Martha Stewart Logs In!

Not All Fireplace Logs are Created Equal

I'm not the world's biggest Martha Stewart fan. My wife has one or two of her decorating books lying around, and I think maybe she used a Martha Stewart stuffing recipe at Thanksgiving (which was excellent, I have to admit), but to my mind, Ms. Stewart has always seemed a little, I don't know, fussy--at least to an old log burner like me.

However, I was reading the Boston Globe today when I came across Stewart's column, which I have to admit does offer a few good holiday tips. In particular, one reader sent in a question about using the fireplace to generate holiday fragrances. Here's an excerpt:

Q. What can I add to a wood-burning fireplace to create a festive fragrance?

A. One way to build an aromatic fire is to choose wood that is naturally fragrant. For a subtle effect, use a long-burning wood, such as hickory or cherry. Ash, which has a less assertive smell, is also a good selection. (As with any wood, make sure the logs are dry and have been aged at least six months. Freshly cut wood burns unevenly and produces smoke as well as an unpleasant odor.) Wood chips from hickory or fruitwood trees smell delightful as well. They are often available wherever firewood is sold.

Scented pinecones can also be an attractive addition. To make them, preheat the oven to 200 degrees or the lowest setting. Place a handful of pinecones (available at crafts stores) in a single layer, about a half inch apart, on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for about 25 minutes or until the pinecones are dry to the touch. Because the pitch on pinecones can ignite at high temperatures, monitor them closely.

Let the pinecones cool completely, and then sprinkle them with a few drops of essential oil, such as cinnamon, balsam, or clove (available at health food stores). Put them in an airtight storage bin or plastic bag. Gently shake the container to distribute the oil evenly, and keep it sealed until you are ready to light a fire. Then arrange the pinecones in a basket by the fireplace, and toss them in one or two at a time.

Stewart is absolutely right about the different types of wood, by the way. Different woods burn differently and give off a wide variety of fragrances, some of them strong and some quite mild. That's why last year I picked up a couple extra woodholders from brick-Anew and put them in my garage to supplement the woodpile out back. I keep each holder stocked with a different variety of wood, cherry being my go-to for a nice, sweet scent. While the wood you buy at the store is typically cured and not freshly cut, I do try to let the logs cure a little longer just to be on the safe side. Stewart's right about fresh-cut wood, too.

As for the pinecones, I've heard of placing a few next to the fire but have never tried it. I think I might just forward that idea to the wife.

Burning Questions for the Fireplace

Pull a Book from the Shelf and Read by the Fire

A little while ago, while I was coming in with fresh kindling from the log pile, my cell phone rang. And when I answered I was delighted to hear the familiar voice of my old college roommate Kenneth on the other end of the line. He said he had a stupid question for me, and when I laughed and said there’s no such thing, he laughed right back. “You haven’t heard this one yet,” he said.

Understand: Kenny’s no dummy. When the rest of the gang graduated and started entry-level jobs in various businesses across the country, he stayed in college – until he was thirty-two. For a long time, as the rest of us got raises and promotions and started families, we teased poor Kenny mercilessly about his decade-long pursuit of the PhD. But when our old friend finally did get out, with two advanced degrees in-hand, he got a job at a different university teaching 19th Century British Literature. Now he clears more than 60k a year, never works in the summer and gets a month off at Christmas.

Indeed, two years ago, when the wife and I spent the holidays with Kenny and his family up in Connecticut, my old roommate had just purchased a two-story Victorian with fireplaces in every bedroom. We spent Christmas Eve in the parlor, listening to his eleven-year-old daughter read a first edition copy of A Christmas Carol before a fire that would have warmed even Scrooge’s heart.

“I thought you had it all figured out,” I said as I lay my bundle of sticks on the fireplace foot and shifted the phone from one ear to the other. “What kind of question could a brainiac like you have for an old log-burner like me?”

“Funny you’d put it that way,” he said. “Because an old log-burner like you is exactly the kind of guy this braniac needs. I’ve got a burning question about fireplaces.”

I pulled back the glass doors of my fireplace and started putting in the kindling. “Oh, well,” I said. “That’s a different matter. Still, though. Kenny. There’s no such thing as a stupid question, and that’s especially true when it comes to fireplaces. And don’t go trying to make one up, either. I’ve heard them all.”

