Many people share the problem of effectively incorporating a fireplace into the design of a room. Since it's human instinct to gather around the fire, I recommend using this architectural feature as the focal point of the room. Make it important by putting the sofa and comfortable chairs near it, add art and lighting to enhance it, and use accessories that complement the space. People will find the room welcoming, comfortable and cozy -- all the words you love to hear when someone visits your home.

If the room is large, you can create a more intimate feeling and comfortable scale by using the fireplace as the focal point of a room within a room. Place seating around the fireplace to separate the area from other seating areas of the room.

But what do you if you want a fireplace as the focal point of a room and it doesn't exist? Create one! That's right, put a fireplace exactly where you want it. But it's expensive to construct a fireplace, you say. Not necessarily, I say.

In the interior design world, ``illusion'' becomes the keyword in this situation. Creating a fireplace doesn't necessarily mean it has to be a working one. It only has to serve the purpose of giving the room a center point around which you can put furniture so people will gather. The living room is where one would expect a fireplace to be, but having one in the dining room or master bedroom is luxurious as well as an opportunity to expand your creativity in decorating.

Some homes have vestiges of fireplaces that have been removed: an old hearth or the outline of one on a parquet floor, a buck in the wall where a chimney flue once was. These structural remnants should be taken into account in your design decision-making. Scale and dimensions will be determined by the ghosts that linger.

If there is no evidence that a fireplace ever existed in your home, perhaps there's a wall that would be a perfect place to situate one. Keep in mind the overall balance of the room when deciding where to put it. Typically, the fireplace is the center of the room and everything else should work around it.

When constructing a fireplace, design it to suit the style of your home's architecture and your decorating. No matter whether your home is traditional, contemporary or ultra modern, there's a design that will fit in. Look at pictures in magazines to get a sense of what you like best. Keep a file with these pictures and don't limit your imagination.

Planning a new fireplace or upgrading the design of one requires some research, imagination and either an ability with tools or the phone number of a good carpenter. Since this is just an illusion fireplace, it can be done with basic tools, lumber, plywood and interesting molding. Many hardware stores and lumber yards can order custom- measured mantles that can be added to any wall. However, it requires some technical know-how to put the new mantle in place properly.

For finishes, you can paint the new fireplace to match the decor of the room or use various faux painting techniques to replicate stone or more elegant woods. There's no limit to what you can imagine.

An alternative to building a fireplace is buying a ready-made fireplace from a mail-order catalog. It doesn't require any construction and has a firebox so you can have actual flames in it. These fireplaces are traditionally styled and are available in stained woods or white paint finish, with or without marble surrounds and hearths. They are designed to be put against a flat wall or in a corner, depending on which version you choose.

The prefabricated fireplaces comme with cans of a Sterno-like material, so the small fires won't need any venting other than the airflow that occurs naturally in the room. Prices start at approximately $500, depending on the materials, size and style.

When thinking about the design and purpose of a fireplace, keep in mind that this is the place in the room where the eye will go first. It's also where people want to gather for conversation and refreshment. Decorate to that purpose and the fireplace area will always be a source of visual interest and comfort. Remember, originally every fireplace was just a hole in the wall until something more significant was made of it.

 

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