Coming up with a great-looking fireplace mantel to match the inspiring designs you find on Instagram can seem difficult with an electric fireplace. While electric fireplaces can seem limited, in many cases, you aren’t stuck with the fireplace mantel that came with your specific unit. With most units, it is pretty easy to swap out a fireplace mantel for one that fits your preferences more. You can even build a custom fireplace mantel. This will give you even more wood fireplace mantel options than choosing existing mantels from third-party companies. In the post below, we’ll talk all about fireplace mantel choices, tips, and answer any questions that you might have.
In This Article, Discover Home Decor Principles That Will Help You With Custom Fireplace Mantel Ideas and Get Answers To All of These Questions:
- Are Electric Fireplaces With a Wooden Fireplace Surround The Best Possible Solution For Home Heating When Compared To Traditional Wood Burning Fireplaces or a Gas Fireplace? – To get this started, we compare different fireplace types and how they produce heat. The merits of electric fireplaces over wood and gas are discussed thoroughly.
- How Can a Wooden Fireplace Surround or Other Material Help Give You an Insta-Worthy Fireplace? – We go into details about fireplace mantel surround options. We discuss wood and other materials, and also give some tips on how to make your fireplace more Insta-worthy.
- How Are The Fireplace Mantel Choices From Mantels Direct or Pearl Mantels? – If you want to use a fireplace insert, you may want to choose a mantel to go with it. Here we talk about some different manufacturer and store options you can choose from.
- Are Electric Fireplaces With Physical Log Sets In The Firebox Better Than Electric Fireplaces That Don’t Include Any Additional Accessories At All? – We’ll discuss realism inside of electric fireplaces when accessories are added that make them look more like wood fireplaces.
- Which Brand of Electric Fireplaces Is The Best For Impressive Fire Effects, Great Build Quality, and Has a Versatile Insert Model as Well? – Here we’ll let you know which brand of electric fireplaces is the one you should keep your eye on.
Are Electric Fireplaces With a Wooden Fireplace Surround The Best Possible Solution For Home Heating When Compared To Traditional Wood Burning Fireplaces or a Gas Fireplace?
Between the exposed flames and all of the really bad, harmful emissions wood and gas fireplaces have, safety is a major concern. Electric fireplaces with a good fireplace mantel are a much better choice because of this. They also don’t require all of the work to maintain them like these other types of traditional-style fireplaces.
Take wood fireplaces for example. If you wanted to use a kind of wood-burning fireplace inside of your home, you first have to be aware of the danger. The flames themselves can be dangerous and lead to a house fire, but it is the soot inside of the fireplace chimney that is the real issue. A thick layer of this soot accumulates over many uses of the fireplace. This soot is flammable. If not cleaned out quite regularly, you can expect this soot to eventually catch fire. This engulfs the entire chimney in fire, which will quickly spread to other parts of your home. Wood fireplaces are a leading cause of home fires because of this. The danger is only increased when you consider all of the smoke, carbon monoxide, and other emissions that fill your home. It doesn’t make a difference how good your ventilation is, these emissions are bound to fill your home somewhat and cause breathing issues.
Breathing problems aren’t the only cause for concern with the smoke from wood fireplaces. Wall yellowing and furniture staining are also things that happen when smoke is present for extended amounts of time in a home. With these stains, you’re getting smoke into the fibers of everything. That means that your home will not only smell like smoke while using your fireplace, but it will also smell for several days after as well.
Consider the work that goes into just using wood fireplaces. Splitting logs, cleaning out ash, building yourself a fire, it starts to feel somewhat like a part-time job. Once the fire is roaring, work isn’t finished. You’re now obligated to keep a watchful eye for safety and to add wood as needed.
Gas fireplaces are also a concern. Indeed, the safety concerns are a little bit less when dealing with gas fireplaces. Exposed flames can start house fires, but that soot buildup isn’t the same. Smoke is rarely present with gas fireplaces, however, carbon monoxide is still a reality. Although some gas fireplaces are built to minimize carbon monoxide release with a more efficient and cleaner burn, it is never completely safe. Gas lines can also leak, which is just as serious of a leak as if the gas lines to your stove were leaking. One thing many owners of gas fireplaces fail to realize is just how disappointing the visuals are. The flames are weak, steady streams of fire in most cases. Sometimes some artificial logs are included, attempting to stir a flicker out of the flames. This rarely looks as authentic as natural wood fireplaces. Additionally, the colors are usually lacking. Some gas fireplaces try to give you authentic-looking colors, but they are dull and lifeless. Others go the other direction and choose neon blue colors for the fireplace. This rarely looks good for an extended amount of time. Many people that choose gas fireplaces with neon blue flames find themselves getting sick of it after a short amount of time.
