Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Why I need a fireplace.


I. Am. Freezing.
First of all, Joe is away for a few days on a camping trip. A big empty house always feels colder than a house with people in it. I am wearing fleece pajama pants and a really fuzzy housecoat, but I am still cold! All I can think about is how much I wish I had a fireplace right now.

As I have mentioned here, a fireplace is a "must-have" for the next house Joe and I purchase. A lot of people might not be too concerned about having a fireplace, but I sure am! I'm going to give a few reasons I feel this way.

1. A fireplace adds instant warmth to any room, and let's face it, Canada is cold! It is cold here for half of the year! And it's especially cold when you're like me, and set your thermostat to a low temperature to save energy and money...

2. It also adds instant style! So long as it's not an ugly brick monstrosity... although even those can be made to look great with a few coats of paint! Anyway, fireplaces make an otherwise plain room look amazing.

3. A fireplace makes Christmas better. I mean, otherwise what will I say when I have kids? "Santa comes...through the window"? "The stocking are hung by the...wall? with care?" I mean, really, give Santa a chance!

4. I love ALL types of fireplaces...

From old and rustic...



to traditional...



to new and modern!


Ok...and I'd even take a re-painted brick one :) They are nice, too!


5. And last but not least, my electric fireplace (found on Kijiji for $100! And pictured in this post,) just doesn't cut it. It looks nice, but it is not the same experience.

Basically, I just love fireplaces.

One debate Joe and I have had about fireplaces is whether we would prefer wood burning or natural gas. Joe is all about the wood-burning fireplaces. He argues that they save money and energy on heating since you can use wood to heat parts of the house. I personally love natural gas fireplaces. First of all, they throw off some amazing heat. Secondly, they don't spit smoke into your house, and lastly, they require MUCH less cleaning and maintenance. We'll see...right now we'd take ANY fireplace! I would love to hear your experiences with fireplaces....gas or wood-burning?

1 comment:

  1. Wood-burning not only make a huge mess, but if you have an older one then they are often not well sealed/vented and they end up sucking out heat more than they add. We have an old monster of a brick one, not repainted, but I LOVE it. However we don't use it. I just love the look and the mantel.

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