When my siblings and I were growing up, we spent a lot of time with our grandparents.
Our mom and dad worked full-time jobs and we spent almost every afternoon with our grandparents.
They had a really nice fireplace in the living room with a stone and concrete mantel. My siblings and I always sat in the living room and Gram would read us a story. I loved the sound of the crackling fire and the fireplace provided an ample amount of heat. As I got older, I started to dream about my first house. I absolutely knew that I wanted a fireplace. The first time I bought a house, I made it my main goal. In fact, I didn’t consider any homes at all unless they had a fireplace in the main living area. I ended up stuck in a house that was less than ideal, just because it had a fireplace like my grandparents house. When my wife and I got married, we bought a much bigger house. I still wanted a fireplace, but this time we saw those for an electric unit in the master bedroom. We purchased an electric fireplace that sits nicely in the corner of the room. It has a shelf for pictures and blends in nicely with the rest of the room decor. It looks like it was built into the wall. The electric fireplace still gives off plenty of heat, but it requires a lot less work than a traditional fireplace. In this busy world, I will settle for function and versatility over tradition.