Electric fireplaces don’t share any of the disadvantages of wood and gas fireplaces. There isn’t any sort of fire that burns inside of them to produce heat. All heat is generated by infrared quartz heating coils. The other benefit of this type of heating is the lack of emissions. Smoke will not fill your home and neither will carbon monoxide. Infrared quartz is very efficient. It draws the minimum amount of electrical power necessary to produce heat. Once electric fireplaces that use this technology are turned on, a room will warm quickly and will stay that way.
There is no work to be done with electric fireplaces either. If you are feeling cold, turn your fireplace on. Choose the temperature that you’d like the home to be. Your fireplace will regulate its heat output to keep your home at this temperature. There isn’t anything else that you’ll have to do at all. You can ignore your fireplace at that point and trust it to do its job. Additionally, there isn’t any cleaning and maintenance needed for most electric fireplaces. The only cleaning needed is basic dusting like any other piece of furniture in your home.
Even if you are renting a home, you can still use most types of electric fireplaces in your home. Unlike wood or gas fireplaces, electric fireplaces are often just set into place and plugged in. This means that you can use one in your home whether you are the owner or a tenant. You aren’t limited to houses either. You can place electric fireplaces into apartments and condos just the same. Wood and gas fireplaces don’t allow you to mount TVs on the wall above them. Both produce heat that rises directly upward and causes damage to your TV set. Wood fireplaces are even worse. In addition to the heat that rises, smoke also gets inside of the TV. Either of these fireplace types will leave you with a broken TV. TV damage usually isn’t covered in most TV warranties when placed above wood and gas fireplaces. Luckily, you can safely choose to mount your flat screen right above electric fireplaces. They will not damage TV sets. There isn’t any smoke to get inside of the TV. All of the heat that electric fireplaces generate is blown out towards the middle of the room. It doesn’t just rise upwards.
Some people might be wondering about flame effects. How real can they look? Well, with higher-end electric fireplaces such as MagikFlame, they can capture the beautiful ambiance of a traditional large electric fireplace. With 3D flames flickering around realistically, don’t be surprised if you have a guest over who doesn’t realize your fireplace is electric.
When traditional fireplaces are built onto a home, homeowners will likely need to work with some kind of architect to redesign the space, a home builder to build it, and sometimes an interior designer will come to finalize things. With electric fireplaces, none of this is at all needed. Architects don’t need to be consulted at all for electric fireplaces. Electric fireplaces are great when you are looking for a fun DIY home improvement job to tackle yourself. If you want a professional to install it or someone to finish the interior design of the space, that is all entirely up to you. However, neither are necessary at all. Electric fireplaces are quite easy to install for most types, and with the help of inspiring photos on Instagram, Pinterest, and other sites, you can easily replicate some of the best looks. This is even easier if you start with a high-quality fireplace mantel choice. You can easily do a popular wall-mounted fireplace installation in a recessed wall for a room remodel or a new home. This can help save space and deliver a modern aesthetic. Professionals aren’t always required for this sort of job. People that are good with their hands can take on a job like this themselves. However, there are additional steps to installing most electric fireplaces. You can install the fireplace to still stick out of the wall a little bit or it can be completely flush up against the wall, not sticking out at all. Whether this is a home you just bought, or you are remodeling part of your home, wall mount fireplaces are solid options. A professional can do it for you to save time, but the difficulty level isn’t too high if you’d like to try something like this for yourself.
For electric fireplace types, fireplace inserts are often the best choice for a custom job. Converting old fireplaces is just one use of these fireplaces. They aren’t exclusively made to turn older fireplaces that burn wood for heat into fireplaces that use electricity. They can be used with third-party mantels in your family room or other rooms for a completely custom style of fireplace. Inserts are one of the most versatile varieties of electric fireplace types. Just be sure if you are going to use an insert with a third-party fireplace mantel that you check the dimensions of the mantel. You want to make sure the insert and mantel will fit properly.
