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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think living rooms done have fires anymore?

128 replies

OverTheHammer · 23/07/2017 13:06

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"?

OP posts:
minesapintofwine · 23/07/2017 14:28

sweet that's lovely

ludothedog · 23/07/2017 14:34

I wonder about the houses that you all life in! My world is that of the council estate and small new builds. fires are a luxurious thing, for the period property, the large new build with lots of extra features or the odd renovation project where a modern wood burner has been put in.

None of the homes I have lived in have had a fire place other than one flat, which was in Spain funnily enough (no central heating). I really see an open fire/log burner as a modern day luxury.

BroomstickOfLove · 23/07/2017 14:38

I'm desperate for an open fire. At the moment, I have a hole in the wall where we ripped out the gas heater. But now, everyone wants stoves and it's really hard to find anyone to install a fireplace and I found one person who would but said that it would actually be cheaper to get a fecking stove! And DP is unwilling to spend £2.5k on something pretty but not really useful and I'm not prepared to have the fireplace sealed up and the floor laid in such a way as to make it even more expensive to put a fireplace in later, so we are at a stalemate with a hole in the wall and staggeringly ugly and filthy carpet.

TheSpottedZebra · 23/07/2017 14:43

Most houses nowadays are built without chimneys.

Blimey, ARE they? I've never noticed this. And I live somewhere with lots of new builds. Mind blowing!

AnnieAnoniMouse · 23/07/2017 14:50

I hate not having an open fire. I'm not buys no another house (in the UK at least) that doesn't have a fireplace (or one that can be reinstated).

Boomstick. Tell him you want one & that you're happy to forgo your Birthday & Christmas presents 😊 It's more than 'just pretty'.

OhTheRoses · 23/07/2017 14:52

Our house was built in 1927 in the style of something much older. It's quaint rather than grand but admittedly is quite large. We only have one telly though. But we have an ancient orchard we are replanting that will keep us in logs for about a decade. Apple does spit terribly though. The cedar was divine.

I'd rather watch a fire than the telly. I can stream most of what I want on the laptop while by the fire and it can be removed when we have guests.

BroomstickOfLove · 23/07/2017 14:55

Getting a fireplace put in will cost way more than than my birthday and Christmas presents for the rest of my life. I'm expecting the stalemate to last until I get a job that pays enough for me to veto his veto.

milliemolliemou · 23/07/2017 14:57

Broomstick. Get the fecking wood burner. For one thing the latest ones eg Clearview are v effficient and do not put ash/toxins out into the air - certainly no more than our usual providers of gas/electric/coal/nuclear. Plus you can cook on them if everything goes turnip shaped. But then I'm in the country where we get power cuts - and it's great when the whole family snuggles up reading and chatting. Keep candles in stock, though.

BTW OP - I would avoid mega tv on chimney wall. Even our kosher wood burner makes the chimney breast warm.

papayasareyum · 23/07/2017 15:00

when we were house hunting, where we put our very big telly was central to our choice. It has to be central so the surround sound works effectively. I know lots of people find big TVs incredibly naff, but we don't. We're massive movie buffs, adore the cinema and watch lots and lots of films. Watching Saving private Ryan on a 28inch telly tucked in the corner of the lounge, would depress me as much as my big telly would depress you!

Foxyloxy1plus1 · 23/07/2017 15:09

Our house was built in 2014 and has a chimney, as do the others of the same style. We have a simple stone fireplace with slate hearth and although the house is modern and well insulated, the living room faces north and can get cold in winter.

Most living is done in the south facing kitchen/ dining/living room, but we go into the other room in the evening. A real fire is a faff, but it's so lovely when it's cold.

BroomstickOfLove · 23/07/2017 15:10

I don't like wood burners as much as proper fires, and our sitting room is tiny, and we'd still need to heat the other rooms, so a stove would just overheat the room it was in. They are great in draughty old houses with big rooms, but less so in a well-insulated 1930s terrace.

OhTheRoses · 23/07/2017 15:10

If I had to have a big telly I'd have a tv room built. If a room is less than 20 feet long then you don't need a massive screen IMO.

LaArdilla · 23/07/2017 15:11

For me the fireplace is the centre and focal point of the room. I would not be without one.

