Fire It Up: Fireplace Ideas That Anchor a Room

Tomorrow night the sky will be full of bonfires to celebrate Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai. It's a night all about how one small spark can light up the entire world — an incandescence that mirrors the revelation of light from darkness. The fire represents the spiritual light and hidden secrets of the Torah that were revealed on this very day, and reminds us of the holy energy and passion of the soul.

The soul of a living room is what I call a fireplace. It's that one glowing focal point that makes a house feel like a home, and I've been leaning into this vibe lately with some modern fireplace installs.

Here is how we brought that soul into this setting: a modern glass-enclosed colour-changing fireplace, bringing warmth to a cosy upscale living room.

When a structural problem becomes the design

Allow me to share a behind-the-scenes challenge from another project, and the solution that came out of it.

I was creating the plans for three adjoining apartments in Rechavia which, after Tofes 4, would be connected as one expansive apartment. That meant the dividing wall would be demolished to open the kitchen and dining room into one seamless area.

So what's the problem, I hear you think? The issue cropped up after the final plans were submitted. The project team notified us that within the dividing wall sat a beam that was impossible to remove.

There went my wonderful floor plans and space planning. I won't bore you with the technicals, but after investigating with engineers and realising the beam was here to stay, I had to get my creative juices running. I needed to find a way to incorporate that beam into this lovely open space — turning a structural bug into a seamless design feature.

The solution. Adding a fireplace to the beam on the seating side created a specialty focal point radiating ambiance into the sitting area. We then clad the rest of the beam in rounded granite marble to make it look totally intentional.

Thank you, Mr Beam. If not for you, we wouldn't have this extraordinary element.

The takeaway

Never let a structural bug ruin your design. When a beam or pipe can't be moved, don't just box it in — celebrate it.