While many people want a fireplace in their home, there are several reasons that they may not be able to have them. They may be renting and unable to build a new fireplace. Even if they are homeowners their area might have specific regulation that doesn’t allow them to build a traditional fireplace. For these reasons, many people are choosing to get electric fireplaces.
However, even if you want an electric fireplace in your home, do you have the space for it? What if you only have a limited amount of sq. ft, especially in an apartment or a smaller home? It can be hard to fit an electric fireplace and a TV stand in a room together. This makes many people ask the question: can you get a TV stand that is combined with an electric fireplace into one unit?
This guide is going to answer that question for you as well as give you any additional information on that same topic.
Here Are All of The Different Things That Will Be Covered In The Following Post:
- Can You Get An Entertainment Center With Fireplace? – To start off, we answer the important question: can you get an entertainment center with a fireplace? We give a basic primer about how these work and why people choose them for their living room as well.
- What Are Some of The Other Types of Electric Fireplaces That Homeowners Choose To Put Into Their Homes? – An electric fireplace that is built directly into a TV stand isn’t the only type of electric fireplace you can find. In this section, we explore all of the other types that there are for you to choose for your home.
- What Are All of The Upsides To Using Electric Fireplaces? – For anyone still on the fence about getting an electric fireplace entertainment center or another type of electric fireplace, this section will talk about all of the benefits that electric fireplaces offer.
- What Are Some of The Different Styles That I Can Find When Looking For An Entertainment Center With Fireplace? – Before you put an electric fireplace entertainment center in your living room, it is good to know the different styles of white fireplace TV stand you can get and how they can match your existing home decor style.
- What Are Some Good Brands of An Entertainment Center With a Fireplace Inside? -There are many brands of TV stand console with an electric fireplace built in such as Ameriwood. This section will cover Ameriwood and all of the other brands of TV stands with electric fireplaces.
- Is There a Better Option Than Going With A TV Stand With an Electric Fireplace Built Into It? – An electric fireplace TV stand isn’t your only option. Whether you want to save space or having an interesting focal point in your home, there are other better options instead of an entertainment center that has an electric fireplace inside of it. This section will explore those different options.
- If I Wanted a Standard Electric Fireplace Unit, Which One Should I Get? – If you choose to get a standard electric fireplace instead of a TV stand that has a built-in electric fireplace, this section is going to cover the best brand that you can possibly choose to go with.
Can You Get An Entertainment Center With Fireplace?
For the quick answer, yes, you can get a media console you can put TVs up on that has an electric fireplace built into the bottom of it. While you can get an electric fireplace television stand that can support up to 65-inch TVs up on them, not all brands or models are going to be the same and the quality of them as well as the different styles will vary quite a bit. Sections later on in this guide will explore some of these fireplace media console differences so you can pick the right fireplace TV console for you.
What Are Some of The Other Types of Electric Fireplaces That Homeowners Choose To Put Into Their Homes?
There are a large number of electric fireplaces that you can get to put in the main room of your house. Here are the basic types:
- TV Stand – These are mostly what this guide is talking about. These are basically TV stands that can handle up to 65-inch TVs up on them, sometimes larger. They have an electric fireplace built into the console below, and usually have other features as well.
- Electric Fireplace Insert – This is a unit that can be inserted into the opening of an old wood fireplace so that you can switch it into one that is completely electric, and still use the chimney feature instead of leaving it empty.
- Fireplace Mantle Unit For a Flat Wall – These are electric fireplaces that come with mantles of varying styles. Other than an insert placed into an existing chimney opening, these are the electric fireplaces that will look the most traditional. They usually come as two pieces so you can choose between many different mantle styles.
- Fireplace Mantle Unit For a Corner – These are just like the fireplace wall units above except they are built to be in the corner. These units are a little less common and because of this, they may have fewer mantle style options to choose from.
- Electric Fireplace Wall Mounting Units – These are electric fireplaces that can be mounted on the wall up off of the ground instead of resting on the ground like a typical mantle unit. These come with special brackets for secure wall mounting. Sometimes, these can also be installed into a wall recession, either fully to sit flush with the wall or partially for a limited depth of the fireplace.
- Electric Fireplace Portable Space Heater – These are just freestanding space heaters and they are designed to resemble a fireplace. These typically don’t perform well as both a space heater or as a visual fireplace simulation due to their extremely limited size. Instead of getting one of these, you will have a better time getting a standard electric fireplace unit and a separate standard space heater so that they both do their jobs more efficiently.