He laughed again. “No, no. I wouldn’t dream of it. This is actually a pretty serious matter. And since it is about fireplaces, I thought immediately of you. You’ve been in the game a long time.”

I told him not to flatter me and to get on with his question or I was hanging up. That’s the kind of humor old college buddies sometimes share, I guess, and he laughed yet again before getting to the point.

“Okay, the question,” he said. “I’ve been looking into installing glass fireplace doors for a couple of the rooms upstairs, provided I can find something tasteful that won’t clash with my antique map collection or my fin de siecle andirons —”

“You can,” I said as I started to lay the logs atop the kindling in the firebox. “Not a problem. And I can tell you where, too.”

“Great. Super. Glad to hear it. But that wasn’t my question. I wanted to know about how to use the doors once I get them, whether I should burn my fire with the doors open or the doors shut, because I’ve heard—”

“Don’t tell me what you’ve heard,” I said. “Tell me what you think, first.”

“I think I’d rather have the doors open. You know, so I can hear the logs crackling, get more heat. It’s a more direct experience.”

“Good idea,” I said. “Now tell me what you’ve heard.”

“Well, I’ve heard the exact same thing. In fact, I have a colleague over in the physics department who explained all the thermodynamics, how the fire needs oxygen for fuel, how the doors don’t let the heat out into the room and how when you have the doors closed all that heat goes straight up the chimney.”

“True, true and true. And that’s why I don’t understand. You said you had a stupid question.”

“I do,” said Kenny. “And the stupid question, okay, the stupid question is this: if you’re supposed to burn your fire with the doors open, to optimize the heat and burn a better fire, why in the world do all the pictures of fireplace glass doors I look at online show a fire blazing behind closed glass doors? Every last fireplace door company out there shows its products with the doors closed tight and a fire going behind the glass. Every single one!”

This time I laughed. I’d heard the same question before, more times than I could count. It’s almost an inside joke in the industry at this point. “Let me ask you something,” I said. “Would you order a set of fireplace doors you’d never seen, not even in a picture?”

“Probably not,” he confessed. “And you can’t see the doors as well when they’re open, can you.”

“No,” I said as I placed one more log on the grate and brushed my hands together. “You cannot. And on top of that, what would you rather look at, a raging fire or a dead, ashy box?”

“A raging fire,” he admitted. “See, I told you it was a stupid question.”

“No such thing,” I said as I lit my morning fire, pulled the screen shut and opened the doors an extra inch. “But thanks for trying, Professor.”

With that, I settled back on the couch, toes pointed toward the fire, ready to catch up on more important things—like his family’s holiday plans and how his daughter was doing in school, when he was coming down to my place for Christmas to sit around my own fireplace for a change. Old college buddies talk about that kind of stuff, too.

Fireplaces New and Old

The Fireplace is Queen of the Ball

Last week the wife and I were down in beautiful Charleston, South Carolina, where she was attending a business conference. We spent three wonderful nights at the Francis Marion Hotel, right smack in the center of town -- and on her company's dime, no less. That's the hotel ballroom in the picture above. Not too shabby, eh?

The 1920s-era hotel was painstakingly restored back in 1996, combining art deco charm with modern conveniences. We had a flatscreen TV, down pillows and a seventh story view across the lovely green expanse of Marion Square. Indeed, if I stood at our window and leaned far enough to my right I could just make out the glorious new bridge across the Cooper River, which really is a site to behold. As hotels go, I'd recommend the Francis Marion to anybody headed down to the South Carolina low country.

There was only one problem. Specifically, unless you wandered down to the ballroom, which is dominated by the gorgeous marble-accented fireplace pictured above, there was no place for the wife and me to warm our toes after we got back from a night on the town.

I don't blame the hotel, so you know. At twelve stories and umpteen rooms, the Francis Marion is one of the tallest buildings on the Peninsula, and no matter how much I love a good crackler, putting fireplaces in every room of a twelve story building just isn't practical these days. I mean, can you imagine the venting problems?

Still, I wanted to experience the Holy City on a more intimate level before we headed home, so on the last day of the wife's conference I looked around until I found a B&B -- with a functioning hearth. Then, once the wife had wrapped up her work responsibilities, I surprised her by announcing that I'd booked two more nights in the city.

