They say that travel broadens our horizons. That’s definitely true when it comes to home design. Visits to hotels and vacation rentals offer design ideas that we want to bring home, to extend that away-from-home feeling all year-round. One idea that travelers love is the double-sided fireplace. Whether it’s in the hotel lobby or between the bedroom and ensuite bathroom in your rental home, having a double-sided fireplace seems luxurious and inviting. It may also seem exotic and out of reach, until you realize how easy it is to add one to your home. Easy, that is, as long as it’s electric!
Double-sided fireplaces can both divide and connect spaces, depending on the specific wall design, and on the fireplace. If the two-sided fireplace is see-through, or if it’s part of a small partition wall, it can be a room connector. If the fireplace is not see-through, or it’s part of a larger feature wall, it may act as a lovely room divider. With electric fireplaces, there are currently 3 ways to design a double-sided fireplace feature.
Napoleon Clearion Elite – double-sided fireplace for slim walls
Models: NEFBD50HE, NEFBD60HE
The Napoleon Clearion Elite comes in 50-inch and 60-inch widths. It is designed to be fully flush in a wall that’s just 8-inches deep. With optional thicker trim kits, it can fit into a wall that as slim as 4.5 inches; in this case, the trims would project about 2-inches out from the wall surface. Flame colours are orange or blue, or a combination of the two. There are also 10 accent colours around the flames. Two media packages come standard — clear crystals or a log package – and there is enough of each to fill both sides of the fireplace. There is also thermostatically-controlled heat on both sides, and the heaters work independently of each other, for optimal comfort in both rooms. Best of all is the privacy feature. With the press of a button on the remote, the center panel can go from clear to semi-opaque to opaque. This is a great idea if you are putting the double-sided fireplace between the bedroom and bathroom, where you occasionally need a little privacy.
Dimplex Optimyst – double-sided fireplace with water vapour
Models: CDFI500-PRO, GBF-1000-PRO, GBF-1500-PRO
The Dimplex Optimyst series converts tap water to mist ultrasonically – it’s not steam. Because it’s cool mist, it’s perfectly safe for public spaces. That means it gets a lot of use in lobbies and large gathering spaces. There are a couple of different ways to incorporate Optimyst technology into a double-sided fireplace, depending on whether or not you want to have glass on the fireplace. Regardless of which you choose, you must allow for air intake vents, to allow fresh air to be pulled into the bottom of the unit. Without this flow of fresh air into the bottom of the cassette, the mist that’s pushed out the top of the fireplace will be reduced.
Dimplex Optimyst Cassettes, CDFI500-Pro, are the building blocks of the built-in GBF series, and can also be used on their own. The cassette is the ‘box’ that holds the water reservoir, as well as the transducer that converts water into droplets. It’s also where the lights are housed, to make the mist look like dancing flames. The cassettes currently come in one size – 20 inches – and are made to be used in series. You may have this fireplace open on all sides, on just one side, or set it up as a see-through double-sided fireplace. The area above the top of the cassette, where the mist ‘flames’ come out, is meant to be open, with no glass enclosure. You may have a partial glass barrier that’s not more than 10-inches tall, but you can’t have a permanent glass facing. The cassettes themselves do not have heaters, but an optional heater may be installed in the area above the flames. These heaters blow air out in one direction only and have simple on-off controls. The CDFI500-Pro cassettes demand a completely bespoke design. While it is possible to access the tops of the cassettes to refill the water manually, we strongly recommend that you add the plumbing connection if at all possible, especially if you are using multiple units. It’s also highly impractical to designate someone to refill the reservoirs in a commercial setting.
The built-in GBF1500-Pro or GBF1000-Pro models incorporate the Optimyst cassettes into a metal shell, complete with floating glass and a heater. The rear panel can be replaced with a second piece of glass to create a see-through fireplace. These units must have a plumbing connection because it is too difficult to remove the floating glass to access the reservoirs. They also have the same air-intake requirements as the cassettes. The GBF models are a great option if you prefer a straight-forward in-the-wall fireplace installation and can work with one of the two available sizes.
Back-to-back electric fireplaces – double-sided fireplaces that are not see-through
If you are creating a dividing wall and you would like a fireplace on both sides, but don’t necessarily need to see through the fireplace, it is possible to put two electric fireplaces back-to-back. This is generally done with the slimmer models, to minimize the depth of the wall. However, there are many different options for the size, shape and depth of electric fireplaces, and you can put any of them back-to-back. If you are using 2 separate fireplaces, you will need to have dedicated electrical connections for both. If you aren’t able to see both fireplaces at the same time, you have the option to make each side of the wall different. In theory, each of the 2 fireplaces could be a different size or shape, and could be set into the wall at different heights from one another. This type of design would be challenging to achieve with any other type of fireplace, such as gas or wood-burning.
Summary: Double-sided Electric Fireplaces
Next time you’re away from home and wishing you could replicate that gorgeous double-sided fireplace, remember that it is possible. With electric fireplaces, there are several ways to connect or divide your space with a two-sided wall design.