Ways To Choose Fireplace Screens to Enhance Your Hearth

At one time most homes were heated by fireplaces. Today, fireplaces have become much more ornamental than decorative. Most homes depend on central heating and use the fireplace to add ambiance and charm to a room. To enhance the effect of the fireplace, fireplace screens, tool and accessories work well. These tools and accessories are available in many different styles.

While fireplace screens can add beauty to a fireplace, they also serve a very practical purpose. When burning natural wood, in is not uncommon for there to sparks that fly from the logs. The screen can keep these sparks from burning carpets or even starting a house fire. You should always have an appropriate fireplace screen in place before starting a fire in the fireplace.

Traditional styled fireplace screens are simple yet classic in design. They offer clean lines and work well with most decorations. The traditional screens are made of copper or brass. The can be a single panel screen or have multiple panels and are available in several sizes.

Still other fireplace screens have an antique look. These screens work very will in Victorian style rooms which rely heavily on tapestries and other elegant items in design. Antique screens feature rounded designs that include swirls, scrolls and flowers. These screens are used primarily in formal homes and should be matched to the other fireplace tools and accessories.

You will also find some designer screens available for your fireplace. They are usually stylish and part of an overall set of fireplace equipment, including irons and tools.

To choose the correct size fireplace screen, you will need to measure the height and width of your fireplace opening. To the width, you need to add ten to twelve inches. This will give you the ideal fireplace screen width. For the height, add five inches to the height of your fireplace. This gives the ideal width for the fireplace screen.

The extra width and height are to give allowance for the fireplace screen to fold and prevent danger of tipping of the fireplace screen. This still allows the screen to be large enough to provide adequate coverage of the entire fireplace.

While there are many fan shaped fireplace screens available, these screens are for decorative purposes only and should not be relied upon for spark arresting. They can allow sparks to escape from the firebox and damage nearby surfaces. When you have a fire burning, you should replace the fan shaped screen with a screen that offers fuller coverage.

Jeff Bridges has always enjoyed the warmth received in front of the fire he currently runs a website where he sells fireplace screens. There they promote many differently styles, colors, and designs of fireplace screens.