Witsender · 23/07/2017 15:11

We have a log burner in the living room and open fires in the dining room and each of 3 bedrooms. The open fires aren't used but could be.

I wouldn't have bought a house without a fire in the main room

wonkylegs · 23/07/2017 15:13

I don't think you can generalise it's down to house type & occupants personal taste I think rather than people's age.

I'm an architect and work on loads of different houses both very old, old and new and fireplaces are still a very common feature in living rooms, and I'd say at the more expensive end of the market they are generally expected. Newer cheaper houses tend to not to have chimneys so fireplaces are either fake or tend to we wood burners with a flue.
I have a pet hate for 'stuck on' ones though as I think if you have something like that it should be real.
I have a Victorian house so every room bar the downstairs loo & conservatory has one but most have a chimney balloon up them and are capped to reduce draughts. Exceptions are the living & dining rooms which have dampers which are closed when not using the fire.
I have a client with a very contemporary house which has a very simple fireplace in the centre of an essentially glass room full of art - it's gorgeous but probably only a good house if you don't have kids - oh and he doesn't have a telly which is good because there is definitely nowhere to put one.
I try and get clients to not follow trends or think about how they 'should' be using the space but think about how they want and need to use the space - it produces better houses to live in and they tend to like them more.

GreenTulips · 23/07/2017 15:13

I loath TVs on the wall - it's just ugly

If you have an open fire you can have a hatch going outside to 'catch' any ash - so you weep it down a hole straight outside -

Much nicer than a tv to look at!!

Your DH is thinking wood chopping and ash sweeping =work!!

Tell him you're looking into it

Bingeslayer · 23/07/2017 15:15

The private rented house in about to move to is featureless (moving for location) I knew previous owner and it used to have an old cast iron fireplace with tiles on the side,I absolutely loved it.New owner who will be my landlord ripped it out and blocked up the wall,I was gutted when i went to view the property,was looking forward to cosy nights in front of that fire Sad

Addley · 23/07/2017 15:22

Roses

Damn, why didn't I think of building an extra TV room?!?! Let me just get out my lottery winnings…

You're right, nobody needs a big TV, but you have to go surprisingly big before a TV is too big for a good viewing experience. www.expertreviews.co.uk/tvs-entertainment/1404630/what-size-tv-should-i-buy It's all about preference. There are lots of things people have that they don't need… you don't need a bookcase; they can all go in a cardboard box in the attic.

Perhaps you're thinking of a TV more like I'd think of an exercise bike - something you don't really want being a big feature in the living room but which would be appropriate in a home gym. Trouble is, lots of people don't have a home gym… I see it more like a comfy sofa. Sure, I could sit in front of the fire/TV on a wooden chair, but I like my big soft comfy couch.

Sugarformyhoney · 23/07/2017 15:24

I don't know. I love a fire and love a chimney breast in a living room even if it's only got the recess in with some candles or whatever but I'm more boho than modern and 'in'

Witsender · 23/07/2017 15:25

We had an open fire in where the log burner was, but had the burner fitted instead last summer. I loved the crackle and smell of the open fire, but this is more efficient. We have it lot every night from as soon as it gets chilly through to spring, we barely use the heating

caffeinestream · 23/07/2017 15:26

We live in a small terrace and have a fire in the living room - most houses around here do (north west).

We don't use it in summer but it's wonderful in the winter and as the house is so small, we save a fortune on the gas bill!

Tapandgo · 23/07/2017 15:36

I live in a newbuild and it has a proper chimney and we installed a woodburner. Love it - the focus of the room

Natsku · 23/07/2017 15:37

Fake ones are 'so last year' but real ones are nice. I'd not have an open fire though as they're pretty rubbish for heating so I'd like something like this www.stubb.fi/images/uunit/ponttouunit/ponttouuni.jpg

Natsku · 23/07/2017 15:38

We do have a wood fire section in our oil boiler so we can heat the whole house by wood but its a pain in the arse because you have to go down to the basement every half an hour to add more wood.

nocoolnamesleft · 23/07/2017 15:40

Gas fire. Handy in a cold winter, as you can run the room you're actually in at a nice cosy temperature, without wasting the energy on the whole house.

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