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Modern fireplace: an architect's guide to choice, rules and design
Modern fireplace: where to place it, which fuel to choose and what the rules say, explained by architects.
Modern fireplace: what it means today
A modern fireplace is not a traditional hearth with a new surround. It is a fire designed as part of the architecture: a horizontal line of flame in a wall, a suspended volume in the middle of the living room, a pane of glass shared by two rooms. Because it is architecture, the choice starts with the floor plan, not with a catalogue.
Search results for this phrase are mostly shops and image galleries. This guide does something different. As architects who design villas in Italy, we explain where the fire should go, which fuel to choose, what European and Italian regional rules say, and what must be decided before the walls are closed.
Modern fireplace: the essentials
- Plan first: the fireplace sets the layout of the living room, the sofas, the view and the circulation.
- Four fuels: wood, pellet, gas and bioethanol; only the first three really heat a room.
- Open or closed: under EU rules an open fireplace must reach at least 30% seasonal efficiency, a closed wood appliance at least 65%.
- In the Veneto region new biomass installations must be certified at least four stars.
- The flue and combustion air are designed with the structure, not afterwards.
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Wood, pellet, gas or bioethanol: choosing a modern fireplace
The first decision is the fuel, because it changes everything else: the flue, the technical space, the rules, the upkeep. This is how we read it during design:
| Fuel | What it gives | What it needs | When to choose it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wood | The liveliest flame, the crackle, radiant heat | Flue, log store, combustion air, cleaning | A home lived in through the winter, outside the strictest bans |
| Pellet | Adjustable, programmable heat | Flue, power supply, refilling | When the fire must also heat steadily |
| Gas | Instant ignition, adjustable flame, no ash | Gas connection, flue or balanced vent, qualified installer | Highly insulated homes, apartments, second homes |
| Bioethanol | A decorative flame without a flue | Room ventilation, careful use, refilling only when cold | Atmosphere, not heating |
A wood fire is still the most loved option, and the most regulated. A pellet appliance is more a machine than a hearth: it heats well, but the flame is different and you hear a fan. Gas is often the most consistent choice in a new, highly insulated villa: no ash, ignition from a phone, a flame sized for the room. Bioethanol gives atmosphere, not heat, and should never be mistaken for a heating system.
Bioethanol appliances for homes have their own European standard, EN 16647. Ask for compliance with it, and remember that an appliance without a flue releases its combustion products into the room: it needs ventilation, and it should only be refilled when the flame is out and the burner is cold.
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Open or closed: the difference that matters
An open fire is a powerful image, but as a heater it is the least efficient: much of the heat goes up with the smoke. EU Regulation 2015/1185, which since 1 January 2022 sets the rules for solid fuel local space heaters up to 50 kW sold in the European Union, puts it in numbers:
| Appliance (EU Regulation 2015/1185) | Minimum seasonal efficiency | Maximum particulate |
|---|---|---|
| Open fronted | 30% | 50 mg/m³ |
| Closed fronted, wood and other solid fuels | 65% | 40 mg/m³ |
| Closed fronted, pellets | 79% | 20 mg/m³ |
The particulate limits refer to 13% oxygen, as in the regulation. For a wood-burning modern fireplace the practical result is simple: if it has to heat the house, a closed firebox with ceramic glass is the serious choice. Large clear glass, kept clean by an air wash, now lets you watch the fire almost as you would in an open hearth.
An open fire still makes sense as atmosphere, lit on a few evenings a year in a house with another heating system. Before you draw it, find out what local rules allow. In the Po Valley, where many of the villas we design stand, they are strict.
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Buying in northern Italy: the star rating of wood appliances
Since 2 January 2018, wood-burning appliances under 35 kW in Italy have a national environmental rating from one to five stars, introduced by ministerial decree 186 of 2017, as explained by the Veneto Region. The class is written on the product’s environmental certificate, issued by a notified body. It is the first document to ask a dealer for.
In the Veneto region, according to the regional clean air page on biomass and regional resolution 238 of 2 March 2021, three rules apply. New biomass installations must be certified at least four stars across the region. Outside the Pre-Alps and Alps, burning biomass in appliances below three stars is banned. On orange or red pollution alert days the ban extends to appliances below four stars.
