Fireplace dilemma

[mycheapshoes]

We are in process of doing up living room. Currently have a gas fire which we haven’t used for 4 years. I don’t even know if it still works!

We don’t need a fire for heat but think we should probably have one to look nice /be cosy for a few nights of the year and to hang stockings on at Christmas.

But DH is set against another gas fire (look naff) and is thinking log burner. I really don’t know if it’s worth the thousands of pounds set up and expensive ongoing fuel costs and cleaning to get something which is only for those reasons.

He’s also against an electric fire (naff and expensive to run)

Our other option is to get rid altogether and use the wall for something else. But what?

Or we could keep the hearth and put something decorative in it? But again-what would look like it’s there for a reason and not just to fill a hole?

I’ve seen bioethanol fires but would need to do more research.

So please could you give me all your wisdom on:
Non naff gas and electric fires
Rooms with no fireplace
And hearths with decorative fillings!
Thank you!

i have seen people fill the hole with logs like this:

designscouting.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/11/wood.jpg

We bought an ex-display, obscure brand log burner for all those reasons. We use it all the time now. It did cost £500 so not peanuts, and costs £55 a year for sweeping. But it wasn't thousands.

Or what about those electric fires that look like freestanding log burners, are they naff too? We had one in a holiday cottage and it was great, kicked out loads of heat.

You might find you use a log burner a lot if you have one... we have an open fireplace thinking we'd only use it occasionally, but it's so lovely and cosy we turned the radiator down a bit and use it pretty regularly in winter.

I'd look at the log burner apart from anything else they are brilliant if you have any central heating problems in the winter - we also use ours a heck of a lot as it's just so nice and cosy

Yes you can get some good quality “woodburners” in gas or electric, times and technology have moved on so not all are naff, if you google optimist you can see a demonstration of an electric woodburner. Do not get Bioethanol unless you use it sparingly, as I understand it you will have a lot of condensation using one and I think the fuel is quite expensive. The best thing is a real woodburner but there are good alternatives on the market.

In the same circumstances we bought a log burner.

The stove itself was £900, £850 for fitting, £270 for preparatory works (lowering the level on the wall to match existing hearth) and slate base for it and £60 to remove gas fire and cap off the pipe.

I grew up without any sort of fire and all my houses prior to now as an adult didn't have one. I love my wood stove.

It's £40/45 per year for sweeping here but difficult to get cheap logs. We're currently working though a few trees we had chopped down a couple of years ago.

I want a log burner but my friend has just bought a remote control gas fire that really looks like a log burner - if you didn't know you'd think it was a real log burner.

We’ve got a gas stove , which is purely decorative and gets turned on about once a year but it looks absolutely fabulous . We went for a Broseley Hereford 5 as it’s outer is exactly the same as their actual woodburner so it looks more authentic .

We've got a logburner and I wasn't sure how much we would use it but we used it almost every day last Winter. It is great, looks good and is really warm.

We've got an inset woodburning stove after having a very pretty but ineffective gas fire that the previous owners installed.

We love ours... it was around £3k to install but that's because we have a granite surround. We have a good supply of seasoned wood as we have taken down several trees out of the garden over the last few years and we have a good supply of tinder dry beech from leftover furniture frames at work.

It's such a lovely thing to have a fire... the smell, the snuggly warmth, it's the main feature of the room. Ours is this one, but the granite surround is a lot smaller.

I'd go for a wood effect gas stove. The electric ones look awful as they dont have any flames, but we've got a real multifuel burner and a gas one. The gas one is honestly fine, I love the real one (it's an 8KW beast) but it does make things dirty.

Electric ones don’t have real flames but opti mist are very effective, even have smoke effect as well, they are a good option for people who have no chimney etc but want a focal point, they are far removed from the old fashioned electric fires of yester year.

Or you could have a candle holder for the fireplace

We’ve got gas .. I don’t think it’s naff 😝