Before designing your home's fireplace and living area, there are a few things that are by and large addressed in order to complete the beautifully designed fireplace of your dreams. There are three primary parts to designing a fire place, and great care should be taken to ensure they all combine well with each other so that the the entire design will flow well amongst each other.

The hearth is probably the best place to start. A hearth may be true with the room's floor, above the floor, or sunk down lower than the floor. Additionally, there might not even be a hearth incorporated into the fireplace design. In that event the firebox would be located a few inches higher, as the hearth protects the flooring from the intense heat from the fire itself. Another type of hearth may include hearth seats of various kinds. The more popular fireplace type with hearth seats are the kinds that feature simply two blocks on either side of the firebox opening.

Complimenting the different types of fireplace hearths, the designs of fireboxes usually have mainly to do with the height relative to the floor and / or hearth. There are raised fireboxes, flush fireboxes level with the floor, and there are dropped fireboxes that are built in below than the hearth and / or floor in front of the fireplace area.

Finally we reach the fireplace openings, otherwise known as the surround and where the mantle can be found. The design of the opening can deviate dramatically; from straight, flat rectangular and full arch along with the more common u-shaped fire place opening. We'll touch on a bit of the deviations at this time:

The most frequently used type of fireplace opening is rectangular. Generally, this type of opening will be just that - shaped in a rectangular form. However, even with this style of openings, the sides typically taper outward from the firebox facing towards the fireplace.

Flat arch top openings have straight sides, yet the top opening has an arch to the shape. As with more traditional rectangular opening, the edges often times flare outward from the firebox towards the front of the fire place.

Full arch fireplace openings containing no straight lines. This kind of opening typically have a constant curve all around the fireplace opening. This is the type you are commonly used to seeing in Soutwestern designed fireplaces.

Corner style openings allow for there to be two sides open to the fireplace. As its name indicates, a corner opening fireplace is located in such a way allowing for the whole corner side of the firebox to be shown.

Finally, u-shaped openings where the firebox is revealed on a total of three sides: the face, as well as the two side areas. These final two styles of fireplaces will in general output more heat radiation. If you plan on providing warmth for your house, these are probably the more advisable fire place designs to consider.

As you can see, there are numerous unique types of designs for fireplaces. Of course there are pros and cons with all , so choose wisely when selecting the hearth, firebox and fireplace opening. By choosing the proper combination, you'll not only improve the warmth of your home, you'll also make your home more cozy.