How to Add Ambiance to Your Living Space with a Faux Fireplace

Make Your Living Room Cozy

Traditionally, the fireplace is the central feature of the living room, with its statement design, decoration, and dancing embers that warm up the surrounding space and everyone in it.

If you don't have a working fire or chimney in your home but are still seeking to create that fireplace focal point, then you should try installing a fake wall fireplace. You can use this sizable nook to make a dramatic statement and bring a new level of ambiance to your living area.

You could peel off the plaster at the back of the faux fireplace to create a modern, exposed red-brick design for an industrial home. You can also splatter those bricks with white paint to produce an unfinished, rustic-style centerpiece for a country farmhouse.

You may decide to knock through the firebox opening to create more space under the mantel shelf. Once you've done this, you can fill this quaint alcove with a selection of your favorite books or records. You should also be able to fit a record player in that space. Most fireplace models feature Cool Touch technology and ventilation to prevent the area behind the unit from sustaining damage.

A fake fireplace wall mantle can also serve as temporary, seasonal decor. Choose a model with a black or distressed finish, decorated with pumpkins of different sizes for Halloween or Thanksgiving. A unit with ornate crown molding and carved details finished in a rich wood tone is ideal for dressing with fir garlands and stockings for Christmas.

You could even turn this fake wall fireplace into a mini-bar area with a retro drinks trolley and ice bucket. If you're a fan of fine wines and French Country-style interior design, invest in a classy, hardwood wine rack and fit it into the large fireplace compartment. Guests will feel like they're in a stonewalled wine cellar in Provence.

Style Your Home Office

Adding a faux fireplace to your home office may seem unusual, but it can add a lot of ambiance to your workspace. And the great thing about fake fireplaces is that you can put them on any convenient wall.

Amaze your clients with the added style a faux fireplace imbues on your office space. If you're considering a fake fireplace for your office, think about more modern elements like LED or electrical insert. Even in a classically decorated home office, a minimalist faux fireplace can add a warm yet professional focal point to the room.

Warm Up Your Kitchen

The kitchen is the home's communal hub, so it's a great idea to introduce a faux fireplace as a soulful centerpiece.

Pay homage to Victorian-era, stone-paved kitchens, with their steel ranges and blazing coal fires, by creating a fake wall fireplace with decorative tile insets and a marble hearth.

You can also add character and atmosphere to your kitchen by installing an electric fire insert. These vent-free faux fires have built-in coils that heat cold air and integrated fans that push this warm air back into your kitchen. You won't need to purchase charcoal or wood, and you'll have no problems with setting the heating system up. You can just plug the unit into any wall outlet, switch on its power button, and you're good to go.

This energy-efficient, ergonomic fireplace design takes up very little space in your kitchen and will warm you and your family up during the colder months of the year. Look for a unit that is Energy Star rated for the most eco-friendly option.

Create a Cozy Patio

One of the best places to install a new fake fireplace is in your outdoor seating area. A faux fireplace is a perfect way to pull any outdoor living space together with or without a flame display.

Outdoor patios and deck areas benefit from well-placed lighting elements, and a fake fireplace provides the perfect glowing ambiance for your outdoor space.

Ensure that the housing for your faux fireplace is weather-resistant so that they won't get ruined in inclement weather. Don't use an indoor fake fireplace outdoors unless it is also outdoor rated, as the heating elements and electrical components do not have adequate insulation against the weather.

Styling a Faux Fireplace in Your Living Room

The remarkable aspect of faux fireplaces is that they are so easy to put in, are compatible with every style of decor, and don't require upkeep.

Choosing the opposite style to your prevailing aesthetic is an exciting way to change up your aesthetic. If you have predominantly traditional decor, consider a sleek modern faux fireplace to give your classic look an edge.

If you have a simplistic, modern space, go for a baroque style faux fireplace for an exciting juxtaposition and talking point. Any way you want to style it, a fake fireplace will add extra aplomb to your living space.

The Takeaway

Fireplaces aren't just useful as a heat source, they also bring a room together and provide warmth and light as well as a talking point.

Modern fake fireplaces come in an astonishing array of forms and styles. You can express your taste by filling your fireplace with your favorite books, floral arrangements, or candlesticks or use an LED flame display to simulate an actual fire.

However you choose to decorate it, a faux fireplace instantly warms up any room and draws people together. Whether it's in your living room, kitchen, or outside on your patio, you can't go wrong with a faux fireplace.