A must have fireplace media wall

Firehouse has the perfect selection of Media Wall Fireplaces to suit any taste, décor and room size.

What is a Media Wall?

If you are tired of cluttered living rooms, lounges, bedrooms and studies/home offices, a media wall is the trendiest solution to elegantly house your fireplace, appliances, television, sound systems, gaming consoles, bookshelves and display cabinets. Media walls create glamorous and stylish focal points and hide all unsightly cables, sockets and wires at the same time. The media wall highlights and harmonises the panache and beauty of your fireplace, television or appliances in a way not possible with loose standing items.

By building a load-bearing stud wall (drywall) from floor to ceiling, about 20-24 inches from the existing wall, there is space behind the wall to recess fireplaces, televisions and all other media flush with the front of the media wall. The visible part creates an organised and graceful appearance that makes the room look tidy and larger because no appliances are “standing around.”

The appliances are all “boxed in” but still have sufficient ventilation behind the media wall to prevent overheating. If necessary, extraction fans can be installed in the ceiling inside the wall cavity.

The layout for the cavities for your fireplace, television, gaming consoles, display space and so forth will define the atmosphere and visual impact you desire. Of course, media walls look best when they echo the architecture and décor of the rest of the home, but they can also be used effectively to create a surprise factor in your home. Use your imagination to recreate your living room, bedroom or study at very little expense.

Where can you build a media wall?

The media wall creates a fantastic permanent feature wall in any lounge, living room, bedroom or study.

• Lounge or living rooms: The wall where you would normally install your fireplace, television, sound system, game consoles and so forth, to create a friendly atmosphere and give the best view from all sides will be perfect for your media wall.
• Bedrooms: The wall facing your bed and the one behind the headboard in your bedroom is a perfect choice to watch TV or play games in bed and the wall behind you neatly houses all the things you need at night and creates a focal point behind the bed. Install your fireplace, TV and other appliances in the media wall facing the bed and
• Study. Neatly organise all the external drives, printers and other peripheral appliances, game consoles, monitors, DVD and CD cases behind your desk. Drawers, display shelves, bookshelves, storage for knickknacks and much more can make your study look modern, tidy and an inviting place to work, with all the cables and wires neatly stored away. Charging ports and sockets can be integrated into the media wall for convenience and neatness.

What are the benefits of a Media Wall

Media walls bring you a wide array of benefits, from aesthetic and cosmetic appearance to a highly practical impact.

• You stylishly organise your fireplace, media gadgets, televisions, gaming consoles, speaker systems and can provide space for knick-knacks.
• Media walls provide a sleek and easy way to hide cables and wires from view and to integrate charging ports and power sockets for vacuum cleaners or any other gadget or tool that needs to be plugged in.
• Even though you give up about 20-24 inches of floor space, media walls effectively utilise all the space along that wall and you can elegantly include a large number of appliances, display and storage space without any clutter.
• Large wall units can be integrated into the media wall, especially if you have an antique or unique wall unit that has special meaning to you.
• You can showcase photographs, awards, certificates and collectibles to harmonise with the appliances and storage spaces.

What type of fireplace can you have in a Media Wall?

Firehouse offers an extensive range of electric and gas fireplaces perfectly suited as a centrepiece for your media wall as no chimney or flue is required and there is no heat behind the fireplace. Mood lighting can accentuate the fireplace and further enhance your experience and entertainment.

Examples of electric and gas fireplaces suited for installation in a media wall include:

1. Electric fireplaces

• Gazco electric inset fires.
  eStudio 105
  eReflex 150RW
• Brockenhurst Electric Fire Suite
  Forest View
  Deluxe Real Logs
  Diamond Light
• Winchester Electric Fire Suite
  New Forest 870; New Forest 1200; New Forest 1600; New Forest 2400
  Gray Marble; White Marble

2. Gas fireplaces

• Dru Cosmo Eco Wave Gas; Dru Cosmo Tunnel Eco Wave Gas
• Dru Metro Eco Wave Gas:  200XT Tunnel; Dru Metro 200; 150 XT; 150XT Tunnel
• Dru Maestro Eco Wave Gas: 75 Tall; 80/3; 100; 130; 130 XT; 130 Tunnel; 130/3; 105/3; 80/3; 105/2; 100; 150 XT
• Dru Excellence Eco Wave Gas: 50 XT; 60/3
• Dru Lugo Eco Wave Gas: 70/3 80/3
• Dru Paco Eco Wave Gas

Can you Install a TV above an Electric or Gas Fireplace in a Media Wall?

Firehouse offers you the perfect solution of electric fireplaces that are 100% energy efficient, with the heat coming out the front of the fireplace, so your TV will be perfectly safe and unaffected by the fireplace.

Most of the heat in a gas fireplace comes out the front of the fireplace, making it safe for a television to be installed above the gas fireplace, provided there is sufficient distance between them. Confirm with Firehouse which gas fireplaces are safe and suitable for this purpose.

Televisions should not be installed above wood-burning fireplaces

Some more creative ideas to customise your Media wall

• Create depth by using dark, punchy colours for the background.
• To blend in, paint the media wall the same colour as the rest of the room.
• Instead of a painted media wall, use wood panelling.
• Glass doors or speaker grills will enhance the uniformity of the wall.
• Drawers or cabinet doors will conceal everything you need, but which will clutter the room otherwise.
• Adjustable height shelving will give you greater versatility in future.
• Remote-controlled mood lighting to change the appearance and atmosphere of the room to suit the occasion.
• Install the fireplace, TV and other appliances with or without frames, depending on your preferences. Frames could be marble, wood or metal. They can be as plain or as ornate as you wish and can be changed in future if you ever change your décor.
• Fireplaces can be installed with marble or wooden surrounds.
• By constructing corner(s) in the media wall design instead of a flat wall, 3-sided fireplaces can create a unique look and atmosphere.