Faux Fireplaces Have Warmed Our Homes for Decades

Part of the allure of historic homes is the fireplace, often available in abundance in homes of bygone eras. We're often asked the purpose of fireplaces that seem original yet seem never to have been operable.

Yes, fake or "faux" fireplaces were popular even a hundred or more years ago, used as a visual element to enhance the architectural appeal of the room. While some originally burned jetted gas fires or electric fires, even "back in the day" some  were built to resemble an authentic fireplace - brick firebox, mantel and all - with no chimney and never a fire intended to burn in them. A wood burning fireplace (WBFP in real estate jargon), operable or not, was a sign of prestige in city homes where a real wood fire was as inconvenient then as it is today. Where do you store loads of firewood in a small and immaculately manicured city garden any way?

Just like the original residents of these old homes did, why not burn a cozy little electric fire in them?

Even simple electric logs are a visual chillbuster while an electric insert provides the ambience of a realistic moving flame plus an electric heater to help warm up the room.