Best Tabletop Fireplaces
Buy the best best tabletop fireplaces selected and recommended by interior designers. By Tara Gosselin.
You can spruce up your patio, front porch, or even backyard with the amazing selection of quality tabletop fireplaces. Tabletop fireplaces are usually smaller and more compact than traditional ones. However, they are powerful enough to release soothing flames that will keep you and your family warm during chilly nights. These fireplaces also have incredible decorative value. They can be used as the perfect anchor for your overall patio décor. The fireplaces are available in many different designs, styles, and sizes. They are a must-have for any homeowner looking to enhance his or her outdoor living experience.
Best Tabletop Fireplaces
Buying Guide
Tara Gosselin
Interior Design Expert
Tara is a San Antonio-based award-winning landscape architect, writer and educator, passionate about eco-friendly solutions and growing her own food. She knows all it takes to help you create a sustainable backyard retreat that combines blissful charm with a modern take on landscaping.
A tabletop fireplace is the ultimate conversation starter, adding a cozy mistique to any room. All it needs is a flat surface, and what was just an ordinary dining or coffee table, now has an ambiance and character all its own. The fire is real, but without the smoke, or the mess. It is the perfect blend of elegance, and swagger, and can come in many styles to match your decor.
Unlike choosing to install a gas fireplace, adding a tabletop fireplace is not a decision that needs a lot of additional worry, because the setup and possible locations are vast, and they burn clean, without need of a chimney, so smoke is not a concern. As a centerpiece, or multiple units spread throughout the home, it is an interesting alternative to electric lighting in the evening hours.
Tabletop fireplaces are versatile because they don't require a direct gas line for combustion. Must like a portable propane torch, they keep their fuel source within. They burn 100% clean-burning bio-ethanol fuel. No smoke, no ash, no soot, so, no mess. Depending on the size of the tabletop fireplace, and the capacity of its fuel reservoir, it can burn for a couple hours before needing to be refueled.
Yes. That said, most models have a protective glass that surrounds the flames, eliminating accidental burns. There are also options that use water vapor and colored lights to simulate real flames.
Using the small, indoor tabletop fireplace outdoors is not recommended. The alternative is what is known as a fire pit table. A fire pit table is similar to the tabletop fireplace, but bigger. Much bigger. They can be the size of a coffee table, to as big as an outdoor patio table.
Picking the right design of tabletop fireplace can bring a room together and make all the difference in whether or not your decor flows properly. If you are looking for a "wow" factor, you'll surely find a beautiful product to suit your decor.
A few options in styles are:
- Geometric shapes with their clean lines, especially when done in neutral colors and combined with metal and glass, pair well with a contemporary decor.
- Stone and clay jar bases with a pebble media, give off a romantic, peaceful ambiance
- Brushed copper with an antique sheen coupled with a lattice design work well with a more rustic, bohemian and traditional schemes
- Elaborate, botanical designs with a gold finish lend toward elegance, a lovely addition to a sophisticated traditional space
That said, there are so many different varieties, sizes and shapes of tabletop fireplaces that you never have to settle for a specific unit if you know it will not fit into your aesthetic preference. Boutique shops and home improvement stores sell a wide array tabletop fireplace choice.
There are also a handful of online stores that have pictures and size descriptions for your browsing pleasure. And all of these sell the fuel required to keep your tabletop fireplace burning beautifully for years to come.
The simple answer is that they are extremely safe, with one caveat, they still deal with fire, and therein they must be respected. The tabletop fireplace is a bottom-heavydesign, so they are incredibly stable, and the weight ensures it will stay where you place it until moved intentionally.
The ethanol burns clean, but the glass barrier on most units doesn't get very hot, so accidental contact with curious kids or pets touching the glass won't sustain contact burns. However, if anything they reach in and make contact with the fire, burns will occur.
Teach anyone unfamiliar with tabletop fireplaces how to be safe around them and prevent injuries before they happen.
Cleaning
Because the bio-ethanol fuel burns so clean, there is minimal residue present on the burners or media within the unit. They are much smaller, and require less upkeep, but they still need occasional attention. Using a gas fireplace glass cleaner on the surrounding protective shield works well and using a damp towel to wipe the surface of the unit will get all the usual house dust that may accumulate. Of course,all of this is done while the tabletop fireplace is not in use, the fire not lit.
Storage
The most important thing to remember is to dump the fuel, or let it burn off completely. Storing anything with an internal accelerant is dangerous, as gases can build up, only needing a small spark to ignite. Let the fuel within burn or dump it into a safe receptacle, then, if you still have the box it came in, store it in its original container.
If it was purchased without a box, select the right size at a home improvement store or shipping company, and add some bating to the free space within to keep it from shifting while stored. Place in an out-of-the-way space like a closet or an attic.
The decision to incorporate a tabletop fireplace into your decorating scheme is very personal. It adds a transcendent quality to a room, but that's only half of it. Just like an incense burner or miniature fountain, it is important to keep an eye on certain aspects of the tabletop fireplace to ensure it is always in working order, for when you want to showcase it.
For instance, if it is ignored for an extended period of time, and the fuel evaporates, the unit will not work, making you feel foolish if your intention is to dazzle guests. Proper upkeep has to be added to your home maintenance routine. Be sure before you buy if you can keep it in clean, working order.
The Tabletop Fireplace creates the cozy ambiance of a real fire, without smoke, soot or ashes! Here's what you should know if you didn't have time to go through the whole guide:
- Elegant tabletop centerpiece
- For indoor use only
- Runs on 100% clean-burning bio-ethanol fuel
- Distinctive shape
- Glass screens
- No smoke, melted wax, soot or ashes to clean up
- No chimney or vent required
- Reservoir holds about 2-3 hours' worth of fuel (0.5 liters)
- While the decorative flame provides some heat, it should not be considered as a main heat source