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Gas & wood fireplaces to warm your home
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Fireplaces are a lovely way to add ambience to your home.
The crackling sound of a fire and the familiar smell of smoke are great reminders of the cosy indoors.
"Everyone has a natural attraction to the ambience of a real flame," says Daniel from Jetmaster Australia. "But for a while there was a lot of publicity on the negative environmental impact of wood fireplaces, even though they are actually carbon neutral."
As a result of this perceived problem, recent developments in gas fireplaces have created stylish new options for the home.
"The growth of gas has taken design possibilities a step further," Daniel says. That said, he is still a firm believer that minimalism is the key to an elegant fireplace. "The look is moving towards a very Zen aesthetic."
New innovations in flues also help with the placement of a fireplace. "We do a balanced flue, which means the fireplace has a glass door and a short flue out the back. This means you can mount it on the wall or put it into a cabinet, because it vents out the back instead of vertically."
The balanced flue has also revolutionised the way gas and wood fireplaces are put in. Where once installing one on the bottom floor of a three-storey house was too expensive to consider, the short horizontal flue to the outdoors makes it a feasible option.
The flue vents the smoke out of the room, but also draws cold air in. This means that already-warm air isn't overheated, creating a comfortable warmth.
"Because some gas fireplaces don't have the same heat output, they can be put into interesting locations in the home," Daniel says. "Designers can put them literally anywhere, because they don't need to have a hearth, and the absence of a vertical flue leaves a void above it."
The flames will leap from logs or pebbles, depending on your chosen aesthetic. Fireplace shapes have also changed, with elongated or framed fires making their mark.
