Getting Started

In order to create a fresh platform for your new look, and to create a base for any new coverings, such as tile or stone, mirror or metal, you will need to cover the brick surface with drywall.  In order to prepare for this, you will need to remove the existing mantel and raised hearth.  You will also need to chip away any protrusions, like little shelves, that stick out from the bricks. Once your bricks or stones are all on the same plane, from ceiling to floor, you are ready to have drywall installed over the bricks.

Installation

Have an electric outlet brought into the existing fireplace opening.  This is usually achieved by having your electrician pull wires from an adjacent outlet in the same room as the fireplace, drilling through the side of the fireplace and into the cavity.  You can also pull wires from a basement with an unfinished ceiling, drilling through the bottom of the fireplace cavity, if your fireplace sits on the main floor.  If you are planning to mount a TV above the fireplace opening, this is also a good time to run any wires you need for it, as well as adding a channel through which the TV cables can be run to other components.

You are now ready to install the drywall over the brick.  Determine the largest size of fireplace insert that will fit into your existing opening.  Keep in mind that inserts come in standard sizes which do not match the opening sizes of fireplaces.  In order to avoid having a gap around the insert, have your drywall cut to fit the insert size, rather than the size of the existing opening.

Finishing Touches

If you are not replacing the flooring material in your room, you will have a gap in your existing flooring where the raised hearth used to be.  There are several ways to fill this in, depending on your tastes.  Our favourite is to have a slab of stone, such as marble or granite, cut to exactly fit the gap in your floor, at a thickness that makes it flush with your existing flooring.  This maintains the illusion of a hearth, without physically taking up space; it makes the room seem more open.  If you want to notice the ‘hearth’, make the slab contrast with the floor colour; if you don’t want to notice the ‘hearth’, choose a stone that blends with your existing floors.  You might also want to continue the same stone as a surround around the firebox.

At this stage, you can also add a mantel piece or wood surround, if you wish.  If you plan to have a TV above the fireplace, keep TV viewing in mind when selecting the height of your mantel.  Ideal viewing height for the TV is to have the bottom of it no higher than 40 – 42” from the floor, so the mantel needs to be low enough to accommodate this.

Last but not least:  Slide your new electric insert into the opening, plug it in, and enjoy!

• Do you want to cut into the wall?  If you do, how much depth will you have for the fireplace?
• Do you want to build the wall out to accommodate the fireplace?  If you do, how far into the room do you want to build?
• Do you want to mount the fireplace on the surface of the wall?
• Do you want to have a TV above the fireplace?
• Do you need or want heat from the fireplace?

If you plan to cut into the wall, or build out a wall, to accommodate your fireplace, then it’s best to find out how deep your preferred fireplace is.  Depths range from 4” to 9” for contemporary models, and up to 17” for traditional models that can go into a wall or cabinet.  If you are limited in the depth that you can achieve in your wall, then it’s best to know that before you go shopping.

Synergy Built-In Wall Mount & Inspiration Suface Wall Mount

There are many contemporary electric fireplaces that mount on the surface of the wall.  While many people assume that these can also be inset into a wall, this is usually not the case.  Most units are designed to be either in the wall or on the wall, but not both.  Surface-mounted fireplaces will generally project 4” to 6.5” into the room.  The advantage of surface-mounting is that these units may be removed from the wall when you move, or repositioned to another spot in the home, without leaving a gaping hole in the wall.  It’s also much simpler to install a fireplace on the surface of the wall rather than having to cut through studs and reinforcing the wall cavity in order to mount in the wall.  Either way, the electrical outlet will be needed close to where you want to plug in the fireplace.

If you prefer a fireplace that offers heat, you will have to consider where the heat is blown out of the unit.  A fireplace that’s designed to go into a wall or cabinet, will expel the heat out a vent in the front of the unit.  A fireplace that’s designed for surface mounting will expel heat out the top or the bottom of the unit.  If you wish to have a TV above your surface-mounted fireplace, they you need to ensure that heat is blown out the bottom of the fireplace, and not the top, where it will directly affect the TV.   There are very few electric fireplaces that have no heater, so it’s best to be knowledgeable about the unit you are purchasing.

