hang out washing in the garden anymore or open windows for fear of a house that stinks of smoke.

It's fucking antisocial.

We had the TV where the old fireplace (blocked up) was. We put the fireplace back in, put in a log burner and moved the TV up on the wall on an extendable arm. It works quite well (TV also ridiculously big imo)
This means the fireplace is the focus of the room rather than the tv

Personally, I'd lob out the husband with the stupid-size TV then there'd be ample space on the big wall to install a fireplace.

Two birds with one stone an' all.

I would love a real fire. Some of them on here sound gorgeous. We have an electric stove and wood fireplace (not a new build but chimney was removed). I would love to open it up again and maybe fit some others into other rooms...dares to dream

I live in a new build (10 years old) in the middle of nowhere and it was built with a chimney to accommodate a wood burning stove. I don't know anyone around here who doesn't have a real fire. But the area is remote and so there is no demand for housing estates built by developers looking to keep things as cheap as possible but one off builds. I used to live in a council house in London and THAT had a gas fire place in the front room. I don't know anyone, young or old that doesn't like a fireplace, it makes a house a home and there is something primeval in the longing for one. Anyone I know without a fireplace has had the situation forced upon them by whoever built their house or flat in the first place, ie developer trying to keep costs down as mentioned above. I find your OP rather out of touch!

I have fireplaces with gas fires in both my living room and dining room. Would love real fires or log burners but can't afford it right now.

I feel like there's no central focus in living rooms with no fireplace, it feels odd to me. But I've lived in Victorian houses for most of my life, as do many of my friends, so newer houses are different I suppose.

I was extremely glad we had the gas fires when we had a five day power cut during December! Lifesavers, we'd have frozen solid otherwise.

We have a beautiful woodburner in our living room and I think it's very much the main focal point.

I'm not sure I'd like a proper real fire, nor a wood burner. I absolutely love our fireplace, we live in an early 1900s two up two down terrace and have a traditional style cast iron effect fire with simple oak surround, but it's gas. V similar to this-

Oh I love a good fire. We had the most enormous inglenook in our last house and it was amazing. Now we're in a sixties house with a really cool fire that sits on a floating shelf, with some woodland to provide it with wood. Nothing like burning free wood!

Used to have one in old house. Hardly used it.

We have a wood burner and it's the best invention ever. We are rural so rely on an LPG tank for the heating and it's bloody expensive. So I often light the fire in the winter mornings and keep the living room toasty all day. It's really funny but if the fire's lit, our DDs spend the evening in there with us instead of their rooms and we have a few lamps on - so cosy and lovely. It gives out such an intense heat, and a lovely lovely smell. I'd never have a home without one. Luckily we have a cheap source of wood, so it's fairly cheap to keep going.

We have a log burner in the sitting room. Love it. One of my favourite things in the house. Definitely not last year IMO.