What Are All of The Upsides To Using Electric Fireplaces?
If you are still on the fence about deciding if an electric fireplace is even for you, here are all of the numerous upsides that come with using one in your home:
- They Are a Lot Safer Than Wood or Gas Fireplaces – Wood fireplaces are very unsafe for home use, that’s why so many areas don’t allow you to build these traditional fireplaces when constructing a new home or as an addition onto an existing home. For starters, wood fireplaces are one of the most common ways that house fires can occur. It isn’t just because a fiery log or a floating ember can make its way into your home and start a fire when it touches something flammable. The soot inside of the chimney can also build up over time and can catch fire. This fire will engulf the inside of your chimney and spread to the rest of your house. This is why a professional chimney cleaner needs to be called multiple times per year to ensure your chimney is free from excessive soot buildup. It’s not just the chance of a fire. Burning wood produces a lot of smoke and carbon monoxide. Of course, a lot of this leaves through the ventilation, but some still make it into your home where you breathe it in. This can cause problems with smoke inhalation and even carbon monoxide poisoning. While many people think it’s a better idea to get a gas fireplace, they are still unsafe. There is still a flame that is present so the house fire risk is higher. And while burning gas doesn’t usually cause smoke, it can still cause carbon monoxide to fill your home, especially without sufficient ventilation.
- They Are a Very Cost-Efficient Way To Keep Your Home Warm – Burning wood isn’t very energy efficient at all. You have to burn through a lot of wood in order to properly heat your home. This usually requires you to keep a window open slightly so that there is good airflow to the fireplace, allowing a strong burn. This is inefficient because cold air enters the room, negating some of the heat output of the fireplace. Both wood and gas fireplaces that require ventilation also lose a lot of heat through the ventilation. This means they both have to burn more and use more energy in order to keep their home warm. With electric fireplaces, it is incredibly efficient. You don’t crack any windows and you don’t have any ventilation where heat can escape. The cold air from the room is warmed inside the fireplace with a super-efficient infrared quartz heating coil and then that warm air is blown out into the room. Not only does this use way less energy to quickly warm a home, but the residual heat stays in the home longer, meaning the electric fireplace doesn’t need to work nearly as hard to keep your home warm.
- You Can Set Up Zone Heating For Larger Homes – Even with a much larger home where a single electrical fireplace is too big, you can set up a strategic supplemental zone heating system with multiple electric fireplaces. You do this by placing electric fireplaces in multiple rooms that are regularly used. This can be bedrooms, dining rooms, living rooms, home offices, and more. You then only use fireplaces in rooms as they are occupied, and leave them turned off when rooms are empty. Just make sure to close off doors to the unused rooms. While you spend a little more on multiple fireplaces, you actually end up saving even more on your heating bill this way. Often, homeowners find that a system like this ends up paying for itself in savings over the long run.
- They Are No Hassle To Operate or Maintain – Wood fireplaces are always a huge hassle. You have to clean them regularly, constantly add more wood, and always keep an eye on them for safety. Even gas fireplaces have a bit of hassle and maintenance involved with them. Electric fireplaces are so much easier. Once you turn one on and set it to your desired temperature, that is it. The electric fireplace works automatically to keep your home at your ideal temperature the same way an HVAC unit might. As the temperature is set, the heater inside the fireplace works harder if the room temperature drops, and works less when the room temperature is high enough.
- The Installation Is Effortless – Unless you want to do a fancy wall-mounted recessed fireplace installation, electric fireplaces are so simple to install. After you get it, it is as easy as placing it in the room you want it to be, whether that is against a wall or in the corner. Once you’ve found your spot, it gets plugged into any standard electrical 120-volt wall outlet. That is all there is to it. Now you can turn it on and immediately start feeling warm air fill your home.
- They Can Be Controlled Remotely – Electric fireplaces usually will come with some kind of remote or other way to control it like a smartphone application. With these remotes, you can set the thermostat, change the flame effects, and more. If you have a smartphone app, this makes it much easier to control multiple fireplaces for zone heating. You can also turn fireplaces on and off from other parts of the home so it is warm before you even step into that room. This is great for when you wake up in the morning and want to start warming your house before you leave the comfort of your bedroom.
