Interview with Adriana Mot: Fire-love and home fireplace trends
With the weather dropping to below zero, readers turned to tips on warming up their home.
In a recent interview with HPBA (the Ontario Hearth and barbeque association), Adriana discussed the impact of the ever-lasting love of fire in the home and the current fireplace trends. Over the twenty years of her design practice, she’s seen numerous trends come in and out of spotlight and this year is no different.
Read excerpts of the interview below and access the HPBA article here.
Adriana in interview with HPBA
Q. I wanted to talk to you about your experience during your carrier and now with fireplaces in home design.
A. I’m seeing a constant want for fireplaces in homes. Especially now with the increase in consumer spending, many homeowners look at getting a more cosy look in the home and fireplaces are fantastic for that.
Q. What is the fireplace that you’ve seen most used and what are some of the favourite types out there among your clients and generally, what you’ve observed?
A. Definitely gas fireplaces still hold the lead. With the many options of heat control and decorative beads, logs and trim kits they maintain their place in the market. They are also extremely customizable in terms of looks and surrounds. This holds a great deal of appeal to consumers that want more personalization.
A second that is coming in strong is the vapour fireplace. The technology is there and the flames are quite pleasant-looking. This type offers the added advantage of not expelling too much heat making them a great option for year-round use.
Q. Any trends that you’ve seen with installation of fireplaces and the spaces around them? In other words how is the space use in the vicinity of the fireplace?
A. Built-ins and decorative stone surrounds are definitely at the top of the list. What we promote through our own method of design is making sure that if you are spending the money to enhance the feel of the room you will give sufficient attention to the surround. Often times a fireplace in a drywall wall is not enough to really make the room special. What you put around it and how you shape it is often making or breaking your investment in a fireplace-based focal point.
Q. What about real wood fire versus other types?
A. There is an ongoing trend that I’m experiencing with the wood fireplaces being used increasingly in cottages and less and less in city homes. In contrast, gas fireplaces and lately, the vapour ones, are getting a lot of traction in the city.