While mantels come in sizes that are always pretty close to a standard size, there may be a bit of variation between different mantels and different inserts. If you are buying all of these things separately and haven’t purchased anything yet, check the dimensions of both the mantel and the insert. If the insert is a little smaller, that is fine, it can still be made to fit. If the insert is too big, then you won’t be able to make it fit without shaving down part of the mantel. This could weaken the integrity of the fireplace mantel. For custom building, simply measure the insert first and build the mantel to fit that size.
Although many electric fireplaces are often technically considered to be freestanding even though they are installed against walls, there are also truly portable fireplace devices that are placed into the middle of the room like a space heater. Some of these have fire effects as well. You might be wondering, what are the fire effects even like in these smaller units and how reliably can these heat spaces in a home? Portable space heaters should be avoided as a permanent home heating solution. They don’t heat well enough for most homes and the fire effects are never as good as they should be. Avoid these smaller units unless it is just a backup device to be kept in a closet.
How Can a Wooden Fireplace Surround or Other Material Help Give You an Insta-Worthy Fireplace?
There are many different styles of home decorating you can improve with a wood fireplace mantel or fireplace mantel surround. Fireplace mantel surrounds in different types of woods can match different types of living room furniture and other decorating choices. You can get a mantel shelf with a lot of different styles of ornate carvings or something simple with minimalist shapes and lines. This is because fireplace mantel choices are plentiful. There is no shortage of different styles, materials, colors, patterns, carvings, and more to get the perfect mantel to go with the fireplace unit that you have. When searching on Instagram or other places for inspiration, take note of the mantel type, the color, and more. With luck, the person that posted the mantel also has some tags or a description included so that you can see exactly the material and style of the mantel in question.
If you are going with wood, solid wood is the best choice for a fireplace mantel shelf or surround. There are engineered wood options like MDF, particleboard, and more for your wood fireplace surround. However, there are some problems with choosing to go with some type of engineered wood in the home over a wooden mantel or wood mantel shelf that uses real wood. In most cases, getting a mantel with wood made from a solid piece instead of engineered wood will look better. While manufactured wood options can prove to be a little bit cheaper, they will also have problems faster due to chips, scratches, and laminate peeling off. Although they can cost more, if you want wood, you’re better off just getting a mantel made from a good quality wood so it will last.
For wood mantels, it can make a difference if you use wood like pine wood over an oak fireplace. Often, people can tell the difference. The wood choice matters. Oak will always look better and last longer than cheaper wood like pine. Walnut and Hickory are also decent types of woods for mantels.
Building a custom fireplace mantel will allow you to have the most versatility in your design. It will also allow you to exactly match some inspirational Instagram photos of fireplaces you like. Additionally, a DIY mantel will allow you to build custom sizes to fit into your room. A larger room might benefit from a larger mantel that you can’t buy from a third-party company. A smaller room might need something more compact.
What if you want to finish a fireplace mantel yourself? Is it better to go with an acrylic finish since they are non-combustible for this DIY job? The truth is, this doesn’t matter if it is going to be for a fireplace type that is electric instead of something that has an exposed flame element to it. While an acrylic finish is great simply because it is non-combustible, if you are going the electric route, this isn’t an issue since electric fireplaces don’t produce flames.
Poplar is another choice to use for a wooden fireplace surround. It works well with a few different styles. Poplar is a paint grade material. Paint grade means it will take paint easier than some other materials.
For a rustic fireplace mantel, you can use some sort of wooden fireplace, a barn wood beam shelf, and iron fireplace corbels to hold it up. This is a great idea for people that like rustic looks. The older wood with a rich grain brings on a fantastic rustic vibe. An iron corbel on either side will also keep it looking like something on a proper farmhouse. To make the rustic wooden fireplace surround particularly Insta-worthy, add a mantelpiece focal point to go with the theme of the room. For the centerpiece try a nice, farmhouse-style painting on the wall above the mantel. Another great option is a vase with wildflowers inside of it right on the mantel shelf. This brings a little bit of the countryside right into your home.
