What would you do with an empty fireplace

[TheBullfinch]

I have a big kitchen diner at the back of my house. It has two radiators but no fire. The people I bought it off removed all traces of the original fireplaces, simply covering the internal chimney opening with plasterboard, then plastering, skirting all around, so there's no surround, mantle or hearth.

I planned to get a wood burner but obviously cant now.

What would you do if you wanted the look and feel of a traditional wood burner? I'm semi-detached so share a chimney stack with next door.

You can buy pretty effective electric stoves, which I’ve always quite liked because in the warmer autumn and spring months you can get the fire atmosphere by just having the “flame effect” setting on without being cooked alive by the fire.

We have a box containing a taxidermied stoat covered by a heap of twinkling fairy lights in ours; though I suspect that’s not a popular stove alternative.

The house we are purchasing has a gas 'wood burner' in one of the fireplaces (it has two other woodburners as well, so I suspect they decided they didn't need a third). It looks nice, and with less faff than an actual woodburner. Also, we've done battery operated candles and fairy lights in previous houses.

Can you not open it up again and still have a woodburner?

No reason you can’t have a wood burner surely? Would just need to reopen/line chimney and refit a hearth/mantle etc…or am I missing something?

Have an electric ‘woodburner’ so you still get the cosy feeling.

Why can't you reopen the chimney breast and have a log burner fitted?

There's some very good electric wood burners. I've even seen some that are like electric ovens that you can cook on as well as heat the room.

Expect when op says she can't have a woodburner, she means for environmental reasons

This is my cheap and cheerful effort if I can post a picture. The mantelpiece is self-assembly (from Lidl - dirt cheap) and the electric fire was from a catalogue, (Studio, if I recall rightly, again very cheap). It isn't perfect but it does the job for me.

@ComtesseDeSpair

You can buy pretty effective electric stoves, which I’ve always quite liked because in the warmer autumn and spring months you can get the fire atmosphere by just having the “flame effect” setting on without being cooked alive by the fire.

We have a box containing a taxidermied stoat covered by a heap of twinkling fairy lights in ours; though I suspect that’s not a popular stove alternative.

Can you post a picture of stuffed stoat amid fairylights please.

It sounds like I might be able to turn it into a great Christmas card for my friends.

I am just here for the stoat.

I wanted a wood burner as I've always had one in previous properties but for environmental reasons, obviously didn't install one. I bought some brackets like these www.willowandstone.co.uk/ironmongery/shelf-brackets/great-western-railway-1833-shelf-bracket-cast-iron.php and then used reclaimed wood to make a mantelpiece and some recessed shelving. We put different things in there at different times. At Christmas for example, I have some garlands and snow globes in there, sometimes there are candles on the top shelves or curiosities. It's an interesting focal point anyway.

Still miss the wood burner though...

Also here for pictures of fireplace decorated with stoats

We had a similar problem and solved it by buying a bio fire (there are also stove versions). They have a real flame which I was keen on: www.biofires.com/

Our unused fireplace has a framed print in it, but now I want a stoat.

Just open it back up! Reskim on the chimney breast, replace the skirting cut to size, it won’t cost much extra really. Otherwise you will forever be looking at it and wishing you had just done it as you wanted to.

There are usually more lights but we lent them to a friend for party decorations last week. And somebody will probably now advise me that poor stuffed encased Gerard is not a stoat but a something else. Also we haven’t finished off the parquet edging because the original intention was to do something else more permanent with the fireplace - but as we all know, nothing is more permanent than a temporary fix which works.

All in all, a bit disappointing.

Sorry for derailing, OP. You could also consider a bio-ethanol flame fire feature, I’ve seen some pretty cool ones in pubs etc.

I quite like a lantern stuffed with led lights

Gerard looks a tad pissed off, bless him!

@comtesseDeSpair
Thank you very much.
Sorry to pester but do you think you could light the 'stoat in a box' perhaps with your camera flash?

On a side note, with not too much work, I reckon you could poke a couple fairy lights into stoaty's eyes for a more dramatic effect. (You need not do this now for the photo...)

@ComtesseDeSpair

There are usually more lights but we lent them to a friend for party decorations last week. And somebody will probably now advise me that poor stuffed encased Gerard is not a stoat but a something else. Also we haven’t finished off the parquet edging because the original intention was to do something else more permanent with the fireplace - but as we all know, nothing is more permanent than a temporary fix which works.

All in all, a bit disappointing.

Sorry for derailing, OP. You could also consider a bio-ethanol flame fire feature, I’ve seen some pretty cool ones in pubs etc.

That is quite wonderful.

Weaselly glad I clicked on this thread.

We have a box containing a taxidermied stoat covered by a heap of twinkling fairy lights in ours; though I suspect that’s not a popular stove alternative

This is brilliant! I'm tempted to do something similar.

@prettyteapotsplease

This is my cheap and cheerful effort if I can post a picture. The mantelpiece is self-assembly (from Lidl - dirt cheap) and the electric fire was from a catalogue, (Studio, if I recall rightly, again very cheap). It isn't perfect but it does the job for me.

That's great @prettyTeaPots. So pretty.

[quote Hodgewell1]We had a similar problem and solved it by buying a bio fire (there are also stove versions). They have a real flame which I was keen on: www.biofires.com/[/quote]
That's amazing! I'm sorely tempted.

Yes, to answer those who asked 'why no woodburner' it's for environmental reasons, plus, one of my neighbours has one and it belches out so much smoke (be burns EVERYTHING in it) plus, my house is hot already so i do t need the heat even a low wattage burner would produce.