When tackling a fun home improvement project or moving into a new home, the fireplace is an often overlooked feature. This shouldn’t be the case. The fireplace was the most prominent part of the main room of many people’s homes until large TVs took over. However, by refocusing a room to feature a fireplace as the main design element, you can add sophistication and personality.
To achieve a great-looking fireplace, you need to find great inspiration. For this article, Roy Halston Frowick will be examined as a wonderful source of inspiration for your home’s fireplace. We will explain who Halstone was and how his lifestyle can bring new life into your fireplace.
What You’ll Learn Here Today:
- Who Is Halston? – We explain who Halston was and what he is most known for.
- How Has Halston Influenced Modern Interior Design and Home Decor Choices? – We detail some facts that show how Halston has been so influential on home design, despite not being his main career.
- Why Is a Black Electric Fireplace Great For a Halston-Inspired Living Room? – We talk about how this type of fireplace is perfect for a look that is inspired by Halston.
- Are There Good Reasons To Use an Electric Fireplace Instead of a Traditional Wood Fireplace? – While black fireplaces come in different fuel types, we show you why electric is the correct choice.
- What Is The Best Flame Effect Technology For an Electric Fireplace? – Since electric fireplaces have many different flame effects depending on the brand, we talk about the technology that you should look to for impressive realism.
- What Are The Different Electric Fireplace Types That You Can Get In Black? – Many body styles of electric fireplaces are available that come in black, so we explain the most common types.
- Is an Electric Fireplace Insert More Versatile Than Other Electric Fireplace Types? – We go over the versatility of electric inserts when installed in a home.
- Are Electric Fireplace Inserts Difficult To Install? – The ease of installation is discussed in regard to an electric insert.
- Does a Generic Amazon Electric Fireplace Produce a Realistic Flame or Should a Brand Name Fireplace Be Chosen? – We talk about the importance of brand names over generic brands and mention some brands like Dimplex, Touchstone, and others.
- Why Are MagikFlame Electric Fireplace Inserts The Best Choice For a Halston-Inspired Remodel? – For people who expect the best in their home, we cover everything amazing about MagikFlame inserts.
Who Is Halston?
Roy Halston Frowick was simply known as Halston. He was a famous fashion designer who quickly rose in popularity throughout the 1970s. He completely revolutionized the fashion industry with his focus on clothes that were extremely clean and minimalist. This was a drastic change compared to popular fashion trends in previous years. Much of his design influence is still seen today in modern fashion.
He was also known for the design choices of the homes he purchased. While he is more known for his fashion design, people attending parties at his downtown Manhattan townhouse would be looking at minimal modernist decoration, largely influenced by his work and personal tastes.
How Has Halston Influenced Modern Interior Design and Home Decor Choices?
The lifestyle design choices that Halston made have been an inspiration to home design for the last several decades. The interior decorating of his homes was designed specifically to make people look better in the space. This makes sense when you consider his fashion design background. He wanted simple, clean shapes to be prominent so that the person in the room was the focus. Occupants of these rooms would be visually flattered by their surroundings, rather than the room itself being the focus.
His famous iconic townhouse and other residences had a large sitting space that was great for relaxation and conversation. It wasn’t a single couch aimed at a TV set like so many modern homes. The minimalist furniture was usually faced towards each other, sometimes separated by a large table to set down drinks and hors d’oeuvres. Again, the focus was purely on the people in the room. All of the design choices were to flatter their appearance.
Why Is a Black Electric Fireplace Great For a Halston-Inspired Living Room?
Now that you understand the style of Halston’s interior decorating, the minimalist feel, and the focus on flattering the look of people in the room, how does this apply to a black electric fireplace? With a modern black electric fireplace, it naturally has a minimal quality. It is free of excessive details and ornamentation. With a simple black electric fireplace in the living room and a subtle glowing fire, it provides a soft and warm glowing light that anyone can look better in. The relaxing atmosphere of a fireplace is perfect for nighttime gatherings in a home. The fire is secondary to the people’s company that you are enjoying. The fireplace is just a background character, ensuring everyone is having a comfortable time.
Black electric fireplaces look especially great with clean and minimal white walls. The black rectangle of a fireplace offers a nice contrast to the white walls without being too overpowering.
There are several variations of minimalist black fireplaces. For instance, you can get a wall-mount electric fireplace in black. A wall-mounted electric fireplace can be hung on the wall or embedded within it without a mantel. By keeping the fireplace mantel-free, you are enhancing the minimalist design aesthetic.
Are There Good Reasons To Use an Electric Fireplace Instead of a Traditional Wood Fireplace?
There are plenty of reasons to stop using wood fireplaces. The obvious reasons are that they are a dangerous fire hazard, they release toxic contaminants into your home, and they are too much work to use regularly. However, there are some less subtle reasons to avoid them too. If you don’t currently have one, you have to hire an expensive residential architect to design the space where the fireplace will go. After that, you’ll need a professional to build your fireplace. Additionally, they aren’t nearly as heat efficient as you might think. Because they need chimneys to release as much of harmful contaminants as possible, a lot of the heat produced by the fire also escapes.
An electric fireplace doesn’t have any of these safety issues, hassles, or other common concerns that traditional large electric fireplaces are stuck with. There are some unique advantages to electric fireplaces too. To begin, electric fireplaces are heat efficient and you can pick the perfect temperature of your home. Unlike traditional fireplaces which can be hard to keep a consistent temperature, electric fireplaces have an adjustable thermostat. Once the temperature is set, the fireplace produces exactly enough heat to keep that temperature consistent in your home. Some even have remote control devices that allow you to control the heat through WiFi or Bluetooth.