While a wooden fireplace can often invoke a warm and friendly atmosphere, there are also some other great fireplace mantel options. They can be materials like stone, cast stone, marble, and more.
Stone mantels aren’t always made out of real stone or even cast stone. You can create a stone electric fireplace look with special stone veneers or panels that aren’t real stone. Cast Stone, natural stone, stacked stone, and more are all excellent choices for a stone fireplace if you want to bring a bit of that natural look into your home. However, if installing stone mantels is too big of a job and too expensive of construction, faux stone veneers and other looks are a great way to fake it while still having it look real. Just keep in mind they won’t last nearly as long as real stones. That being said, some high-quality veneers can look great for many years.
Marble mantels are good if you would like a more luxurious style of fireplace. There are many ways to decorate these types of fireplace mantels to keep in line with a luxurious style. You can get fireplace tool sets and candlestick holders that can match your chandelier or other metalwork in the room. You want to make sure you match the metal types and colors of your accessories, as well as the patterns and scrollwork that are involved. You can go with minimal scrollwork or much more ornate patterns that look great. Failing to match metal types or patterns can cause a noticeable mismatch that ceases to look luxurious and can instead look tacky. Marble is a wonderful choice for luxury, but you can also go with solid white oak-style fireplaces for that luxurious look. This is a cheaper option in many cases, and it is also much more versatile and timeless.
How Are The Fireplace Mantel Choices From Mantels Direct or Pearl Mantels?
There are a few different websites like Mantels Direct to purchase mantels. Mantels Direct is a good place to get a mantel from if you want a wide variety to choose from. Mantels Direct is a great place to browse and see a lot of mantel options and types that will fit your specific style, even if it is something not as common. If you already have a lot of inspiring pictures and more from Instagram, then you should look for mantels close to the look you want in your reference photos. Other sites that might prove fruitful in your mantel search are Wayfair and even Amazon.
Pearl Mantels have popular fireplace with mantel options in standard sizes like the Newport, the Alamo, and the Berkley. Pearl Mantels make many beautiful mantel types and looks that you can find. You can look directly on their manufacturer website, the Home Depot site, and even your local Home Depot and other stores that carry this brand. Of course, you’ll likely have the most options available right from their website.
Are Electric Fireplaces With Physical Log Sets In The Firebox Better Than Electric Fireplaces That Don’t Include Any Additional Accessories At All?
If you want realism, then all of these additional accessories such as log sets or cozy-looking ember beds will only help. Just keep in mind to purchase your fireplaces from a quality, trusted brand with realistic logs inside of them. Many cheaper brands will try to make up for their weaker fire effects with some logs inside. However, if you were to buy from a brand like MagikFlame, you’d have quality fire effects and realistic internal accessories as well.
Which Brand of Electric Fireplaces Is The Best For Impressive Fire Effects, Great Build Quality, and Has a Versatile Insert Model as Well?
If you want an insert to use with a custom type of mantel, MagikFlame has the best fireplaces and inserts you can get. Their inserts have all of the same features as all of their other models, so there is no need to worry about quality.
MagikFlame has the best fire effects. What makes them so special are the realistic 3D flames. The holographic 3D flames look incredibly authentic. They move and flicker realistically. There are 30 styles of flame to choose from so you have many options to customize the mood and experience. You can switch between these flame styles easily.
There is an audio element included with MagikFlame fireplaces to increase the realism beyond the visuals. Crackling log sounds are there to accompany the flames, adding so much realism to your entire experience when using MagikFlame fireplaces. The crackling sounds are relaxing and can be elevated further with additional natural sounds.
The heating unit found inside of MagikFlame fireplaces is powerful and efficient so your heating bill won’t be high. The infrared heating is enough to warm homes that are easily up to 1,000 sq. ft.
MagikFlame comes with a high-end app to control your fireplace directly from your very own smartphone from anywhere inside of your residence.
Where Can People Learn More About MagikFlame Fireplaces?
- The Inspiring MagikFlame Story
- Stirring MagikFlame Reviews
- Informative MagikFlame Electric Fireplace Buying Guide
- Sharing How MagikFlame Is Built
- Refreshing Payment Plans and Financing
- An Encouraging MagikFlame Warranty
