Fireplaces warm homes' architectural appeal

From setting a romantic mood to establishing an architectural focal point, nothing warms a home quite like the old-fashioned fireplace. In today's high-tech society, we sometimes forget that a fireplace was more than an interior decoration. As recently as 100 years ago, a significant part of the American population relied upon a fireplace for cooking and heating its single-family homes. With the advent of mechanized stoves and heaters, the fireplace has lost its place in the home as a necessity, but it has evolved over the years as well, to suit our needs in other areas. Still visually appealing, fireplaces remain in many American homes a much desired architectural feature that can also provide additional warmth in an energy-efficient manner.

For many generations the fireplace was viewed as a way of warming up a room, but scientific research soon revealed that most of a home's heat was actually going up the chimney along with the flames and smoke. That is why many rooms in other parts of the home would become cold, while a fire was burning in another room. Warmth was being sucked out of these rooms.

To remedy this situation a variety of energy-efficient solutions have emerged. For the traditional wood-burning masonry fireplaces, the simple installation of glass doors lends a touch of elegance while eliminating back drafts. Wood burning or gas log fireplaces constructed around a prefabricated metal insert are highly efficient in bringing heat back to the room as well. Many of these inserts feature air channels that wind around behind the firebox, the area where the fire is actually located. With the simple installation of a low-speed fan, air from the room is pushed through the air channels, where it picks up the heat of the fireplace and then gently places it back into the room.

One of the most energy-efficient fireplace options is called a direct vent fireplace and it can only be used with gas logs. This system does not have a traditional chimney that must run to the peak of the roofline; it simply runs out the back of the fireplace. Besides reducing the installation cost by eliminating the construction of a chimney, this system allows the vast majority of the heat provided by the gas logs to remain in the house.

Besides providing additional heat to a home, today's fireplace has become a highly desirable feature that enhances aesthetic appeal of a room and increases the resale value of the home. The fireplace has become so popular with today's buyers that Gerstad Builders and Rock Creek Builders at Henning Estates offer a wide variety of fireplace options and attractive ways of finishing them to complement the architecture of the home.

“The majority of our homebuyers express a desire to have at least one fireplace somewhere in their new residence,” said Roger Gerstad, president of Gerstad Builders.

Gerstad said the fireplace also plays an important role in a home's design, inside and out.

“The fireplace enhances a room's appearance by creating a central focal point and accentuating various features,” Gerstad said. “For instance, stone or brick running from floor to ceiling can emphasize the room's height and volume space, while on the outside, tall chimney chases give a home additional depth and character.”

Gerstad homebuyers may select the look of their fireplace to satisfy their individual tastes. Options such as brick, stone, ceramic, marble, slate facings and drywall detailing allow buyers to choose a design that complements the decorative theme of any room. Different shapes, sizes and designs, such as two-sided corner or three-sided styles, allow the fireplace to be positioned in various areas of the room.

According to Ryan VanLue of Rock Creek Homes, fireplaces also have a direct influence on the initial floor plan design of the homes.

“We design our family rooms around the possibilities of how the fireplace can relate to such prominent features as entertainment centers, plasma TV's, windows, furniture, etc.,” VanLue said.

Other options available to Rock Creek customers are the choice of natural wood-burning or gas-burning fireplaces. All of Rock Creek's wood-burning fireplaces have gas starters that allow owners to dispense with kindling and light the logs quickly and easily. For even more convenience, gas-burning fireplaces with artificial logs are perfect for homeowners who enjoy the sight of a warm fire but do not want to remove ashes or clean and maintain chimney flues.

VanLue said wood-burning fireplaces are the most popular choice among Rock Creek homebuyers because of the crackling sounds and smells that can only be provided by natural wood.

“Our buyers especially enjoy wood-burning fireplaces, as the large wooded home sites found in Henning Estates really set the proper mood. Imagine the warmth of a natural fire while looking out over one of our frozen lakes,” said VanLue.

Whatever type or style of fireplace a homebuyer selects for their new home, they can be guaranteed that the fireplace will ultimately enhance future resale value and improve the architectural appeal of any room.

To get a feel for the impact fireplaces can have on interior of a home, a variety of fireplace designs are evident in Gerstad's professionally decorated models at Liberty Trails in McHenry, The Trails of Dawson Creek in Poplar Grove and Bailey Estates in Williams Bay, Wisconsin.

The award-winning builder is now offering highly customizable single-family homes in McHenry, Richmond, Poplar Grove, and Williams Bay, Wis. Depending on the location, ranch and two-story single-family homes can provide 1,292 to 3,177 square feet of living space and run from $157,990 to $299,990. Buyers interested in receiving information about Gerstad's communities and location of decorated modes can call (815) 385-4495 or visit www.gerstadbuilders.com.

Rock Creek Homes also has two decorated ranch models at Henning Estates in Huntley that illustrate its expertise in building a luxurious, semi-custom home. Set on 1/3-acre homesites along protected green space, or lakes stocked with fish, these ranch homes are priced in the mid $300,000's and offer 1,800 to 2,260 square feet of luxury living space.

Henning Estates residents have easy access to Chicago via the Union Pacific Northwest Line Metra trains or in the full I-90 Tollway interchange within a few minutes.

To reach Henning Estates, take Route 20 west from the I-90 Tollway for two miles and then turn right (east) on Church Road. The community entrance is on the north side of Church Road about 1/4 mile from Route 20. The two professionally decorated models and a sales center are open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. or by appointment. For more information, call (847) 338-3821 or visit www.henningestates.com.