Electric fireplaces also have a wide variety of aesthetic models. You can get them in different body types that are unique to them. Or, you can get a fireplace mantel made out of wood with any look you prefer. You can get natural wood, espresso, black paint, white paint, or something completely different. The choices are quite endless.
What Is The Best Flame Effect Technology For an Electric Fireplace?
Having great flame effects produced by electric fireplaces is important. While some have great effects that produce a realistic ambiance with a real flame look, some cheaper fireplaces have terrible fire effects.
Unless you want a tacky-looking room, you need to avoid certain types of fire effects. Less is more. You want realistic flames that don’t attract too much attention to pull off a Halston style of decorating. This means that multi-color flames are completely out. You don’t need a fireplace that looks like a rainbow. Additionally, avoid your typical LED fireplace. These will have simple 2D LED flame technology. This flame LED flame technology doesn’t even look as good as a video of a fireplace on your TV. It looks completely artificial.
For the best fire effects available, you need to be focused specifically on 3D holographic flames. The top-tier performance when it comes to 3D flames is Holoflame technology. This flame technology can only be found in MagikFlame fireplaces. These flames are projected in three dimensions directly onto a physical log set. Having a physical log display for your 3D flames enhances the illusion. With a fireplace with this technology inside of your home, most guests at your next part will be unable to tell that your fireplace is electric.
What Are The Different Electric Fireplace Types That You Can Get In Black?
First-time electric fireplace buyers often get overwhelmed by all of the choices. For this reason, here are some basic notes on the most common types:
- Mantel Package – A mantel package is an electric fireplace that is built to look as close as possible to more traditional open hearth-style fireplaces.
- Corner Electric Fireplace – Functionally different from standard mantel packages, these corner units fit snugly into your corner for an asymmetrical room focus.
- Electric Fireplace TV Stand – This is an entertainment center or media console to place your flat-screen TVs up on top of. These have electric fireplaces built into their body, however, the quality of the fireplace can vary.
- TV Stand Corner – This is another variety of entertainment center or media console units to put TVs up on top of. The difference is it is a corner model. However, since regular corner fireplaces can handle a small TV on top of them, they are better than a TV console variety like this.
- Wall-Mounted Electric Fireplace – A wall-mounted electric fireplace is mounted onto a wall and off of your floor. It can be a flush mount job or it can be mounted to stick out slightly out from the wall.
- Electric Insert – Inserts are placed inside of traditional fireplaces, converting them into electric versions.
- Electric Fireplace Heater – This is a small freestanding electric fireplace. Both the heating ability and fire effects suffer a lot in these devices. It is best to avoid them.
- Electric Stove – This is a fireplace stove made to look like your average wood stove. A fireplace stove like this can have fire effects behind a glass door, simulating wood burning inside of it like a rural wood stove.
Is an Electric Fireplace Insert More Versatile Than Other Electric Fireplace Types?
Electric inserts are versatile. To begin, you can place them into the firebox of a standard wood fireplace to convert them. However, that isn’t where they stop. There are several more uses too.
You can use one of these amazing inserts and install them into a third-party mantel. This gives you more choice over the exact mantel that you have. Of course, you can build one yourself to go around the insert if you want additional customization.
For more accessibility, you can flush mount an insert just like a standard recessed wall-mounted electric fireplace. This is the most minimalist way to use your insert, and best fits Halston’s design principles.
Is Electric Fireplace Inserts Difficult To Install?
Inserts are easy to install. Placing them inside the firebox of a standard fireplace is an easy job. The same can be said about installing them with a third-party fireplace mantel. As long as the insert dimensions fit the space where it will be installed, it should be simple.
Using an insert as a wall-mount electric fireplace can be slightly more involved than a typical installation. However, with the proper mounting brackets and the ability to follow a good tutorial, most people can do this kind of installation without a professional to help.
Does a Generic Amazon Electric Fireplace Produce a Realistic Flame or Should a Brand Name Fireplace Be Chosen?
Before pulling out your credit card and running to your local store or checking an online store for the cheapest fireplace, it is important to know that generic fireplaces are never a good purchase. They break down easily, they have poor heating ability, and the fire effects look incredibly fake. That’s why getting a brand-name fireplace is important. You’ll get better quality and something that will look better in your home.
There are many popular brands of electric fireplace units. There are Dimplex, Touchstone, Ameriwood Home, MagikFlame, Muskoka, and Silverton electric fireplace models. Of course, the style of fireplaces varies greatly depending on which brand you choose. For black fireplaces that would fit with a Halston-inspired look, Dimplex, Touchstone, and MagikFlame all have fireplaces that fit this appearance. Of course, out of those three, MagikFlame is the clear winner when it comes to their incredible fire effects and other features. Read the next section to learn more.
Why Are MagikFlame Electric Fireplace Inserts The Best Choice For a Halston-Inspired Remodel?
If you want a black electric fireplace in your bedroom that can pull off a Halston-inspired minimalist appearance, look no further than the MagikFlame Electric Insert. The MagikFlame insert has all of these great features that other MagikFlame models have as well:
- Ultra-realistic Fire Effects – The holographic technology MagikFlame uses is the best on the market. With these beautiful 3D effects, many people will think they are looking at a real flame. There are 30 styles of flames to swap between.
- Crackling Log Sounds – The flames of MagikFlame fireplaces are further enhanced by realistic audio of crackling logs.
- 5,200 BTU Heat – The powerful heating device inside MagikFlame can warm up to 1,000 sq. ft. and uses the least electricity possible due to its fantastic heat efficiency.
- Smartphone App – In place of a traditional remote control device, you can use any touch screen device like a smartphone or tablet to control your MagikFlame via Bluetooth.