1. Electric grills are powered by electricity, not gas.  They plug into a regular outlet.  This means that you can use them anywhere you have access to electricity, including condo balconies.  Some keen home cooks have even put them in their kitchens, for grilling year-round.  And because there’s no propane tank, you’ll never run out of fuel in the middle of cooking a meal.
2. Electric grills offer high searing temperatures plus even heating.  At 650 degrees, the grill will sear your food, locking in flavour, while providing even cooking heat across the entire grill surface. There are no hot spots or cold spots, so the entire surface can be used.  Temperature control is extremely precise
3. Electric grills are safe.  Because they operate without gas, there is no open flame, which eliminates flare-ups; there is no chance of gas leaks, and there is no volatile fuel to be stored.  This is one of the reasons that electric grills get the ‘thumbs-up’ from condo owners.
4. Electric grills are smart and easy to use.  Many units offer electronic controls that allow you to program the cooking time of your food, or you can work in manual mode.  Either way, you control the grill with a touch of a button. Programmable cooking ensures perfect results, and the keypad can be locked to prevent accidental changes to your settings.
5. Electric grills are affordable to operate.  It costs just $0.15 per hour to cook with an electric grill.  If you grill for 1 hour, 3 times per week, an electric grill will save you $21.43 per month compared to the cost to operate a propane grill.

With the advent of flat-screen televisions, the simplest solution is to place the TV above the fireplace.  There are 2 main concerns with this idea:

• The heat from a wood-burning or gas fireplace is too intense for some TV’s
• The mantel on the existing fireplace is likely too high to allow comfortable viewing of the TV above

When working with a wood- or gas-burning fireplace, these 2 issues are intertwined, because the mantel is necessary to divert the heat from the TV, and it needs to be high enough to meet clearance requirements of the fireplace below.

What to do?  If you replace your gas- or wood-burning fire with an electric fireplace, you can avoid both of these problems.  Since the flame effect of an electric fireplace is created without burning any fuel, there are no clearance issues for fireplace surrounds or mantels.  Thus, you can go without a mantel, or place the mantel low enough to allow comfortable TV watching. (We recommend that the bottom of the TV be no higher than 42” off the floor.)  And at 5000 BTU’s or less, the heat output of an electric fireplace will not damage a TV above it.  (Compare to a typical heat output of 30,000 to 40,000 BTU’s for a gas fireplace.)

An electric firebox can be inserted right into the existing fireplace opening, or you could opt to entirely remove the existing fireplace and start with a fresh new design that incorporates an electric fireplace.  Some electric fireboxes actually come with a reduced heat output, in order to minimize the wattage on the unit, so that it may be plugged into the same circuit as your TV, without overloading the circuit.   This means that if you are not in a position to add a dedicated outlet to the space, you can still have a television and a fireplace operating at the same time.

Another great reason to combine your TV with an electric fireplace is the fabulous selection of media mantels that are available.  Most entertainment mantels allow you to place your TV on or above the fireplace cabinet, while offering open storage below, for your DVD player and service provider’s ‘box’.  There are also wonderful custom cabinets available which offer storage that’s completely hidden behind the panels of the mantel, so that no one knows that your DVD’s and components are stored there.  These custom units are ideal for homes and condos where the TV room is in the living room, and you prefer to hid all the TV paraphernalia from view.

Dimplex has had a pin account for a month or so now, and like most people we are just experimenting with the new tool. We’ve been thinking of new ways to offer good content to you, and engage more with our audience. As Pinterest grows, so will the various amounts of content and new pins. We are very excited to get inspired with the future possibilites it brings.

Even before we had a pinterest account, we found that the community was already engaging in the Dimplex brand. We found a good source of pins for our products, so we have to thank you for starting our Pinterest presence.

It’s not all about our products, more about the collection of good design and inspiration. The boards are a great place to understand the ongoing trends in interior design, DIY design and more.

