When you first buy a home with a fireplace, you may feel a bit overwhelmed when it comes to choosing hearth accessories. From firestarters to andirons, there seems to be an endless selection of fireplace accessories and there just is no way that you could possibly buy everything at once. Some hearth accessories, like candelabras, are merely decorative while others are essential, like fireplace tool sets. Although you may not be able to buy everything all in one grand shopping spree, you can coordinate your efforts and assemble the essentials with an eye towards the future.



Andirons (or fireplace grate), tool sets, wood, fireplace screens or spark guards, and perhaps a wood basket would all be considered essentials where building a fire is concerned. Many newcomers to the world of fireplaces fail to realize the importance of fireplace tool sets to the quality of the fire. Without the essential fireplace tools, fires would die out prematurely?and over time?will ultimately fail to even start.

Fires need two things: wood and oxygen. When a fire consumes wood, it needs oxygen and it is drawn from below. But fires create ashes that accumulate below the fireplace grate or in between the andirons. One or two fires worth of ash is enough to start inhibiting oxygen flow. If you do not remove the ashes, they will pile up until you can no longer even get a fire started'no matter how much kindling you use!

All fireplace tool sets must have two essentials?the mini-broom and the dust pan. For those that are thinking ahead and wanting to make the hearth area the focal point of the room, you will want to buy fireplace tool sets with the finish and accent you want to see on future fireplace screens, wood baskets, etc. While you may not be buying these other items today, you will want them to coordinate and match your fireplace tool set and other hearth accessories.

The poker is another fireplace tool set essential because it helps you spin and reposition the wood as the fire is burning. If the wood is not periodically stirred and repositioned, the flames will begin to flicker and the fire will lose its intensity'it will usually burn out prematurely and you will awaken to half-charred pieces of wood. Because the flames build from below, the underneath side of wood is consumed first and the fire runs out of fuel. By stirring the wood and rotating it so that there is a fresh side facing downward, the flames will remain strong and the fire will burn all the wood.

Fireplace tool sets with tongs included are the best as they allow you to really position the wood exactly the way you want. A poker is sometimes inadequate with some awkward pieces of wood. But whether you buy a fireplace tool set with tongs or not, it will have the three essentials: poker, broom, dust pan?and a stand of course. Just remember to buy with future accessory purchases in mind and you will begin creating a hearth area that will be the focal point of your d'cor.