And here's where I started to feel conflicted. Yes, our room at the B&B was absolutely gorgeous, and yes, it did have a fireplace. In fact, it was a very nice fireplace, with state-of-the-art gas logs and classy glass doors. Unfortunately, it didn't fit the room's decor at all and almost seemed like an affront to the antebellum house.

I mean, there we were, lying in a four-poster bed in a room that may have well have slept George Washington at some point in our city's glorious history, and the modern-era fireplace I'm staring into looks like it could have been custom-built for a loft in SoHo. The original facade and mantel were either torn out completely our covered over in drywall. I'd throw up a picture, but it's almost too depressing.

I don't know, maybe it's me, but I tend to think an 18th-century bedroom ought to have an 18th-century hearth, don't you? Sure, maybe the original brick was a little damaged, or maybe the mortar had begun to crumble in spots, but in this day and age there's rarely an excuse for tearing out the old and putting in the new -- especially if the old is that old. I mean, c'mon, we're talking history here. I bet they could have fixed the darned thing with a quick scrub and a coat of fireplace paint. Heck, they could at least have tried, right?

Disappointed as I was, the fireplace situation at this particular B&B (which I won't name here, as it was otherwise a lovely place) did get me thinking. It also got me wondering how other people out there feel about fireplace restoration. In fact, what do you think, FD readers? Should old fireplaces be ripped out or lovingly restored to their original appearance? Should wood burners be replaced with modern gas log systems? Should iron doors always be replaced with galss? Or should we try to find a compromise that satisfies our sense of nostalgia and our need for modern convenience and safety? I know my own opinions, but I'd welcome a few others. So whatever your take, I'd love to hear it . . .

Fireplace Getaway

Thinking about the fireplace makeover contest over at Brick-Anew got me thinking about their excellent line of fireplace paint products, which I’ve used before and which I plan to use again once I close on my mountain getaway next week.

That’s right, I haven’t mentioned it here yet, but when I wasn’t on the road this fall and summer talking to other fireplace enthusiasts around the country, I spent a good chunk of time up in the Smoky Mountains, looking for a home away from home. No, I didn’t win the lottery – far from it –but I figured if I got far enough off the beaten path and found a place that needed a little (no, a LOT) of tender loving care, maybe I could swing it.

Anyway, the place I finally found is awesome – or it will be, once I finish fixing it up. It’s got two bedrooms, a rustic kitchen and a front porch I absolutely cannot wait to sit on next summer. Not surprisingly, if you know me, this little slice of paradise also comes with a truly amazing masonry hearth that dominates the living room. I had a few pictures I planned on posting here at Fireplace Decorating, but last time I was up there I dropped my digital camera in the stream at the back of the property trying to snap a photo of a three-point buck.

Oh well. I’ll try to take a couple more pics when I head up there next month to clean out the old firebox and scrub and paint the fireplace brick. In the meantime, I’ve posted a picture of a vaguely similar fireplace so you can get the basic idea. Mine’s not in as good a shape, of course – like I said, I didn’t win the lottery -- but that’s what the fireplace paint is for, right? When I get done, mine’s going to look even better.

Want a Whole Lotta Logs?

It’s been awhile since I’ve posted anything here at Fireplace Decorating. Over the past few months, while I’ve been off at trade shows and otherwise checking out the latest developments in fireplace technology, my pal Sam’s been stoking the hearth here at FD and I certainly do appreciate it. After all, somebody had to keep the home fires burning.

But now that the weather’s getting nippy again, I’m ready to stay put for a little while, which means sharing a few more anecdotes and fireplace tips with you while I enjoy the warm pleasures of the hearth as we enter the holiday season.

Speaking of the holidays, and speaking of my buddy Sam, a couple weeks ago he mentioned that the folks over at Brick-Anew are hosting a great fireplace makeover contest this month. As I understand it, they’re giving away $200 for the best testimonial and before-and-after pics sent in by November 25. Shoot, if I didn’t think they’d recognize my name, rank and serial number from the trade show circuit, I’d enter the contest myself. Two hundred big ones would keep me in firewood clear into New Year’s…