Wednesday, September 8, 2010

The great fireplace debate

You guys know the state of the basement....it's pretty much the same and slow going, cuz this is a one man show around here.  We have the framing for the 1/2 bath and the pocket doors that will lead to the laundry room, and yesterday we S ran the gas line to the kitchen so that when we update appliances we can get a gas range.

And that is the subject of today's post.  Do we run a gas line for a fireplace?  Even if we go electric fireplace route, do we really need to spend a few hundred dollars on one?  What say ye about having a fireplace?  Do you love yours?  Does it just sit there and let you vignette around it?  Corner, not corner?

Massive theatre screen is rather restrictive in this venture, i think even a corner fireplace will be in the way when that puppy's down...but S wants to have the tv in the corner so the bar area can view it easily.  Gah.  So should tv and fireplace be in the same spot (corner) or compete with one another (but ultimately be filling a big wall of emptiness with something pretty.)

Here's what i like...an on the wall route, rather modern, allowing for screen to come down easily, but when screen is up it's pretty.   CSN never ceases to amaze me...these are from CSNfireplaces.com.  Who knew?


 the high dollar version, close to $1,500.

$299 version.  Granted, i don't like seeing those gel insert thingys.


A corner version! 

Not sure about this...reminds me of the sand in a bottle thing you do with your kids.  you know?  $499.

High dollar version, $1599.



This is the one we may go for, from heater-store.com.  It's gas, which means "real fire" and it's $550.  That is not a bad price at all, but i am stuck on the "do we really need it" part.  Would you do it?

So, what say ye?  I'd love to know where you stand!

11 comments:

Kaysi @ Keeping it Simple said...

That is a tough choice. It's expensive but so awesome!! I personally don't use my fireplace very much, it doesn't get cold enough here but when I do use it, I like it. I really like the modern look of these!

Firefly said...

We don't even have a fireplace but, i do love a good fire. I prefer the smell of the wood burning fireplace but these are all pretty, I woun't have a clue what to pick.

PS You've been tagged:
http://throwingpaintblog.blogspot.com/2010/09/catching-up.html

Danielle and Clint said...

We have two wood burning fireplaces in our home. I love starting a fire on a super cold day in the winter! I'd say get the one you love! I think you will love the cozy feel it gives.

Linda @ A La Carte said...

Wow such a hard decision. We don't use our fireplace here in the south much at all but that said so many people really love theirs. Good luck with your decision.

Kara said...

Ha, I live in Florida, where it gets cold for a week or two, so my practical logical side would talk myself out of the purchase. It did get cold for a few months this past winter though, and we used our living room fireplace every single day. We even wound up moving our mattress to the living room and having slumber parties by the fire until it warmed back up. So...if it keeps you warm in the winters, I'd say go for it. We actually saved a bunch of $$ in our heating bill by moving our mattress to our fireplace, so that's how you could justify cost :-). And it definitely cozy's up a room!

Good luck!

the chirpy bird said...

Nothing like a fabulous fire place! now that the weathers getting cooler I can't wait to fire my up again!
xo tash

Crazy Garden Lady said...

Go the fire! We have a gas heater that is the second best thing we've ever bought for our house and the only thing I would change about it would be having the flame affect.

The flames just seem warmer - and you can use the whole 'saving electricity by using the fire as mood lighting' argument as well.

daily mix LA said...

tough call because all of them are great choices

Christy B said...

Ohh, I loves me a cozy fireplace on a cold, blistery, northern winter day!! I love your pull down screen idea too - that would be awesome~~

Lisa said...

This is really hard...while fireplaces look good and I like in Chicago, we hardly ever use ours. But I do know a lot of people who do, so I guess it just depends on the person. The tv and fireplace competing is a big issue for me. If you have two large focal points in the room, it's hard to know what to look at first. We ended up putting our tv on top of our fireplace in our family room so they become one giant focal point instead of two.

Kim @ NewlyWoodwards said...

I've never had a fireplace, but ALWAYS wanted one and our new house finally has one. We're getting the gas taken out and using it as a woodburning.

I was planning to install a corner fireplace in our current house (until I went all crazy and agreed to buy a different house instead). But, a friend of mine told me that she hates the corner fireplace. She has a hard time making it look "right," for some reason. I'm not sure why, but there you go.

So, clearly, I am no help. =)