A Hearth of My Own

Fireplaces have always been an important part of decorating for me.  I love old houses where you will find a fireplace in just about every room.  They offer such a fabulous atmosphere and seem to facilitate the urge to just sit by the warmth, enjoying the crackling of the fire, and read, have conversations, or just enjoy hanging out and relaxing.

As a kid, I did not have a fireplace in our family home.  Our house would have been perfect, but it seemed that during this time, the fireplace just wasn’t a priority for my parents as it was to me.  My dad would always talk about putting one in, as we had a blank wall where it would be perfect, but it just never got done.

When I got my first house, one of the most important things, if not the most important item that needed to be installed was a fireplace. I finally got my fireplace, and I must say that it was used a lot.  We installed it in our family room where we spent most of our downtime.  We hired a professional to install this and were really happy with it.  It offered a lot of different areas of entertainment.  We lit it a lot, especially in the cold months.  It served as a backdrop for birthday parties, family gatherings, and was even instrumental in celebrating a job raise or promotion.  (This was the best).  We even spread out a blanket in front of it and celebrated life cozy and happy.

Now, having moved from that house to where I now reside, it was a must to again have a fireplace installed in our now family room. Then, loving to decorate,  I had decorated our living room with a fake mantel, making this look like the real deal, but I wasn’t totally satisfied with this.  So, eventually, I had a gas fireplace installed.  No fuss, no mess, just a cozy ambiance.

One drawback to a fireplace is making sure everyone who wants to light it knows just how to do this.

One of my grandsons, such as Nate, wanted to light the fireplace that we have up at our cottage.  He found out it is always a good idea to make sure the flu is open before lighting.  Once there are roaring flames in a fireplace, it is very unpleasant to have someone stick their hand and arm into a burning blaze to open the flue.  Well, this happened, and I found it interesting to notice that when your room fills up with smoke, you can actually see the different levels of toxins.

So, my advice for those fire starters would be, open before you strike!! Or something like that. Having to stick your arm into a blazing fire is not pleasant, trust me.

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