Bans on use are enforced through municipal orders and do not apply where the stove or fireplace is the building’s only heating system. Rules change from season to season, and the regional page itself is marked as being updated, so check the order of your municipality and the particulate bulletin of ARPAV before you design. Lombardy, Piedmont and Emilia-Romagna apply similar measures under the Po Basin air quality agreement.
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Where to place a modern fireplace: plan before product
Fire draws the eye and draws people. That is why the position of the fireplace decides how a living room is used. If it shares a wall with the television, one of them loses. If it faces a large window, it competes with the landscape. If it stands in the middle, it becomes the point the house turns around, as in Frank Lloyd Wright’s houses.
As architects we ask three questions. Where do you see it from as you come in? Where do you sit to look at it, and how far away? What is behind it, in other words where does the flue run up to the roof? The third question is the one people forget, and it is the one that can force you to move the fireplace once the structure is built.
Seating distance is a good guide. A wide fire seen from too close overheats your face; a small one in a tall, long room disappears. Size the firebox to the room and to the output you actually need, not to how it looks in a photograph.
Modern fireplace proportions: height, width, hearth level
The most successful modern fireplaces have simple geometry. A wide, low horizontal fire goes with a long sofa and a generous room. A nearly square firebox, raised from the floor, suits a more intimate room. Height matters: a fire about forty to sixty centimetres off the floor is easy to watch when seated; one at floor level is dramatic but you look down on it.
Around the glass you need surfaces that take the heat, the clearances to combustible materials given by the manufacturer and often a stone shelf or bench that becomes a seat and a surface. Clearances are not an aesthetic detail. They are written in the installation manual and must be respected even when the design would like timber closer.
Suspended, double sided or built in: the types
A suspended fireplace hangs from the ceiling with an exposed flue, often able to rotate. It is a strong object that needs height and a ceiling able to carry it, so its weight must be checked by the structural engineer before you fall for it. A double sided fireplace is seen from two rooms and links them, but it doubles the glass to clean and makes the seal between the rooms harder.
A built-in fireplace, set into a lining wall or a masonry volume, is the most architectural: the fire becomes a window in the wall. A corner or three-sided fireplace shows more flame but loses more heat. In a contemporary house the most elegant answer is often the simplest: a horizontal cut in the wall, no frame, the same material as the room around it.
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Flue and combustion air: the part you do not see
A modern fireplace only works well if it draws well. The flue must have the section, height and route the appliance requires, be insulated where it crosses cold spaces and terminate above the roof in the right position. Every bend and horizontal run weakens the draught. In a new villa the flue is drawn with the structure, together with the floors and the roof.
Fire needs air. In a highly insulated house with airtight windows, combustion air must come from outside through a dedicated duct, ideally connected straight to the firebox. In Italy, installation, inspection and maintenance of wood appliances are covered by the UNI 10683 standard, which your installer should know and cite in the declaration of conformity.
A modern fireplace in a highly insulated house
The houses we design today lose little heat. A wood fire sized for a 1970s house will, in a villa with external insulation and high-performance windows, heat too much and too fast: the living room overheats while the rest of the house does not need it. Size the output to the room, and in many cases choose a small appliance or an adjustable gas fire.
With mechanical ventilation two precautions matter. The firebox must be sealed, with its own combustion air, and the ventilation must not pull the room into negative pressure while the fire burns. These choices are made with the building services engineer, like those for underfloor heating, which works well alongside a fireplace when temperatures are zoned.
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Modern fireplace materials: stone, steel, plaster
The surround sets the character. Stone, in large slabs or a single block, brings weight and calm; choose it carefully, because heat and soot mark pale surfaces, as we explain in our guide to natural stone. Black or burnished steel draws a sharp contemporary line. Lime plaster or microcement makes the fireplace disappear into the wall, leaving only the fire.
Large-format ceramic and porcelain stoneware resist heat and are easy to clean. Timber can only come within the clearances set by the manufacturer, with insulation and ventilated gaps. In every case surfaces close to the fire must be able to expand: a stone slab glued without joints onto a backing that heats up can crack.
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Fire as architecture: what the masters teach
In the Robie House in Chicago, Frank Lloyd Wright puts the fireplace at the centre of the house: a large brick mass that separates living and dining without closing them off. At Fallingwater the hearth grows out of the site’s own rock, which breaks through the floor in front of the fire. The fireplace is the heart of the house, not an accessory set against a wall.