- They Can Simulate The Ambiance of a Realistic Flame Fireplace – A lot of electric fireplaces will have flame effects that are made to simulate a real flame. While not all electric fireplaces are made equal, high-end ones like MagikFlame do this better than most. They project 3-dimensional holographic flames onto a log set with a glowing ember bed below it. On top of that, they produce the sound of crackling logs so that the flickering flames feel even more real. Many people genuinely can’t tell the difference between sitting in front of a real fireplace and a MagikFlame electric fireplace.
What Are Some of The Different Styles That I Can Find When Looking For An Entertainment Center With Fireplace?
There are many different styles and features that entertainment centers that double as electric fireplaces have. First, let’s cover basic features you should keep your eye out for with these:
- Glass Doors – Some of these units have glass doors on the storage cabinet so that you can more easily see what is in the cabinet or if you have a device that requires a remote control.
- Adjustable Shelves – These shelves are great if you want to use it as an alternative to bookcases or to just have shelving for your additional electric media devices like DVD players, cable boxes, or video game consoles. If you want to use it as bookcases simply adjust the shelf to make space for your largest books. If you are placing things that need to be connected to your flat-panel TVs, make sure adjusting the shelf doesn’t block space for the cord to go through the back of the console.
- Side Cabinets – Having cabinet doors on your media cabinet means you can use the cabinets for whatever kind of storage space you want without the need for these items to be displayed. This often has a more minimal aesthetic appeal. Usually, these cabinets will have holes in the back so you can still connect devices to your flat-panel TVs.
- Cubby or Media Shelf – Having open shelves, whether they are adjustable or not, gives you plenty of openings to place important items you need connecting to your flat-screen TVs.
- Media Cabinet – Sometimes, consoles come with a specific cabinet made to fit all of your electronic devices with small holes for cords that need to be plugged into TVs up on top.
Besides useful features, there are several other styles to be aware of when it comes to the aesthetic appeal of your console. Here are just a few options to think about:
- Farmhouse Fireplace TV Stand – For a rustic farmhouse fireplace, you can get something like what Ameriwood offers where the barnwood style looks like it was repurposed from an absolutely beautiful barn door, finished in a rustic brown finish.
- Modern Farmhouse – For a more modern but still rustic appearance, trying something with an oak finish from Highboy.
- Espresso Dark Style – If you want a darker color but still in a modern style, you can try an espresso-colored TV stand like the ones that Walker Edison has to offer.
- Laminate – You should avoid laminate if you can. While the pricing can be a lot more tempting, the quality is lacking. It is common for the corners of this style to start peeling and bending backward within the first year of owning it. You should stick with a solid wood TV stand.
What Are Some Good Brands of An Entertainment Center With a Fireplace Inside?
There are a bunch of different quality brands you can choose from. ClassicFlame, Ameriwood, Muskoka, Walker Edison, and Highboy are all fine choices. As long as you choose a high-quality brand over a generic off-brand console you should be fine. Instead, try to focus on what specific features, materials, and styles you like and choose the brand based on what they offer in regard to your specific preferences.
First, check the current style of the main room where your console will be placed and see what color and material would go well with it. Then, think about the different features you will need when it comes to shelves, storage, and more. Lastly, think about what size of TV you have and what size console you will need for that size of TV. After you know what your requirements and style preferences are, you can check all of the different quality brands and see which ones match what you already had in mind.
Is There a Better Option Than Going With A TV Stand With an Electric Fireplace Built Into It?
The problem with electric fireplaces that are embedded into TV stands is that the heating element and visual flames of the fireplace is really limited due to the space available for these. For that reason, it is usually better to go with a standard electric fireplace. However, if your main reason for combining these two items is to save space, there is actually an even better alternative than that.
Instead of combining a TV stand and electric fireplace, you can simply buy a quality electric fireplace wall mantle set like MagikFlame has available, and then mount your TV above the fireplace. Electric fireplaces are perfectly safe when it comes to mounting TVs above them. This will actually save even more space due to the limited space needed for these powerful mantle units. For even more space, you can recess them into the wall.
If I Wanted a Standard Electric Fireplace Unit, Which One Should I Get?
MagikFlame is easily the best choice if you want a standalone electric fireplace. Here are the key features:
- Unique realistic hologram flame technology with 30 flame effects to choose from.
- Ultra-realistic crackling wood sounds.
- An efficient heater that puts out 5,200 BTUs.
