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Brick and slate can both look fantastic behind a stove, but they give you very different fireplaces. If you’re trying to decide between the two, I’d start by forgetting about which one is supposedly “better”.
There isn’t a winner.
It’s about the look you want and what else is happening around the stove.
If you’re not sure whether a chamber is right for your fireplace in the first place, we’ve covered that separately in Do I Need a Fireplace Chamber for My Stove?
For me, rustic brick has a real cottage classic feel. It’s particularly natural in older cottages and rustic buildings where brick already feels at home. If you’re trying to create a fireplace that looks as though it belongs in the building rather than something that has simply been installed recently, rustic brick is a very good place to start. And if you want to take that even further, reclaimed brick gives you another option.
Our reclaimed chambers are manufactured from reclaimed bricks, so you get the variation and character you’d expect rather than something that looks too new and uniform. That’s particularly effective when you’re trying to keep the character of an older property.
I have to admit, I really like the slate chambers. Oyster Slate in particular is a favourite of mine. I liked it enough to use it as a feature wall at home, which probably tells you something. Slate can give a fireplace a very different character from brick. It can be understated and natural, while still having enough texture and variation to stop the fireplace looking flat.
And although you might naturally associate slate with a more contemporary fireplace, I wouldn’t restrict it to modern properties.
We’ve supplied plenty of slate chambers into old buildings as well. It’s the combination that matters.
The stove obviously has a big influence on the decision. A traditional-looking stove can work beautifully with rustic brick, particularly if you’ve got a cottage or period property. But slate can work just as well with a traditional stove if you want something a little less obviously rustic.
With a simpler contemporary stove, slate can create a clean backdrop. Brick can work too if you’re deliberately trying to introduce warmth and texture. I wouldn’t choose the chamber based on the stove alone. I’d look at everything around it.
The chamber isn’t going to be seen on its own. It’s sitting above the hearth, underneath the stove, and usually alongside a beam, mantel or surround. The colours don’t have to be identical, but they should make sense together. A little contrast is fine. What you don’t want is a collection of materials that all look as though they’ve come from different fireplaces.
I really like a brick chamber with a Geocast beam. It has that rustic, traditional feel that works particularly well when you’re trying to create a cottage-style fireplace. The brick brings the texture and warmth, while the beam gives you the strong horizontal line above the opening. It’s a simple combination, but it works.
It’s tempting to say old property equals brick chamber and modern property equals slate. It isn’t that simple. We’ve put slate chambers into plenty of older buildings and they can look excellent. Equally, brick can work in a modern room if you want to bring some texture and character into an otherwise clean interior.
The building gives you a starting point, but it doesn’t dictate the answer.
If I was working on a traditional cottage fireplace and wanted a classic, rustic look, I’d be looking very closely at rustic brick. If I wanted something more understated, I’d consider slate — and Oyster Slate would certainly be on my list. But I’d want to see the rest of the fireplace before making the final decision.
That’s really the point.
Don’t choose brick or slate because you’ve been told one is right for your type of property. Choose the one that works with the fireplace you’re actually creating.
If you’re still trying to picture how the different elements will work together, What Makes a Fireplace Chamber Look Right? goes into that side of the decision in more detail.
And if you’ve made your choice and want to see the chambers available, you can view our Fireplace Chambers.
If you’re stuck between the two, send us a photograph of the fireplace and the stove you’re considering. It’s much easier to give an honest opinion when you can see what we’re working with.
Phone
01773 718718
Email
sales@castfireplaces.co.uk
