A fireplace is perhaps most synonymous with home. Several idioms highlight its significance, like ‘leave the home fires burning’ or the old Irish saying, ‘there’s no fireplace like your own fireplace’. But a fireplace can be more than just a grate and hearth. For homeowners who want their living rooms stamped with their unique fingerprint, a stacked stone fireplace is popular.

Why stacked stone? Well, it can fit your style, interior design and preference. But other factors include the effect an investment may have on a home’s value and even the fireplace’s heating efficiency. That’s why most homeowners and residential property developers choose stone clad fireplaces.

At DécoR Stone, we have been providing Australia with natural stone products and tiles of the highest quality. Amongst our range is a selection of stacked stone options to enhance your home.

But what are the advantages to choosing this fireplace style? Does it really add appeal to a property? And most importantly, does it really cost a fortune that high quality work seems to suggest? We’ve put together this short list of 5 benefits to choosing a stacked stone fireplace above duller alternatives.

5 Benefits That Make Them Worthwhile

1. Increase Your Home’s Value – property vendors swear blind that everything will increase your home’s value, but it’s certainly true with fireplaces. As a living area’s central feature, they are practical, stylish and can:

• Enhance the ‘home experience’.
• Increase the chances of selling and increasing prices home buyers are willing to pay.

In Australia, there are a few researches on the issue, but in the US, the National Center for Real Estate Research reported that:

“Fireplaces can increase the value of the average home by between 6% and 12%;
making the outlay to build an impressive, stylish fireplace well worth the cost.”

2. Can Be A Unique Feature – in terms of design ideas, consider a vast array of options. At DécoR Stone, our stacked stone products come in mixed shades typically containing:

• Light yellows
• Rusty reds
• Soft browns
• Both light and dark greys

You can choose your own mix that best reflects your personality and complements your overall interior décor preferences. With stone segments in manageable sizes (600mm x 150mm, and 450mm deep for corner pieces), your fireplace area can be enhanced dramatically, whether:

• Surrounding a hearth;
• Or extending high over the accent wall.

Artificial stone products out there come in wider selection of hues, but we prefer to offer real stone cladding.

3. Long Lasting and Durable – when quarried from the earth, natural stone is aged billions of years. So, homeowners can expect a stacked stone fireplace to last a lifetime – especially if it is erected professionally. Wood and tile fireplaces:

• Suffer chips;
• Require regular maintenance or polishing.

You’ll have peace of mind with a properly completed job.

Remember, adhesive quality is important too, so be sure to use the right one. We recommend Kerabond Plus mixed with Isolastic Pure (50 for structures less than 2 metres high), which can superbly secure fixtures tightly to the supporting wall or structure.

4. An Affordable Option – the greatest success of a well-designed and erected stacked stone fireplace is impressively impacting people that it costs a huge amount to achieve. But this is not true. Stone segments are pre-produced, making it possible to:

• Build the fireplace quickly and easily;
• Drastically reduce labour costs.

Segments are cost-effectively produced to keep material costs down. Prices can vary depending on the stone chosen, where overall affordability is far greater than what a finished job suggests.

5. Hearth Efficiency – to heat homes, owners find stone very economical as it ideally retains heat. Where once wood or coal was used, modern homeowners are increasingly turning to cleaner fuels to help the environment. They’ve installed these stoves in their homes:

• Electric
• Gas
• Pellet ,

But a stacked stone fireplace is as impressive as these fuel alternatives, perfectly complementing raised in-built fireplaces.

For more on heat efficiency rates, the Hearth, Patio and Barbeque Association (HPBA) in the US offers an interesting insight.

Stacked Stone Fireplaces at DécoR Stone

For the best part of 40 years, we have been the trusted name in Australia for stacked stone products. Our range is perfect for fireplaces and on outdoor features too. With completely natural stone, all of nature’s beauty can be brought into your home. Our range offers several stone types, colours and textures – check out our brochure for more details.

As the largest distributor of decorative stone, DécoR Stone is so synonymous with quality. More than 380 retailers across the country stock our product ranges. Wherever you are, we are never far from you!

For more on what we do and the expertise we offer, check out our DécoR Stone website and see for yourself.