Nicola Harding's advice on designing a fireplace
A real fire, no matter how lowly, breathes soulfulness into a room. Not only does it provide a focus, smell, sound – and the most flattering lighting – but there is also something primal about living with a fire that connects us with our ancestors, with people throughout time and across all cultures. It’s impossible to feel lonely sitting next to a fire: it provides a sense of company.
Left to my own devices, I would have a fire in every room. Is there anything more romantic than going to sleep to the gentle crackling of the fire, or having a bath with nothing but the play of firelight illuminating the space? Nothing makes me happier than coming down to my empty kitchen and lighting the fire early on a grey morning. It can make an otherwise dull moment special.
The easiest way to add a fire to a room is to use an existing chimney run, either by reinstating a pre-existing fireplace or picking up a flue through a neighbouring wall. First, check the chimney hasn’t been removed in any of the rooms above, then book a chimney sweep. As well as checking for blockages and cleaning, they will check for leaks, ensuring no smoke can leach out into rooms on upper floors. Usually, they will also advise on the draw: this is key to the fire working well and not making the room smokey.
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Ideally, you want to create as large and generous an opening as possible. You can make up the difference with the chimneypiece and the surrounding slips. Traditionally, these would have been slate or tiles. I like to use tiles as they introduce colour and sparkle. (The American designer Steven Gambrel is a great source of inspiration for fireplace design.)
I love reclaimed chimneypieces. Jamb sells both antique and made-to-order stone fireplaces. They are an investment, but will outlast your lifetime. Wooden chimneypieces can be left natural or painted. (I’ve always rather admired the newly made timber chimneypiece in Christopher Howe’s showroom on Pimlico Road, SW1, which is painted a vivid lipstick pink.) Our mantelpiece at home is a place for mementoes, ornaments and invitations, so if you buy a new chimneypiece, make sure the mantel is deep enough to display your precious objects.
If you want to add a fire where there has never been one, consider a woodburning stove. Depending on local or listed building restrictions, it is usually possible to run the flue outside the building. If you wish to install an open fire in a room where this feature previously never existed, your life would be easiest if you locate it on an outside wall and build the chimney on an external wall. Consider the practicalities of using a fire, as well. You will need a ready supply of logs, kindling and firelighters. (Waxed wood shavings both look more attractive and are better for the environment; pine cones and candle ends are great fire starters, too.) Old laundry baskets are perfect for storing logs indoors: they are very robust and some have the added advantage of being on wheels.
The chimney breast and fireplace occupy a prominent place in a room – and rightly so. I like to let them breathe, rather than hem them in with built-in cabinetry. When it comes to positioning your furniture, don’t be slavish to symmetry. In my sitting room, I have two sofas facing each other with one armchair up close to the left of the fireplace. The chair throws the symmetry and means one sofa is closer to the fire than the other. Because everything is shunted to one side, there is space for a multi-purpose console table behind one of the sofas, which I use as my desk. This asymmetry brings an energy to the room that makes it feel more relaxed. A rug adds cosiness; it helps to define an area and works particularly well if you have more than one zone in a room.
Having the furniture close together is conducive to good conversation and creates a convivial atmosphere. Two chairs pulled together close to a fire is a fail-safe and works just as well jammed into the corner of a kitchen as in a grand hall. I like to have a pair that are sisters rather than twins; they sit comfortably together without mimicking each other. I’ve recently placed a pair of antique winged chairs next to a fireplace in a Jacobean manor house. One is bigger than the other and they are upholstered in different fabrics. I find the effect intriguing: it pricks the imagination and feels less formal and stiff than a matching pair. It might be an idea to position a drinks tray within easy reach, too, so you can top up your whisky mac without having to leave the warmth of the fire.
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