It’s been a long few winters with no proper central heating at Moregeous Mansions but now the house layout is set in stone, it’s time to get the first wood burner installed and those piles of timber offcuts put to good use…. i.e. burned!
There are seven fireplaces here, I kid you not, but it’s way too expensive and way too much hard work to have wood burning fires in all of them. The plan is for underfloor heating downstairs and rads to the first & second floors, however I am desperate for heat in my office to tide me over into 2016. As the office faces due east it gets chilly at night, so installing a small wood burner will not only allow me to warmly design to my hearts content for the next few months, but should be a sensible addition to take the edge off this room in future Autumns and Springs when the rest of the south facing house doesn’t need heating but my workspace is a touch chilly
So now for the tough bit, which tiles and which fire?!!
I’ve known the direction I’m heading as regards tiles for a while, having lusted years ago over a fireplace fitted for a client, the one on the left below, inspired by the one on the right my client had seen online. I love the eclectic mix of vintage tiles but it’s not *quite* right for my workspace here. It’s much easier to find tiles of this ilk now as so many tile designers and suppliers are tapping into the mixed pattern trend, with lots of Moroccan style encaustics and Victorian patterned square tiles available.
However I want something a little more contemporary and a lot less colourful in my office, which is to have a monochrome focused design. And square tiles are always used in fireplaces so… I’m feeling the hex love! Yes, yes, they are a tad ubiquitous at the moment but I haven’t seen many on hearths and certainly not how I’m planning to do them. Imagine a mash up of the below and you’re kind of getting the picture. Without the blue.
When I saw these tiles my heart did a little dance, what do you think?
I’ve pencilled a grid to cover the whole cement hearth to work out exactly how many will be needed, now I must work out how many in each colour and style and what pattern to create.
Sitting on top of them will be a smallish fire which packs a punch, something between 4 and 6kw, in matt black and with a traditional feel as opposed to some of the more retro styles around at the moment. I’m not a mid-century modern kinda designer )as much as I love the look in Other People’s Homes) so am erring more towards one of these little beauties:
Ok, so that’s one fireplace almost decided, only another 73,672 more decisions to go!
