Basement fireplace design tips from our expert architect

Fireplaces are architectural features that serve the purpose of providing heat. They do this by creating a path for smoke to escape from the combustion of either wood or gas. In addition to their heating function, fireplaces also serve a decorative purpose in certain homes. Nowadays, there is a diverse range of fireplace ideas, types, and sizes available for designing a basement fireplace.

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Requirements for basic basement fireplace design

It must meet the following requirements: 

• The chimney has a sufficient draft to ensure a good gas fireplace in the stove, preventing the smoke from disturbing the neighbors.
• They have frames or upper shelves that serve as a complement. 
• The location will depend on where the smoke outlet can be better, avoiding that can be annoying to the ventilation of the house and its neighbors. 
• To ensure efficient operation, it is important for the smoke to exit the fireplace quickly and with as few bends as possible. This is because too many elbows can reduce the force of evacuation.
• The height and location of the obstacles on the roofs should be evaluated, to avoid future plastering.
• The type of combustion, if it is firewood, it is best to locate it in an open and central area, while if it is of gas or ethanol, it can go anywhere in the house, where there is enough air entrance which would help to its good operation. Therefore, the room must have ample space. 

In general, a basement fireplace should be 4.92 ft. high from the highest part of the house or 49.2126 ft. away from adjacent houses or buildings, other elements to take into consideration are the slope of the roof, openings, and windows on the roof or terraces and balconies.

It could be considered at the interior design level that your basement fireplace is an element that marks a hierarchy in the design of the rooms in which they are placed since they order or generate an attractive, functional point, and in return can be accompanied by other architectural elements, or with furniture that helps to incorporate other activities within these spaces.

Decoration ideas

Below are two designs for fireplaces with storage, from a general idea with similar dimensions and spaces, which are located as a focal point in both rooms, but for different uses and spaces.

The first one is a basement, and the second one is a living room, and they both use two different designs and types of materials. The width is the same in both distribution designs, but there are differences in the length, height, and depth, which rely on the rest of the furniture and how each decoration is placed.

Both are planned as a whole with a piece of recessed furniture, along a wall 13.86ft wide, and a height of 8.85ft, with the fireplace located centrally (4.76ft x 2.62ft), furniture located on each side symmetrically, with variable widths from 1.15ft to 1.64ft, depending on each approach, and heights, use, and modulation.

Fireplace for multi-purpose and entertainment area in the basement

The basement fireplace can be located at the center of the focal wall, with built-in furniture on either side, consisting of two zones, an open shelving area at the upper level, and a storage area at the lower level.

It is complemented by a coffered ceiling with regular shaped wood moldings, modulated in a grid, allowing to highlight and bring the furniture materials to the ceiling, and from there create continuity in the design, along with the play of elements. The artificial lighting goes in the center of these grids on the sides, and in another modulation in the sector next to the fireplace, in the form of lines in LED lights inside the shelves, and under the storage cabinet.

Industrial design

The first design style is industrial, with a rustic look due to the concrete finish of various shades on the walls and ceiling on the sides of the fireplace. The fireplace is in green tone in its vertical planes, and towards the central module of the ceiling, finally in black tone in the volume that stands out from the embouchure. Wood in dark tones for ceiling moldings, shelves, and built-in furniture. 

Without losing elegance in the design we also have touches of metals for hardware, callers, ceiling lamps, and legs of the lower furniture, in gold and black. The floor is diagonally placed in black and white marble.

In the decoration, pictures of cities in black and white on the left and with a touch of yellow on the right, provide contrast.

The basement fireplace measures 4.76ft x 2.62ft and 4.10ft in height at the main opening, or the lower part where the stove is located. The top is 4.76ft long, with 1.64ft deep, and 4.76ft high, corresponding to the area of the flues, and the internal chimney hood.

The background tone of the chimney and the ceiling is greenish concrete, together with the molding of the mouthpiece with a black tone, to contrast with the marble floor and the light tone of the walls.

The black-colored concrete side mouth rim measures 0.87ft from the side, and 0.75ft from the top and bottom. The gold-colored metal frame is 2.89ft x 2.08ft with a thickness of 0.21ft, and the safety glass, of the gas stove, measures 2.47ft x 1.66ft.

Top

At the top of the fireplace, there is a 50-inch T.V., located 0.56 ft from the top base of the chimney overhang protruding from the fireplace, which is used to place things, without the need for a mantel. The space can be used for watching movies or playing video games.

Left side

The furniture on the left side is used for bar, and serving other drinks, while the right side is used for displaying and storing board games, video games, and multimedia equipment, as well as other decorative objects, and plants. Both with closed storage on the lower level.

On its upper level, we find 3 shelves spaced 1.25ft apart, measuring 4.55ft long, 1.15ft deep, and 2.26ft thick, thick enough to hold multimedia equipment, entertainment, bottles, or decoration. The last shelf is 1.36ft from the storage cabinet. The latter measures 4.55ft x 2.95ft high and 1.64ft deep. 