Size of the overall space

Many homeowners determine the size of the fireplace by the size of the wall on which they wish to install the fireplace.  However, if the wall is small, but the room is large, you may end up with a fireplace that’s too small for the space.  Consider the overall proportions of the space when selecting the firebox and cabinet.

Ceiling height

This is a subset of the overall space, but it’s worth discussing separately.  Furniture mantles come in heights ranging from 42” to 54”; built-in mantles are often in the higher end of this range.   If you have an 8’ ceiling height, then a 42” to 43” mantle is low enough to allow you to place a piece of art or a mirror above the fireplace.  If you have high ceilings, you will need to consider a taller mantle, in the 48” to 54” range, so that the fireplace will not look too short in the space.

Placement of the TV

If you plan to hang a flat-screen TV above your fireplace, the height of the mantle is critical to comfortable TV viewing.   Most people find that they are most comfortable watching TV from a seated position, if the bottom of the TV is no more than 42” to 43” off the floor.  This means that your fireplace mantle needs to be this low, unless you are in a very large space, and can get farther away from the TV than 8’ to 10’.   The farther away you are from the TV, the higher you can mount it, and still enjoy comfortable viewing.

Style of your furnishings

A fireplace should complement the rest of the room, or make a bold contrasting statement.  If you have elegant, ornate décor, then your mantle could reflect that.  Or, you could add an ultra-contemporary wall-mounted fireplace to the room in order to make a unique statement.  Likewise, a contemporary space calls out for a contemporary fireplace, but if your architecture is more ornate than your furnishings, why not add an ornate mantle to the room?  In other words, anything goes, if you’re comfortable with it.

Focal point

If the fireplace is to become a focal point for the room, be sure it can stand up to all the attention.  Too small, too cheap, or too boring are not the impressions you want to make.  Find a way to make the fireplace interesting, through the surrounding materials, the flame effect, or the size.

If this is all a little overwhelming, why not get professional design help to select the perfect fireplace for your room?  After all, it’s an investment that you will enjoy for years to come.

Decorating your mantel for spring and Easter is a fun way to welcome the new season and get yourself going after a long winter cooped up inside. The potted plants and wreath bring a bit of spring indoors, the vintage bunnies scream Easter and the glass candleholders and ivory candles add a bit of sophistication to tie it all in.

Strings of coloured eggs tied with yellow bows…isn’t that fun! Grab two pretty glasses from your cupboard or a pair of small vases (they don’t have to match); add starflowers or lilies of the valley and you can easily recreate this look. It’s simple, fresh and fun.

Pastel colours are perfect for Easter. This décor is soft, feminine and a bit fancy with silver containers, garden blooms and multi-shaped eggs dressed in silk.

This example is light on the Easter décor so if you want more ‘spring’ than ‘Easter’ – this is a fantastic low-commitment option. Pour a bag of chocolate eggs into a funky shaped jar, place a few Easter eggs on a tray lined with grass, and arrange the jar and tray on your mantel and you’re done!

Happy Easter everyone!

Efficient use of resources:  For at least a generation, we’ve been told that it is more cost-effective to heat our homes with gas than with electricity.  This has translated into an expectation that a gas fireplace is also an efficient way to enjoy a fire.  While gas does burn ‘clean’, it takes an abundance of it (30,000 to 40,000 BTU’s for a typical fireplace; more for oversize models) to create a nice-looking, realistic flame.  Due to the amount of gas being burned, there is also heat being produced, often more than is required for main floor rooms in a typical home.   And because a gas fireplace must be vented, some heat is always lost out the vent or chimney.

Ontario Green Home “LEED Platinum Candidate – Kitchener, Ontario

Compare this to the ability of electric fireplaces to create a comparable flame effect with mere pennies worth of electricity.  Because the heating element is separate from the flame generation on an electric fireplace, the heat is much more controllable than on a gas fireplace.  In fact, the flame can be enjoyed without any heat at all.   When we do want heat from an electric fireplace, the heat level can be set to a comfortable temperature, and turned off when heat is no longer desired.   No heat is lost up the chimney, because no venting is required for an electric fireplace – they are 100% efficient.  With the heater turned on, an electric fireplace generates 4000 to 5000 BTU’s, enough to take the chill off a space up to 400 square fee, without overheating the room.

