Contributed Articles

The fireplace holds a deep and symbolic meaning for the human faculty. Ever since humans first used fire in rudimentary ways, this element has evolved to become the center of tribes and various familial activities. Eventually, the fireplace emerged to serve as the primary source of light, heat, security and food. Today, with the improvements in technology, the once simple wood and gas burning fireplace is now available as a portable flame electric fireplace.

Setting aside the changes in some of the structures of the fireplace, two of its primary parts remain intact over the years""the surround and mantels. Fireplace surround and mantels are the ones that borders the fireplace to make it aesthetically pleasing to the eye rather than just a plain black hole on the wall. These two parts are very common in traditional wood and gas burning fire features. However, as electric fireplace is now rapidly becoming the alternative for traditional wood and gas burning fireplace, surround and mantels are now also available to complement this fire feature.

The primary purpose of the fireplace surround is to shield the walls of a room from the soot and heat coming from the fireplace. This purpose of the surround might leave you wondering, why would I use a surround if I have an electric fireplace that does not emit damaging soot and heat? The answer lies on the design capability of the surround; a fireplace without this feature certainly lacks appeal. A surround could definitely make profound appearance changes on your electric fireplace and could also create a modern statement for the entire room.

Parallel to traditional fireplace, your electric fireplace surround could become the canvass of your creativity. Although this type of fireplace is already equipped with its own surround, you could easily make changes to this by using your own design idea. Considering that an electric fireplace does not emit real flames, a wooden surround would give you more opportunity to decorate as it can be carved into different shapes that you think would be appropriate to maintain the design continuity of the room where the fire feature is placed. Other materials that you could use to make your surround aside from wood includes plaster, cast iron, marble, brick and limestone; just always put in mind that there are materials that have more outstanding features than others, so pick the ones that exemplify flexibility.

Alongside the surround is the electric fireplace mantels, which also plays an integral role in enhancing the appearance of your fire feature. Throughout history, mantels are powerful symbols of domestic life that have since received the special attention of fireplace designers, both traditional and electric. Just like your surround, the mantels of your fireplace could be created and finished using a wide variety of materials like wood, metal and natural stones among others. The most essential thing that you have to take into account when designing your mantels is how you could exemplify your creativity in order to bring out the beauty of your fireplace and make it the focal point inside your living space.

Noteworthy designs of electric fireplace mantels today are the ones known as period mantels such as colonial, Gregorian, Victorian and federal. For a more personal touch, mantels could also be designed based from the places that you have visited or memories that you are most fond about; the main idea is for you to be able to release all your creativity on the mantels in order to befit your personal taste. Basically, you could go at almost any lengths when it comes to the design of the surround and mantels of your electric fireplace. Going an extra mile in the design aspect would not only give you a unique fireplace but would also permit you to become more creative.

If you have an old flame electric fireplace and you wish to update its looks, you could simply do so by changing either the fireplace surround or mantels. These two elements are design-oriented and could be transformed according to your laid design plans. Electric fireplace mantels for instance could be changed into period mantels to proudly reflect the cultural history of the past.