{"id":3748,"date":"2019-03-21T19:48:45","date_gmt":"2019-03-21T19:48:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.buildteam.com\/blog\/?p=3748"},"modified":"2022-04-28T09:30:20","modified_gmt":"2022-04-28T09:30:20","slug":"designing-around-your-chimney-breast","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.buildteam.com\/blog\/designing-around-your-chimney-breast\/","title":{"rendered":"Designing around your chimney breast"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Chimney breasts are typically found in old homes, projecting from the wall to accommodate fireplace to keep the occupants warm during the winter season. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"900\" height=\"601\" src=\"https:\/\/www.buildteam.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Leave-as-feature-fireplace.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3749\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.buildteam.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Leave-as-feature-fireplace.jpg 900w, https:\/\/www.buildteam.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Leave-as-feature-fireplace-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.buildteam.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Leave-as-feature-fireplace-768x513.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.buildteam.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Leave-as-feature-fireplace-700x467.jpg 700w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>At the bottom of the chimney is the fireplace where a fire would be lit. Heat produced by the fire spreads into the room and surroundings where the chimney sits. Smoke generated by the fire goes up behind the wall through a hollow space called the flue shaft until it reaches the top and leaves the building out the chimney stack. Heat radiates into the room andd the smoke is extracted through the flue. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Typically multi-storey houses have fireplaces on\neach floor, often now disused, filled in or removed. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Modern heating systems, radiators or under floor\nheating, electric, water or oil based have replaced the need for using\nchimneys, as these provide more focused and efficient ways of getting your home\nwarm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So what to do with your chimney if you are not\nusing it to heat your home?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here are 3 things you could do with your chimney\ndepending on your personal taste and convenience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Preserve<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"900\" height=\"591\" src=\"https:\/\/www.buildteam.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Leave-as-feature-fireplace-3.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3750\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.buildteam.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Leave-as-feature-fireplace-3.jpg 900w, https:\/\/www.buildteam.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Leave-as-feature-fireplace-3-300x197.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.buildteam.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Leave-as-feature-fireplace-3-768x504.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.buildteam.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Leave-as-feature-fireplace-3-700x460.jpg 700w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The love for the traditional style or combining\ncomplementing styles can be a great reason to keep the chimney breast and fire\nsurround in place. Preserving the chimney as a traditional feature in the\nspace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This would also be the most cost effective and\npossibly a stylish option as it would involve less structural works. There are\noptions to be creative and draw attention to the chimney breast as the center\npiece in the room by considering contrast wall paper or paints. Highlighting\nthe breast with a feature art piece. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Hollow out<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"900\" height=\"615\" src=\"https:\/\/www.buildteam.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/hollow-out.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3751\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.buildteam.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/hollow-out.jpg 900w, https:\/\/www.buildteam.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/hollow-out-300x205.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.buildteam.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/hollow-out-768x525.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.buildteam.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/hollow-out-700x478.jpg 700w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>On option could be to partially keep the chimney\nbreast. Hollowing out the center and keeping the two outer piers allows you to\nuse the space within the breast without the structural implications and cost of\nremoving the entire breast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Uses for this option could include built in\nstorage, to house a hob and cooker hood or even to frame a wall mounted TV.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"900\" height=\"601\" src=\"https:\/\/www.buildteam.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/hollow-out-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3752\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.buildteam.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/hollow-out-2.jpg 900w, https:\/\/www.buildteam.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/hollow-out-2-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.buildteam.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/hollow-out-2-768x513.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.buildteam.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/hollow-out-2-700x467.jpg 700w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Fully remove<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The chimney breast itself takes up a fair amount\nof space from your wall. Fully removing the chimney would be more of a\npractical option for limited spaces. Removing the breast allows complete flexibility\nbut comes at the most expensive option of the three. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It could be worth considering the use of the\nchimney breast on the upper levels. If removing the breast on the ground floor,\nit could be space and cost efficient to remove the breast on the upper floors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"900\" height=\"601\" src=\"https:\/\/www.buildteam.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Leave-as-feature-fireplace-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3753\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.buildteam.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Leave-as-feature-fireplace-2.jpg 900w, https:\/\/www.buildteam.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Leave-as-feature-fireplace-2-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.buildteam.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Leave-as-feature-fireplace-2-768x513.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.buildteam.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Leave-as-feature-fireplace-2-700x467.jpg 700w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Chimney breasts are typically found in old homes, projecting from the wall to accommodate fireplace to keep the occupants warm during the winter season. At the bottom of the chimney is the fireplace where a fire would be lit. Heat produced by the fire spreads&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":4987,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[230,235,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3748","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interior-design","category-the-design-process","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.buildteam.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3748","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.buildteam.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.buildteam.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.buildteam.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.buildteam.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3748"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.buildteam.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3748\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5162,"href":"https:\/\/www.buildteam.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3748\/revisions\/5162"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.buildteam.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4987"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.buildteam.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3748"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.buildteam.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3748"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.buildteam.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3748"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}