Fireplace Screens Review

  Fireplace screens serve two purposes; they are both functional and add a decorative flair to your hearth. They protect your carpet, furniture and entire home from burning by catching embers and sparks that can shoot out of the fireplace. To a smaller degree it keeps the draft from escaping too much into the room (the draft happens when your fireplace chimney flue is open and letting air in and out of the room).

A non functioning fireplace, one just for decoration value, need screens to provide the finishing touches to the design elements. Without it the hearth can look extremely bare and neglected. The screen can be built to either draw attention to the décor around the hearth, the fireplace itself or just the screen. The homeowner has a lot more to consider when purchasing a screen than most would think.

Many styles of decorative fireplace screens are made only for decoration and have little warning labels that indicate it should not be sure next to a real fire. Those are that are approved for real fire prevention will be made of a material resistant to fire such as glass or one of a multitude of metals.

Most screens are brass with a mesh covering, either black or a shiny brass. You can also get glass fireplace screens or vintage fireplace screens. My favorite are the stained glass fireplace screens.

You can get these at more upscale furniture stores, some hardware/home improvement type stores and from internet websites. You can choose from a multitude of contemporary or traditional designs. Some are far more ornate than others.

For those with real fire producing hearths, you can also get a fireplace fender to protect your floor from logs rolling out as they burn and shift. It can be a nice accent to the screen as well.

Just be sure to get one that meets the fire code requirements of your specific hearth. You don’t want it to turn into an expensive paper torch!