Ways to decorate your fireplace in summer

The fireplace, unlike many other appliances in the home, is seasonal. The fridge, the cooker and the washing machine are utilised all year round, but the fireplace may only be “in action” for half the year, if not less. But a house wouldn’t feel right without one, so their inclusion is never in doubt either.

But it does bring into question what to do with fires and fireplaces during the summer months, when they aren’t likely to get turned on once. Most people may elect to simply leave them be, collecting dust between March and September, but something so prominent in living rooms across the land is surely able to adapt to the seasons with a little help right?

Well that is what we’re here to discuss today, just in time for the start of the spring and summer decorating season. For those who don’t want to leave the fireplace alone for 6 months, there are a multitude of options you can choose from, that range from adding a few visual touches to suit the warmer weather, right up to a total transformation.

Dress It Up 

In all likelihood, you’ll have a fireplace that you find aesthetically pleasing. While its main task is to heat whatever room it is in, you still likely picked a fireplace or stove you also found nice to look at. Therefore, you may not want to “hide” it for 6 months, especially if you feel it is still a nice centrepiece for the room. 

 In that case, you may want to simply decorate around it a little. Little things like fresh flowers, vases, and new picture frames can help give the fireplace a touch of summer about it. You aren’t masking the fact you have a fireplace - you are merely adapting it for the season!

 Hide It 

On the other hand, you may in fact want to mask the fireplace a little. Either it doesn’t fit the style of the room as you make other changes for summer, or you may want a visual break from it before it returns in the summer. One way to achieve this is by using drapes.

 Hung from the shelf above, they can stoop low enough to cover the top half of the fireplace, while vases of flowers can cover the bottom half. If you really want to hide it completely, consider placing a large piece of art over the top of it, like a painting or a canvas print. You are creating a new centrepiece for the room, but be careful - if for whatever reason the fire gets turned on during the summer, you need to remove anything covering it first, or you’ll risk them getting too hot and possibly catching on fire.

Remove It 

This may not be a viable option for everyone (those with piped in gas, for example), but those who own a fireplace that can be removed, why not take the step of taking it out and storing itaway for a while? You will then be left with an empty fireplace, which may seem a little odd, but it opens up a lot of doors for decorating potential.

 The empty space could be filled with bigger flower displays, or more substantial pieces of art. Or change it’s purpose from heating to cooling by placing a portable fan in there. Fireplaces are usually situated in a good place to radiate heat to the rest of the room evenly, so placing a fan there make a lot of sense for the reverse outcome of cooling everything equally.

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