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Yes, and it doesn’t have to look false.
This is probably the biggest concern we hear from customers who like traditional fireplaces but don’t have a chimney. They’ve often seen flat-wall fireplaces consisting of little more than a back panel, hearth and electric fire, and understandably worry that anything fitted to a flat wall will look like a compromise.
It doesn’t have to.
You can still use proper cast iron, solid marble, limestone or wood to create a fireplace with the proportions and materials you would normally associate with a more traditional setup. That is exactly what our Flat Wall Fireplaces range is designed to do.
For me, the biggest difference is what you put around the fire. A thin panel with very little depth and a fire that looks as though it has simply been attached to the wall will naturally have a different appearance from a full fireplace. Using a proper mantelpiece, a substantial hearth and a cast iron fascia changes that completely.
The 16″ x 22″ opening used in many of these combinations is also the standard size associated with traditional inset electric fires. Keeping those familiar proportions helps the finished fireplace look much more like a conventional installation.
Not having a chimney doesn’t mean you are restricted to a modern electric suite or media wall.
One of my favourite flat-wall fireplaces is our Black Arched Electric Fireplace Brompton Limestone.
It combines a solid Aegean limestone Brompton surround with a black cast iron arch and the SLE40i electric fire. If you’ve never looked at flat-wall fireplaces before, the model numbers probably won’t mean much. What matters is the finished appearance: you have a proper stone mantel, black cast iron detailing and a traditionally proportioned inset fire.
It looks like a proper fireplace rather than an electric fire with something built around it. The black cast iron also works particularly well because it can be paired with a wide choice of surrounds.
Electric is by far the most popular option we sell for these fireplaces. Convenience is a big part of that. There is no chimney or flue required for the fire, and you aren’t restricted to the position of an existing chimney breast. That freedom can completely change how you plan a room. You can put the fireplace on the wall that works best with your furniture and make it the focal point rather than simply accepting where an old chimney happens to be.
Bioethanol is another possibility if having a real flame is particularly important, but electric accounts for far more of our flat-wall fireplaces. Bioethanol is something we can cover properly on its own rather than trying to squeeze too much into this guide.
This is another common concern, especially when customers are putting a fireplace into a room that has always had a completely flat wall. A typical hearth for these packages is around 15″ deep, so that is generally the furthest point of the fireplace into the room. The mantel legs themselves are normally only around 6″ deep.
That difference matters.
When you look at the fireplace from the front, you have a substantial mantel, but most of it isn’t projecting 15″ into the room. It is mainly the hearth at floor level that creates that depth. For customers who really want to reduce the projection, we can also produce some hearths at around 10″–12″ deep. I wouldn’t automatically reduce the hearth just because you can, though. The standard depth gives the fireplace the proportions people are used to seeing and often looks better once the furniture is back in the room.
One of the reasons these fireplaces work so well is that they aren’t limited to lightweight electric-suite materials. Solid limestone gives you the weight, depth and natural variation of a proper stone mantel. Marble gives you another traditional option, while wooden surrounds work particularly well if you want something warmer or slightly less formal.
Cast iron makes a big difference if you’re trying to achieve a traditional appearance. It adds the shape, depth and detailing people normally associate with an older fireplace, which is why the black arched castings work so well on these flat-wall setups.
Definitely. I have always thought you should choose the fireplace you actually like rather than letting the age of the property decide for you.
A simple modern room with clean walls and furniture can be a very good setting for something more traditional. A limestone mantel and black cast iron arch give the room a focal point without requiring everything else around it to be period in style.
We’ve covered that subject in more detail in Can a Traditional Fireplace Work in a Modern Room?
Solid limestone and marble surrounds are heavy, so the wall and fixing method need to be suitable for the particular fireplace being installed. That is worth planning properly at the start rather than treating the fireplace like a lightweight freestanding electric suite.
The same applies to the electric fire itself. Power supply, socket position and cable routing are much easier to deal with before the fireplace is fitted than afterwards.
Flat-wall fireplaces are one of the most requested subjects for our visualisation service. That makes sense because there is nothing already on the wall to give you a sense of scale. You might be looking at a completely blank wall and trying to imagine what a limestone mantel, hearth and cast iron fireplace will look like once everything is installed.
Customers can send us a photograph of the room, some rough measurements, an idea of the styles they like and their budget, and we can create visuals showing different options.
They aren’t technical installation drawings, but they are very useful for deciding what looks right before ordering.
Yes. You don’t need to settle for something that looks like a basic electric fireplace simply because there isn’t a chimney in the room.
Using proper materials such as cast iron, limestone, marble and wood means you can still create a convincing traditional look, while an inset electric fire gives you the convenience of a setup that doesn’t require a chimney or flue. For me, the key is choosing the whole fireplace together rather than concentrating on the fire alone.
If you’re starting with a blank wall, our Flat Wall Fireplaces – No Chimney Required range is the best place to see the different combinations available.
And if you’re struggling to imagine one in your own room, send us a photograph and some rough measurements and we can help you visualise the options before you decide.
Phone
01773 718718
Email
sales@castfireplaces.co.uk
