Traditional or Modern Fireplace? How We Chose the Right Look for Our New Construction Home
I grew up in a house that was built in the 1890s in a small historic town on the East Coast. It was small and had virtually no storage (as was usual for homes built in the 1800s), but for all that it lacked in closet space, it had character oozing from every corner.
One of my favorite features of that house was our wood-burning fireplace with giant brick chimney in our living room. I remember my dad making a fire on cold winter nights and we would sit in there for hours playing games as a family. To this day, the smell of wood-burning fires fills me with nostalgia and gives me all the warm, fuzzy feelings.
When we decided to build our own custom home after finding the perfect corner lot (just like the one I grew up on), I couldn’t help but pull inspiration from my childhood home. We incorporated a turret and wrap around porch, inspired by the beautiful east coast Victorian architecture I grew up with. It wasn’t long after we finalized the exterior design of the house that we needed to start making decisions on interior elements, including the fireplaces, because we needed to incorporate the chimney into the design.
We trekked over to the fireplace design center (we worked with Rio Grande Co., one of the largest fireplace distributors in the Denver area) to look at options. We knew we wanted a gas fireplace one way or another, but we still needed to decide on a modern linear option or traditional option with logs. Linear models lean towards modern minimalism with sleek lines, while traditional models have a classic fireplace shape that feels timeless. There was no debate. For the look and feel of the house we had designed, a traditional model seemed like the only choice.
I will forever have a soft spot in my heart for a traditional fireplace with brick interior, wood logs (real or not), a hearth and a mantel to complete the look, which is why we chose the TRUE model with a greige herringbone brick interior panel and high-definition wood logs. The look exudes warmth, which is exactly what I wanted for our great room where we spend most of our time as a family. We designed this beauty to sit up on a 16-inch hearth with a traditional wood mantel and natural stone mosaic surround.
Linear fireplaces are beautiful and tend to offer a more modern look with their long rectangular shape, metal surrounds, highly reflective glass, long ribbon flames and glass beads available in a variety of colors at the bottom. I’m always in awe of them when I see one, but it just did not feel authentic to our home. There is certainly a time and place where they are the natural choice–our transitional style family room just wasn’t it.
In addition to the fireplace we have in our main level great room, we installed another fireplace in our master bedroom, but we wanted a totally different feel to this room going for more of a minimalistic look with clean lines. We chose the Cosmo model. It’s the perfect hybrid model with the linear shape we wanted, without being quite as full-on modern as some other options.
The Cosmo has a ratio that mimics most widescreen television or computer screens. It made it a perfect choice to install right under the TV, which will be slightly recessed to have the cleanest look possible. The Cosmo also allows you to choose from driftwood or traditional logs, or a variety of colored glass beads or river rocks. Being able to customize this fireplace made it the perfect choice to blend styles in our transitional home and have a different look in the master bedroom.
When contemplating the perfect fireplace for your space, I think it’s important to take the overall design of the home into consideration. Is the architecture traditional with coastal vibes, or is it contemporary with sleek lines and glass? That helps naturally narrow down the search. However, don’t feel backed into a corner by your home’s architecture, afraid to change it up here and there. The fireplace is a focal point in any home and can make a huge design impact. It’s truly the heart of the home. Make sure it fills your heart and home with happiness.
Learn more about the new home building process and fireplace planning with these articles, or take a look at the traditional and modern fireplaces Heat & Glo has to offer.
Rachael Dorr
Rachael Dorr is the owner and writer of the blog, Shut the Front Dorr, as well as a corporate event planner. She lives in Denver, Colorado with her husband, Jeff, and two young children, Everett and Emerson. They are currently building their dream home in the suburbs of Denver–a process they started in the summer of 2019. They describe the house as “Modern Vintage,” a custom transitional design that seamlessly blends traditional elements, such as a turret and a wraparound porch, with modern updates like shaker cabinets and sliding barn doors.
“We looked for years for the perfect house but couldn’t find what we were looking for, so we decided to design it ourselves. This is the first time we’ve ever designed or built a custom home, which has been such a labor of love. It’s a process filled with ups and downs, but it’s so worth it to see your vision come to life! Even though 2020 has thrown us some curveballs, the house should be finally move-in ready by the end of the year!”
We were proud to partner with Rachael on her fireplace projects, featuring the TRUE, Cosmo and SlimLine. You can follow along with her custom home-building journey on her Instagram account, @shutthefrontdorrblog.