Fireplaces

By definition "a fireplace is an architectural structure designed to contain a fire for heating, as well as for cooking". Over time however, the design of fireplaces has changed from one of necessity to one of visual interest. The only aspect which has remained unchanged since probably the paleolithic era, is that a fireplace still is the gathering place within ones' home. 

Historically, fires defined the focus of social life, shaping hearth and house and tracing human habitation. Indeed, a family used to consist of those who shared a fireside.

As the need for containment and control of fire increased, so too did the development of safer and more efficient means of heat and light. The central fireplace disappeared into kitchen stoves and basement furnaces, with flues carrying heat to other rooms devoid of flames. The hearth became an optional feature in the house and the cold flicker of television replaced the warm flames of the hearth, as the focus of social life.

In NY nowadays, the fireplace, once a point of pride, is now seen as an environmental hazard, due to air pollution, the associated health hazards and the practice of burning wood deemed as seriously eco-unfriendly.

Black or white, brightly colored, brick or metal, each fitting for each room, to each hearth. There's something about a fire, something old and warming and good that speaks deeply to the heart of all of us. A room with a fire in it is like an old friend; safe, comforting and just right.

A collection of modern fireplace and wood stoves, horizontal, vertical, rotating or suspending.