Fireplace ideas after removing gas fire

[Fringebauble]

My living room has a chimney breast which currently has a gas fire with those fake foam coals in, cream marble surround and hearth and an ornate plasticky fireplace. I’m not keen and want to remove it when we decorate in spring. The house is not a period house and we have never used the fire so I don’t see any point in spending a lot of money on something expensive like a log burner or real open fireplace.

The first idea i have had is to remove the whole thing, plaster and make the hole look good, buy an electric log burner and put it in the hole and put a nicer fireplace/mantel around (not sure of the correct names of all the different parts). I asssume this wouldn’t need a raised hearth, so I would get a bit more floor, would still have a mantel to decorate and have a mirror above and the log burner would look realistic enough as it would never be on.

The second is to remove the whole thing again, make the hole look good but then just put a load of candles in it. This would obviously be cheaper than buying a fake log burner just for show. I tend to have seen this look with a rustic shelf or beam above instead of a traditional fireplace, which I’m not so keen on, or just put inside a real but non-working fireplace, which I obviously don’t have. I don’t like country style or rustic things so Im not keen on the wooden beam look. Not sure how I could put a fireplace around that without it looking odd or whether the hole inside can be made bigger as I suspect it is quite small.

The alcoves either side are going to have built in cupboards/shelving in them so I don’t want the centre part to look stupidly small and insignificant in comparison. Any other ideas or pictures for inspiration?

This is the sort of thing I meant for the first look

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And this is the second (but just put into an already existing fireplace which I won’t have)

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I really like the first idea.
The candles look good if there are loads of them, but I feel they’d get really dusty

Yes I hadn’t considered that - I’ve never quite been sure how to properly dust candles. This is the sort of fire surround I am looking at getting www.screwfix.com/p/focal-point-regent-fire-surround-white/6347g
And I don’t know whether that changes things. I think the surround is quite classic looking and both the fake log burner and candles could look a bit country cottage.

That’s lovely. It depends what the rest of your living room will look like once you decorate it as well I suppose - whether you want a rustic or more modern look.
I like the fire shown on that link as well though - are you completely against just replacing with yours with a nicer fire?

Not keen on the fake log burner idea, for two reasons - firstly how it looks when not in use - just a lumpy black appliance? and then when in use I think it would look really fake - although I have never seen one in action so I could be talking nonsense. I would go for a prettier look maybe with silver birch logs interspersed with fairy lights/battery operated candles/carefully placed tea lights - at least this would be a nice focus when on in the evenings?

Go for a real flame bio ethanol stove.

Win win and no need for wires.

Yes, I really don’t like the insert electric or gas fires. Not any within my price range, anyway. I don’t like the country look, more classic/contemporary I suppose.

I don’t mind the look of log burners when they’re not in use but I agree that the sort that I’m looking at would look very fake in use. I don’t really think we’ll be using it though.

Just had a look at the bio ethanol and it looks good but again more than I want to spend. I have spent a lot of money on the house and it’s not really worth it so I can’t continue that way. I need to start reigning it it.

Think I’m leaning more towards the candles now. I think they’d look nice and cosy if they were lit. Perhaps a lantern or two as well? Not sure. I can’t quite picture it without it being in an actual fireplace. It seems strange to make a little place just for candles. Although I suppose I will then have a ready made shrine if I ever feel the need for one

I’m thinking of looking at the size of the hole, maybe making bigger if I needed to and then using the leftover kitchen tiles between the hole and the fire surround, where we currently have the cream marble. Not sure what to do about the hole itself though. I won’t need a hearth so wouldn’t bother with one but I think it’ll look weird to have our living room flooring just finish in front of it and nothing in the hole.

I'm using mine as a book shelf at the moment until I can afford to buy bio ethanol log burner type thing.

Sorry for poor picture. Lights are off

A friend of mine has led lights and plants in their fireplace which looks nice. Like the candle idea. Btw I hoover the dust off my led candles with the hoover attachment, works a treat.

I like the lantern idea! Lots of a similar style but different sizes

What about a wine rack? This isn't the best photo but you get the idea!

I opened ours up and bought a new surround, hearth and fire basket. I was going to put a wood burner in but we'd never use it.

I'm thinking of getting the surround you linked for our other room, it currently just has a small opening with the sky box in and looks rubbish. I've attached pics.

Or you could just seal it, get it plastered and carpeted, then hide it with an armchair like we did. It just blends into the wall now

No ideas regarding your fireplace OP but, wipe your candles with a baby wipe to keep them looking presentable and dust free.

We put doors on ours and made it into a cupboard!

Black grouse that’s beautiful. I also love the black wall in the other room - what is the paint colour please?

