Fake Fireplaces
7 May 2008“Come on Baby, Light My Fire”
It’s hard to rate an idea like this one. My wife and I do use space heaters in the winter months, simply because we can never see the point of heating the entire house when we’re only going to be in one or two rooms, but the thought of a fake fireplace that looks so manifestly fake is a bit “out there.”
On the other hand, there are some things to recommend this product—and I don’t mean only to those with poor taste! For one there is the fact that it is an item that can be left out year round, whereas we go through the yearly ritual of “get the heaters from the attic; clean them up; use them for the winter; now put them back where you got them from.”
But if one is to have the heater out year round, it should look like something, and a product made as these are from solid woods and veneers at least has the benefit of a pleasant appearance. How realistic does it look? Well, how realistic is any fireplace, really? The only operating parts of it are the firebox itself and the flue, which is normally just a pipe. We surround these items with brick chimneys and fireplace surrounds of brick or wood, but all of that is really just a facade.
Of course, when you fire these babies up, you can’t help wishing for a “fire” that was a bit more realistic. But, going back to the other hand, it’s a portable fire. All you need is an electric outlet. And if you’re one of those with a living room or bedroom where you want to put both a stereo system of some sort and a heater, you may have found just the item.
Classic Flame has a large number of products, but the ones that most piqued my interest were those that included space for stereo units. The one pictured above with the media equipment in it is actually a built-in multi-function media cabinet with integrated wire management. And for those who would like the ambience of a roaring fire without the heat, it is possible to turn on the “fire,” but not the heat. Hey, don’t laugh. Richard Nixon used to run the air conditioner on high in the White House during the summer months so he could stoke up the fireplace, and he was President!
Joseph
Say Cheese!
Cheese logs that is… To me these things look so fake and tacky I don’t think even Walwart would carry them. Yeah, it’s realistic having the fire in the middle of your entertainment center. That would be a great place to have a heat source for all of your sensitive electronic equipment. Sorry, this one just doesn’t work for me at all.
Joe
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