As for the storage space of the lower cabinet, it is modulated at the front with doors on each side (1.34ft x 2.42ft), and in the center 3 drawers, with the same width of 1.86ft, and different in height. The first one is 0.48ft high, and the other two are 0.95ft high. Its support is the walls and its golden metallic legs that serve as a base, with 0.49ft of height and 0.07ft of thickness. The black and gold metal callers.

Ceiling

When the ceiling lights are not used, and only the fireplace stove is lit, in conjunction with the furniture lights, it creates a more intimate and inviting feel, for cinema, game room, bar, or simply contemplative and relaxing use.

The square-shaped, double-framed ceiling lights in black metallic (0.33ft x 0.33ft), and gold color (0.26ft x 0.26ft).

On the right side is multimedia equipment and games, both tabletop and video games. The upper part of the furniture, it is used as a table to serve food and snacks.

On the left side a bar is located with bottles, glasses, and glasses, and decorated with the same, coffee or cappuccino machine, you could also install a refrigerator or wine cellar, and a microwave, for food storage and heating. The room could be expanded in a variable way, to accommodate the rest of the furniture, being sofas or chairs with tables. 

Fireplace for living room area

This fireplace is also centralized to the wall and with the same formal conditions, but with other materials, styles, and modifications of its built-in lateral furniture. 

It is composed of two open shelves on each side of the basement fireplace (4.55ft front x 1.15ft deep), with floor-to-ceiling storage (8.85ft), with dust cap (0.34ft high), and base (0.57ft high), both recessed 0.16ft from the front; leaving a 5 level shelf of 1.440ft between them, with a thickness of 0.16ft on each frame. The furniture is made of wood painted in light blue, with a background of wood planks, placed vertically, providing texture on the wall. Another suggestion for the background can be painted in contrast with the color of the shelves, or wallpaper, in this case, the color was maintained.

Scandinavian style

To give uniformity to the design, a Scandinavian style of more straightforward lines was used, without overloading, and a palette with few tones was chosen, using white on the ceiling, walls, and the upper part of the chimney corresponding to the flue where the fumes come out. The light blue of the recessed fixtures and a beige for the lower part protrudes from the chimney. This color highlights the diagonals of the enclosure of this architectural element (4.76ft x 2.62ft and 4.10ft high), which lead to the mouth where the stove is located, framed in black metal, with white marble background and gray veins (0.87ft of lateral sides, and 0. 87ft. of lateral sides, and 0.75ft. of top and bottom, contrasting with the black metal frame (0.21ft. thick), safety glass, towards the 2.47ft. x 1.66ft. gas stove.

Scandinavian style with a twist

To give a little more character to the design, 6 faux wood beams in a medium tone (0.33ft x 0.33ft), which match the plank floor in a much lighter tone. The wood and wall colors seek to raise the illumination of the left wall window (5.25ft x 3.94ft, including the wood frame and gray metal frames). Skirting boards (0.57ft in height) were also placed, in the same beige tone as the fireplace, maintaining the language and sobriety of the design.

Fireplace model for living room, with open shelves for storage and decoration:

A wood frame was placed for the upper area of the basement fireplace, in a golden tone (4.76ft x 4.42ft, with a thickness of 2.13ft), on the wall in the center of this frame is also incorporated a curved mirror, centerpiece of the decoration, with frames of the same color (2.72ft wide x 3.40ft high). 

The decor

The décor was kept balanced with black and white animal paintings on the right wall, books, picture frames, candles, plants, chests, baskets, and baskets, to give it a more familiar look.

Between two of the adjoining spaces and pairs between the fireplace and the ceiling beams, two points of ambient light, a recessed ceiling lamp with a circular shape, and gilded metal. 

Above the fireplace area contiguous to the ceiling is a recess, aligned with the recessed furniture, highlighted with an LED light, towards that corner to highlight that plane, as the white color accentuates it on both planes. Then there is a staggering 0.66ft chimney flue. 

As with the previous model, the side views show that the space continues in a variable way, where the other activities are already taking place, which could be a living room with sofas, a dining room, an office, or a bedroom.

Conclusion

In conclusion, a basement fireplace can be a valuable addition to any home, not only for its functional heating purpose but also for the aesthetic value it can bring to a room. There is a multitude of design ideas, types, and sizes to choose from, allowing for a personalized and unique touch to be added to any basement.

However, careful consideration should be given to the placement of the fireplace to ensure it operates effectively and does not negatively impact the ventilation system of the home or its neighbors. With the right design and installation, a basement fireplace can transform a dull and unused space into a warm and inviting area for the whole family to enjoy.

Written by Vanessa Gallanti. March 30, 2023

Enthusiast about planning, project management, construction materials and technology, and construction. A civil engineer from Los Andes University and a content writer for Kukun.