Tuesday 15 January 2013

Fire Surrounds: Give Your Fireplace a New Look for 2013

Fire Surrounds: Give Your Fireplace a New Look for 2013

If you are renovating your home in the coming weeks - and replacing the fire surround - now is a great time to order your seasoned hardwood logs and smokeless coal so you can get ready to light your new fire!

The start of the New Year is a great time to draw your attention to the fireplace as January and February are the chilliest months of the year. And for this reason, it’s also a good time to stock up on your seasoned hardwood logs and smokeless coal.

Home delivery offers the most convenient way to do this, particularly in the winter months. Fortunately Big K offer free nationwide delivery on all winter fuel products including kindling wood, heat logs, anthracite coal, and instant lighting products, seasoned hardwood logs and smokeless coal – so it all comes direct to your door.

Meanwhile, if you are thinking of giving your fireplace a new look this winter, here we take a look at the benefits of fire surrounds, the types you can buy, and give ideas on how to store your seasoned hardwood logs and smokeless coal.

Seasoned Hardwood Logs - click here to view our range of products

Benefits of a New Fire Surround

A fire surround is the decorative part that goes around the fireplace and provides an attractive backdrop. As the fireplace is the focal point of in room, the type of fire surround you have makes a big difference on how your interior will look. Replacing a retro or outdated fire surround with an original period fireplace, or a contemporary version, could be just what you need to give your interior a lift.

Whatever your reasons for buying a new fire surround, an attractive, functional fireplace turns a house into a home and instantly makes an interior cosy and welcoming. A fireplace brings the family together too, as everyone loves to gather around a crackling log fire during the coldest months of the year.

But fire surrounds don’t just serve a decorative purpose – they are also an important safety feature. They provide additional fire protection as they prevent sparks escaping and infiltrating the wall around the fireplace and they also provide extra fireproof insulation around the fireplace.

Types of Fireplace Surrounds

While new homes often lack a built-in fireplace, the same can’t be said for older style or period properties – but there are many reasons why you may want to change your existing fireplace surround.

Certainly, some homeowners are lucky enough to uncover a boarded up original fireplace during their home renovations. However, it may be that your property had its original fireplace ripped out in the 1960’s and replaced with a newer, less attractive fireplace surround which you want to update.

There are a wide range of fireplace surrounds available on the market and these range from contemporary fire surrounds to tiled surrounds, reclaimed surrounds, period fireplace surrounds, wooden fire surrounds, stone, stone-effect, brick-built, granite, marble and limestone fire surrounds.

Even if you don’t have a fireplace in your home, you can have one installed and there are various companies that do this. It may be that you have a new build and want a fireplace put in, or want a new fireplace in an extension, or you may like a chimney built in your existing property. If this is the case, instead of a ready-made design, you may want a fire surround individually made and there are many companies that will design and make bespoke fire surrounds to your exact specifications.

From sleek and modern designs, to more intricate and elaborate fireplace surrounds, you will always find something to suit your interior. And there are some great bargains to be had at this time of year!

Storage

If you are buying seasoned hardwood logs, you will want to somewhere to store these. Log stores range from log baskets, log bins, sheds or lean to’s, right through to purpose built log storage. You can buy log stores from a variety of places online or at your local garden centre. You can even make a feature of your firewood and store it in an attractive metal basket to hang on the wall for a rustic look.

As smokeless coal is available in pre-packed 10kg or 20kg durable bags these are easy to store and can be stacked on top of each other. It can be stored in a place of your choosing, or you can also buy plastic or galvanised coal bunkers as a neat and stylish way to keep your coal.

Wherever you plan to store your winter fuel products, Big K sell a wide selection of seasoned hardwood logs and smokeless coal for you to stock up on this winter - so it won’t be long before you can make use of your brand new fireplace.

Smokeless Coal - click here to view our range of products