Home Is Where The Hearth Is

Homeowners who are lucky enough to have a hearth know that a fireplace can be the coziest gathering spot in the house.  For centuries, families have congregated around the hearth for warmth and conversation.  In his book The American Essay in the American Century (University of Missouri Press 2011), Ned Stuckey-French writes: “In Victorian America the hearth was where the most unencumbered and intimate conversations took place.  It was where people could be themselves….”  Society and homes have changed over the last century, but many Americans still enjoy the warmth of a fireplace, especially during the holidays.  If relaxing by the fireside is on your holiday agenda, a few tips can help you maintain a safe hearth and equip it both functionally and decoratively.

According to Chimney Keepers in North Carolina, which addresses a number of questions about chimney cleaning on their website, “The National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA) recommends a yearly inspection and cleaning and repairs done as necessary.  Free standing wood stoves or fireplace inserts used to heat the home should be inspected and cleaned if needed every year.  Regular open fireplaces need to be maintained and cleaned on a consistent basis as well.  Usually a cleaning is needed for every cord of wood burned….”  It’s best to have your chimney cleaned professionally, or to learn from a professional how to clean it and inspect it according to professional practices.

HGTV.com, offers these and other tips for maintaining fireplace safety:

• Never leave a fire unattended when children are in the house.
• Open a window when using the fireplace to prevent the room from becoming smoky.
• Keep a nonflammable rug (available at fireplace-supply stores) in front of the fireplace to avoid damage to carpeting.
• Use fireplace tools – never your hands – to handle burning logs.
• Use a chimney cap to prevent water and animal damage, and to prevent debris from entering the chimney.
• Wait at least three days to remove ashes, which can remain hot enough to start a fire for that long.  Never use a vacuum cleaner to clean up ashes.
• Cleaning tip: shine brass fireplace utensils with Worcestershire sauce and a toothbrush.
• Clean the firebox (the area where the logs burn) at least once a week during the months when the fireplace is in use, because ash builds up in this area.  Leaving about an inch of ash acts as insulation, allowing the coals to heat faster and retain heat more easily.  Clean the firebox thoroughly when the cold months end, so that the area will be ash-free during the seasons when the fireplace is not in use.
• Clean your exterior slate hearth by washing, drying and coating it with lemon oil every six weeks.  Brick cleaner (which can be purchased at a fireplace shop) can be used to clean exterior brick hearths.

Martha Stewart offers some fun and attractive ideas for dressing up the space around your hearth.  Her first suggestion is to create a compact firewood carrier using a 22-by-42-inch piece of canvas, 1/2-inch grommets, and two 30-inch lengths of rope.  Complete directions for making this attractive and functional carrier are on the site.  Stewart also recommends making fireplace sachets filled with such items as dried orange peel and cloves that can be burned in the fireplace to release natural fragrances.

The options seem endless for fireplace tools that are both functional and stylish.  Choose tools that match your décor and will be easy to use and clean.  WoodlandDirect.com offers a wide variety of fireplace sets, including tools made from wrought iron, brass, or chrome, and both mini and extra-long toolsets.

Finally, if you’re wondering how to organize kindling in a fashionable way, Martha Stewart recommends using eye-catching, fireproof planters in glazed terracotta or other heat resistant materials.

Now that the space around your hearth is both functional and fashionable, light a warm fire, gather friends and family and perhaps a few mugs of hot cocoa, and enjoy that unencumbered, relaxing conversation that flows when you spend time in the warmth of your very own home.