Light a fire under us
Posted on June 10th, 2007 – 1:56 PMBy Jason Hammond
Benedict and Associates (our GC) took our drawings and construction documents to the City this week to get the permitting rolling so we can get this show on the road. It seems that everything was in order except we had set aside an allowance for our fireplaces and the city wanted the actual selection made prior to approval. This sounds like an easy thing to fulfill but since there are so very few (at least affordable) modern contemporary looking fireplaces available. We had planned on taking some time down the road to do our research but now a fire had been written.
Why, I don’t know but apparently the design of the fireplace exterior seems to have for the most part stopped around the early 1800’s leaving modernists few choices. There are of course tons of options for custom modern fireplaces but most of them run somewhere in the range of $20,000 and that hurts just to say out loud let alone consider actually paying.
Here’s a cool custom fireplace that we really like the lines of.
We initially were looking for a linear modern Natural Gas fireplace that features either stones or glass beads over the fake logs. Most of what we have found that meet the design aesthetic are made either in Europe or Australia and that creates issues with code and I don’t want that headache. In the mean time Stacy has been doing a ton of research on what fireplaces would work for our home design as well as budget. Montigo makes a line called the L-series However we’ve heard that they maybe not available for right now.The more we look at other options however these super cool stoves I found via Mocoloco.com from Stuv. They’re wood buring for the most part but the simple lines and cool surrounds make them feel super cool and modern.
The surround of this simple lined fireplace from Stuv really
makes it great. These are a bit out of our price range however.
This is a completely different looking modern stove/fireplace
from Suv, these can actually be used for cooking.
Here’s a really cool and inexpensive way to make a fireplace
look modern. This is the home of my Architect Michael Huber
and uses concrete backer board with a concrete stain applied.
This is actually a headboard designed by architect Michael Huber
but the idea could work to make a really cool fireplace surround.
Our plan this week is for Stacy to take a look at some simple clean lined fireplaces that we’ve found available at local distributors and to make a decision early next week. I think by wrapping the surround with some cool material like hot rolled steel, cement board or even plywood sheeting we can get some cool images and not have to blow the budget.
20 Responses to "Light a fire under us"
We’re searching for a modern-looking stove. The ones at Stuv are great. Have you found a distributor in the US or would you have to ship from Belgium?
Rynda,
You can find out more about them via http://www.stuvamerica.com/ They’re actually in Canada but I contacted them and got information about their products and distribution here in the U.S.
Jason
Thanks, I’ll do that. Am enjoying reading about your journey in decision-land!
r
I’m glad to hear that you’re enjoy my blog and I hope that I can be helpful. If you have anything else you’re interested in feel free to shoot me an email.
Jason
we’ve also settled on a “boring” wood burning insert, but are keeping the lines very clean around it. we were initially looking at rais wood stoves, but decided we wanted a fireplace instead - more for looks than function. good luck!
Hey Jason,
those fire places look hot! (pun intended). Did you take a gander at ecosmart fire systems? they have some pretty mod stuff and are trying to do it eco friendly.
Thanks Joshua,
I hadn’t see these particular fireplaces. On other ones I’ve seen I’ve heard that the fuel doesn’t last long and is a bit expensive, but those used a gel fuel. Do you know roughly what the fuel on these costs and how long the burn time is on it?
Thanks,
Jason
Ecosmart uses denatured alcohol, and they’re all ventless fireplaces. http://www.ecosmartfire.com/USA/home.php
My understanding is that ventless is not an option here in MN as it is against code. As well from what i read the denatured alcohol shouldn’t be used in extremely air tight homes which mine will be.
Jason
whether it’s code or not, here’s another ventless ethanol option to take a peak at by Blomus. They say it’s a quick installation and can be used in any wall in the home, and has a much stronger price point:
http://www.completelystainless.com/SteelShop/pc/viewCat_h.asp?idCategory=62
also some cool modern fireplace accessories:
http://www.completelystainless.com/SteelShop/pc/viewCat_h.asp?idCategory=39
The fireplace design using concrete backer board looks very interesting. Any way to get more information on how it was made?
The genius of the concrete backer board surround is in it’s simplicity. You can get the backer board at any home improvement store. In this case Michael my architect has applied concrete stain to the surface and then applied a clear coat on top of that. He fastened the sheets to the wall with over-sized washers and screws. It looks great in this picture but even better in person. It almost looks like a limestone or other quarried material up close.
Jason
Hi, Jason,
Any way to find out exactly what color stain/brand was used on the concrete backer board? I love the color of the one in the picture and unfortunately I haven’t been able to find a place that has sample sizes of concrete stain to experiment with.
Jackie,
I’m going to forward my comment along to my Architect Michael Huber so he can tell you the color he used. He may also be able to give you some resources for getting a sample.
Jason
Jason,
Thanks SO much!
Jackie
Jason, I was wondering if you had any information on Jackie’s question (Aug 4, 2007). I am also interested in resources for getting color samples for the concrete. Thanks.
HD,
I’m going to forward your request on to Michael Huber my Architect. He’ll be glad to help you with more details.
Jason
HD
The stain I typically use for concrete is Lithochrome Chemstain which is by LM Scofield Company. http://www.scofield.com The local carrier in this area is Cemstone. The color used on the fireplace surround above was Padre Brown. In the lower level of my home I used Padre Brown as the main color and then sprayed some Antique Amber as the second coat. This gave the brownish finish flashes of gold tones and more movement. Good luck!
Michael
Jason - Your architect, Michael Huber is brilliant. I instantly was captivated by the concrete backerboard fireplace. I alerted my contractor to hold a date and then set out to pick up the materials. Many stores and some education later- I looked at endless stainless steel bolts and washers to find one that did not have stamping on the top; I went to many lumber stores and looked at dozens of Durarock cement boards. I was ridiculed by the store clerks who kept telling me it was for use under tile. They were not happy to be hoisting the boards for my critical inspection and rejection. I saw wet boards, heavily scratched boards, boards with mesh showing through, and boards with the imprint of the USG sticker. Finally, I found some acceptable ones, through not nearly as nice as yours, at Lowes in Boise, Idaho. Were your boards Durarock? Are they the new lines ones?
I would appreciate a reply as I anxious to proceed.
I also went to the paint store and they were not able to help except to suggest a concrete stain that would give an ugly a painted coat appearance. The web site for Lithochrome Chemstain was very helpful.
Thanks.
I would love to see more pictures of your Huber designed house on your website.
Audrie B. Cudahy
Audie,
The fireplace in the picture is actually my architects home, so I’m not sure which exact product he used but I will tell it looks incredible in person as well.
We are using a backer board product as tiles in our master bathroom and applying a stain to them so they have finished concrete look. Rust-oleum and Quickcrete both make very nice concrete stain products and both are water-based.
We too have had the people at various stores struggle with the concept of this product used in any other way than an underlayment. We’ve experienced this with a variety of products that we’ve used outside of their traditional format and even had some vendors refuse to sell us products based on this issue.
Jason
Newspaper Subscriptions
eEdition
RSS
Newsletters