OP you mentioned making the hole bigger - this is messy, time consuming and maybe costly - have a look at a YouTube video to see what is involved

Thank you @another20, the wall colour's F&B Hague Blue.

Re making the hole bigger, in our 1890s and 1930s houses the original opening has been much larger than the one revealed when we removed the gas fire and I've knocked the bricks out to enlarge the opening myself.

I've attached pics of the fireplaces before & during work. The fireplace with no surround had to have a support put in as the original opening was much larger than what we have now but the front room opening didn't need anything doing. It's messy but imo quite easy to do.

@Blackgrouse your home looks lovely! When you removed the fire, was the hole up in the wall or starting on the floor? I don’t know what it normally looks like or what to expect. I thought the hole might be raised off the ground slightly because the gas fire isn’t flush with the floor but I’m now feeling a bit silly because the hole could start at the ground even if the fire doesn’t.

Our house was built in the fifties and I feel like it would have had gas fires from the start rather than real ones. I don’t think I’ll be able to make plans until I see exactly what is behind there. I’m not sure what to do if the hole starts at the floor because i don’t know how to finish the flooring in front of it and I don’t want a hearth but I feel that going from flooring straight to a fire surround and tiles will look wrong. Will you put the surround around the hole as it is or make it bigger? I wondered whether the hole would look ridiculously small and low in comparison to the fire surround if I just kept it as it is.

I've attached pics of the front room hole, it was about 1 row of bricks off the floor with the skirting running along, same as the back room. I took the opening down to the floor in both.

The back room must have originally had a range in the opening as it was curved and much higher and had been made smaller.

I found it easy to knock the bricks out then the builders we had in neatened it up. I'm wanting to put the same surround as you in our back room and have the same issue re the small opening. I want a slate hearth and possibly going to tile around the opening, or maybe get a cast iron insert. I'll see if I can find pics of what I mean.

So either with the insert like the first pic (I'd look for a reclaimed one to save money) or like the second pic but put tiles around the opening.

I'm not sure a surround would look right without a hearth, what about just putting an electric burner in the opening with a wooden beam across? Although this pic still has a hearth.

If you don't want a hearth you could go for a modern look and install a bioethanol firebox? They're usually raised off the floor inset into the chimney breast.

Yes, I see what you mean. I do think it will look strange without a hearth. The hearth thing is just because we currently have a chunky one there and it limits my furniture placement. The living room isn’t that wide and I want to put in alcove cupboards. Whatever chair goes there will have to be pulled closer to the side of the fireplace to allow access to the cupboards but the hearth gets in the way and it’s so annoying and unnecessary because we don’t even use the fire. I guess I could just put in a flat one so it looks finished but level with floor.

I am making life difficult for myself by wanting to use the leftover kitchen tiles around the fireplace. They are zellige tiles and are quite thick and uneven on the edges so might not even fit into a fire surround. I loved them so much that I ordered the minimum amount even though it was way more than I needed for the area behind the hob. I feel a bit guilty at the amount I spent and the fact that I have more than half of them just sitting in boxes unused.

The last photo looks great but just wouldn’t fit in style wise with the rest of the living room.

I’m all mixed up and unsure again now!

We have an armchair in front of the alcove cupboard, When I put a hearth in it should still fit where it is, we already have to move it access the cupboard anyway.

In my old house I used quite thick slate tiles around the opening and for the hearth with a similar surround to the one you linked and it was fine. If you used a slate floor tile or similar as a hearth it would be less than 1cm thick and you could have it whatever depth you wanted. Or get granite or slate cut to whatever size you like, my front room hearth is honed granite cut to size, I think it was around £100. I was thinking of using the Metropolis floor tiles as a hearth in the back room.

I've spent far too much time on insta and Pinterest looking for ideas!

What are your tiles like that you want to use?

I'm reading this with interest as I want to do something similar. I need to sort out a fireplace and hearth before laying the wooden floor. And although I really, really want a proper working fireplace, DP isn't keen to spend the money we would need to make it safe to use. So we want to get a fireplace sorted out which looks nice for the time being, but which won't have to be ripped out in order to get a proper working fireplace in a few years time once we've done DP's home priorities (double glazing, insulation etc).

I really, really like what Blackgrouse has done.

@BroomstickOfLove

I was originally going to put a wood burner in the front room but I didn't think it would get used enough to justify the extra cost. I had a slabbed hearth installed in case I ever change my mind.

The limestone surround was about £500, the hearth £100 ish, and the fire basket was approx £270. I think the back room fireplace will only cost around £200-£300 as I'll just buy a pine surround to be painted, tiles and a cheap electric stove .