Zone Heating:  Industry experts refer to ‘zone heating’, whereby a homeowner can use a fireplace to comfortably heat the room they are using, without heating areas they aren’t using or which are already warm enough.  Because of the lower heat output and better control over the heat, electric fireplaces are particularly good at zone heating.

While a gas fireplace may also be used for zone heating, many owners of gas fireplaces find that they need to shut down the fireplace when it gets too hot for comfort, especially when it triggers the furnace thermostat to turn off the furnace in the rest of the house.  When it comes to zone heating, gas fireplaces perform best in basements or other areas of the home that are unusually cold and are larger than 400 square feet.

LED lighting replacing incandescent.  Many electric fireplaces have switched from incandescent light bulbs to LED’s, to generate the light effects and flames.  This means that the homeowner will never have to change lightbulbs in their electric fireplace, making the fireplace virtually maintenance free.  This also makes the fireplaces more energy-efficient, reducing their use of electricity to less than a penny per hour.

If environmental impact is of concern to you and your family, be sure to raise these issues with your fireplace dealer.

Since we’ve moved into our home a month ago, I admit I’ve been a bit obsessed with interior décor – and I am always looking for and collecting images that inspire me. Most recently, the master bedroom in particular has been the focus because we’ve finally found the perfect layout for our bedroom furniture and now we can move to phase 2 – a small seating area we’d like to function as a reading nook.

This is the image that inspired me to write this post and the image responsible for my master bedroom reading nook decorating breakthrough! Don’t you just love when that happens?

This space incorporates a fireplace and a mantel shelf to complete the look. If you are not limited by floor space, you can also achieve this look with a floor standing fireplace – corner or flat wall.

All the benefits of a traditional fireplace (look and function) without taking up any floor space – is a perfect solution for my master bedroom. I don’t have much floor space to spare and I really want a fireplace. I really like its quiet presence too – it’s not overly decorated, I feel my mind is free to relax.

Even though I knew installing a firebox was an option for our bedroom, I couldn’t quite picture it until I saw this image – a curse of the visual learner. If you too have been thinking about adding a fireplace to your master bedroom, consider all the options available – from traditional floor standing models, to modern wall-mount units…the possibilities are truly endless.

Adding a fireplace to your bedroom will not only increase the value of your home, but will make you feel happy each and every time you step foot into your own piece of heaven. You will never want to leave.

Zone Heating

When it becomes too warm to have the furnace turned on all day, but it’s a little chilly in the morning and evening, an electric fireplace can take the chill off your favourite room, up to 400 square feet.  Once the room is at a comfortable temperature, just turn off the heater and continue to enjoy the flames, without overheating the room, or heating up the rest of the house.

Light Therapy

There’s nothing cheerier on a dull, rainy day, than a flame dancing in a fireplace.  You can enjoy the effect with or without the heater, so no matter the outdoor temperature, an electric fireplace can brighten a gray day.

Nature-fresh Colours

If you consider black to be boring, even in a fireplace, then consider an unconventional coloured surround.  Fireplace come in various sizes and colours, with different firebox styles from logset to a sleek glass ember bed.

Entertain in Style

Summer brings more time with friends and family.  Make your rooms more welcoming with a fireplace – remember, electric fireplaces can operate without the heater, so you can actually turn them on in summer!   Few people can resist the mesmorizing effect of flames.  And if you don’t think people enjoy fires in summer, just think of beach parties and campfires.

Renovation Season

Spring is the beginning of the reno rush in Canada.  If you’re planning a room makeover in your home as the weather warms up, this is the time to get educated and make decisions on your fireplace.  Your contractor needs to know what you have in mind, before he can get started.  He will appreciate it if you don’t wait until the last minute to choose your fireplace.