The fire is missing....

Or -- some people put dried flower arrangements there.  Candles would be good in winter; flowers rest of the year?
In our Victorian terrace the previous owners had put in central heating back in the 1950's (unheard of in those days, I would imagine) and at the same time they took out the fireplaces in the sitting and dining rooms!  Mantle piece, surround, everything gone.  They left the hole of the original fireplace and put in some attractive (not) glass shelving and below that they put a cupboard with sliding glass doors. (which DD managed to kick and break!)  We always wanted to restore the fireplaces and at least put in a "fake" gas fire.  They also chopped the newel post top off and removed the moldings from the doors so they could cover them with cheap fibreboard to make them look like "modern" flush doors.  And in the dining room and back hall doors they put glass in the upper half.  The original range/fireplace was gone from the kitchen too so they could put the cooker there.  I guess that kinda makes sense.

Thanks for the suggestions! I might play around with it later as far as flowers, etc. goes, but for now, I found a cool fireplace screen with tealight candle holders on it from Argos for 30 quid, which I think will do the trick for now! All great suggestions! Thanks so much!

I thought this thread was going to be about the 'oomph' has gone out of your sex life.  And I was thinking - goodness me, child, you've not been married THAT long!

Was I the only one who thought that upon seeing the thread title? 

You weren't alone! That's exactly what I thought. But once I read the OP's post, I...ahem...composed myself (sigh) and soldiered on. 

I thought this thread was going to be about the 'oomph' has gone out of your sex life.  And I was thinking - goodness me, child, you've not been married THAT long!

Was I the only one who thought that upon seeing the thread title? 

Our fire is missing too (in the same sense as Jewlz's) so I assumed what the thread was about was what it is actually about.  Though now that you've mentioned it, that's quite funny! 

Jewlz - I picked up some free wood planked flooring from the gumtree and glued that together to block the hole (which would otherwise let a lot of cold air in) and we've got a Belling electric fire in front of it (which keeps the wood bit propped up) which I bought on eBay for £5 and hauled home from Barnes to Brentford on the overground train!  That's only a temporary solution til we can get round to redecorating the sitting room to include the fireplace, and we'll put some modern looking thing in.  But we own the place, hence we will (eventually) invest in it.

I'm not opposed to getting one of those, it's just that most of them cost a few hundred quid, that I have seen.

I just saw one at B&M for £69.99!  Is there a B&M near you?  If so, check that out!  Otherwise, I second the houseplant/dried plant suggestion.

I have to admit that I really, really hate fake/electric fires. I think I personally would either unblock the whole thing so it can be used, or go the candle route (which is what I do when ours isn't in use) and save up for a wood burner! 

I have to admit that I really, really hate fake/electric fires. I think I personally would either unblock the whole thing so it can be used, or go the candle route (which is what I do when ours isn't in use) and save up for a wood burner! 

Yeah fake electric fires are always smelly when you turn them on.  And I always worry about gassing myself with the gas ones.

My uncle and aunt have an electric fire and I thought it was fantastic.  It's pretty to look at and heats up a room in a snap. 

I'd trade one for my overnight storage heater (for my small space at least)!  It's fine when it's really cold, but when the days are mild I have to decide ahead of time whether I'd prefer to boil or freeze the next day.

Yeah fake electric fires are always smelly when you turn them on.

It's just the dust which has settled burning off -- Nothing to worry about, and it only lasts a very short time. 

Sorry, I should clarify... I just really don't like the look of them.... I'm sure they're perfectly safe.

Mrs Robinson, I thought the same thing you did!!

I don't like the electric fires - I can always hear the fans in them.

I don't like the fake things either.  I am longing for the day when we turn our house renovation £££ to our living room, rip that ugly fake thing out of there, and reinstate a real fireplace.  However, I have heard that due to the age of our house, and the uncertain condition of the internal brickwork/stonework of the chimney, we really ought to get something called a chimney diaphragm (I think it's called that? it's like a metal tube to line the inside of the chimney, so as to prevent fires) but I've heard they aren't cheap. 

Sorry, I should clarify... I just really don't like the look of them.... I'm sure they're perfectly safe.

I don't like them either. They always look like OAP accessories to me.

I'd just cross my fingers that the worst of this winter is over, put up a nice fire screen or candles and save up for a wood burner for next year.

However, I have heard that due to the age of our house, and the uncertain condition of the internal brickwork/stonework of the chimney, we really ought to get something called a chimney diaphragm (I think it's called that? it's like a metal tube to line the inside of the chimney, so as to prevent fires) but I've heard they aren't cheap. 

That is a good idea though. Definitely do it if you can.