In the Farnsworth House Mies van der Rohe does the opposite: a timber core inside a glass house, and an open hearth reduced to a clean rectangle. In Philip Johnson’s Glass House the only closed volume is a brick cylinder holding the bathroom and the fireplace. The lesson still holds: fire works when it has a role in the plan and a material of its own.
Maintenance and safety
A wood or pellet fireplace needs the firebox cleaned, the seals checked, the flue swept periodically and a maintenance log. How often depends on the appliance and its use: follow the manufacturer’s manual and, in Italy, UNI 10683, and have checks done by a qualified technician. Burn dry, seasoned wood: wet wood dirties the glass, makes more smoke and clogs the flue.
A carbon monoxide alarm in the room costs little and is real protection. A gas fireplace is serviced like any gas appliance. Bioethanol is stored away from the fire and poured only when cold. In a home with children the front glass gets very hot: guards and multi-layer glass exist, and they are best chosen at design stage.
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What a modern fireplace costs
We do not give generic figures, because the quotes we see vary too much to be useful in a guide: a built-in gas fire and a suspended wood fireplace with a new flue cannot be compared. The real cost comes from four items: the appliance, the flue with the work to pass through floors and roof, the bespoke surround, and the services (gas, combustion air, power).
Our advice is to ask for separate quotes for these four items and to compare appliances of the same environmental class. The Veneto Region periodically opens grants to replace old biomass appliances with new five-star ones: check the regional website when you decide.
Brands in our database
In the database of companies the studio considers for its projects, the «Fireplaces and fire» section includes Piazzetta (Asolo), Edilkamin (Lainate) and Marmi Fior (Volargne) for worked stone surrounds; for stone there is also Caminetti Montegrappa. They are not partners or sponsors of this guide, and the choice depends on each project. The full range of materials and systems is in The Villa Edit.
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Modern fireplace: ten mistakes to avoid
- Choosing the model before deciding where the flue runs.
- Putting the fire and the television on the same wall without a design.
- Oversizing the output in a highly insulated house.
- Forgetting combustion air with airtight windows.
- Buying a wood appliance without reading its environmental certificate.
- Ignoring the municipal order on biomass.
- Bringing timber and fabrics closer than the manual allows.
- Gluing stone without joints onto a hot backing.
- Using bioethanol as if it were a heating system.
- Doing without a carbon monoxide alarm.
Modern fireplace: frequently asked questions
Which modern fireplace heats best?
For the same room, a well-sized closed wood or pellet appliance. Under EU Regulation 2015/1185 a closed wood appliance must reach at least 65% seasonal efficiency, an open one at least 30%.
Can you still install a wood fireplace in a villa in northern Italy?
Yes, but in the Veneto region new biomass installations must be certified at least four stars. In the plains, appliances below three stars may not be used, below four on alert days, unless they are the only heating system.
What is a suspended fireplace?
A firebox hung from the ceiling with an exposed flue. It needs a high ceiling and a structural check of its weight.
Does a bioethanol fireplace need a flue?
No, but it releases combustion products into the room, so ventilation is needed. It is a decorative appliance with its own standard, EN 16647.
Gas or wood: which is better?
Wood gives the liveliest flame and is more regulated; gas is clean, instant and adjustable, and often more consistent in a new, highly insulated villa.
What does a modern fireplace cost?
It depends on the appliance, flue, surround and services. Ask for separate quotes for each and compare appliances of the same environmental class.
How do you maintain a wood fireplace?
Clean the firebox, check the seals and have the flue swept periodically, following the manual and, in Italy, UNI 10683, by a qualified technician.
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Planning the living room of a villa?
Send us the plan: we will tell you where the fire can go, what to check for the flue and which type of fireplace suits the house. For a complete project see Signature Architecture or write to us from Contact.
Sources: EU Regulation 2015/1185, Annex II, EUR-Lex; Veneto Region, biomass appliance classification; Veneto Region, clean air page on biomass; ARPAV, regulations; BSI, EN 16647. Checked on 7 November 2026; municipal orders change every season. Photos: architects’ houses from Wikimedia Commons (author and licence in the captions) and living rooms from projects by Federico Cappellina Architects, which do not show a fireplace or any brand cited.
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