Tiffany Style Stained Glass Fireplace Screens and Fire Guards
Nothing beats a real fire flicking in the hearth in terms of adding a warm, romantic ambience to any room. There’s just something about it which is impossible to replicate. Unfortunately though, you can’t keep one burning all day and all year round and an unlit hearth is sadly little more than a soot blackened hole in the wall without logs burning in the hearth. Even fake fires and gas/electric burners are dull and unfunctional throughout those summer months when you do not need the extra heat to warm your home. That’s why many people turn to more decorative options like stained glass fireplace screens to return a touch of class and style to the room’s focal point.
What Is A Fireplace Screen
Fire screens can be either functional or decorative, or a combination of the two. In the case of colorful stained glass hearth covers, they may be suitable for use with lit flames acting as both a beautiful addition to your room and a protective spark guard, or they may be designed solely for decorative purposes to cover a hearth when it is not in use but are not safe to use in front of a lit fire. Check before buying to ensure you get exactly what you are looking for and to avoid disappointment.
If you choose to buy a tiffany glass hearth guard designed for use with real fires, then you are in for a treat. The flickering orange glow really brings out the beauty and intricacies of the stained glass patterns in a way which brightens any room and is sure to be a gorgeous focal point for yourself and anyone who visits your home.
The pattern will appear duller when there are no flames lit behind it which is why you can buy backlighting kits to properly display the screen in all its glory. Many of the purely decorative tiffany style fire screens come with a backlighting kit to simulate the light from flames by lighting up and bring out the colors and beauty of the beveled glass design. You can also make use of such things as fireplace candelabras which do the same job but with real candle flames, or of course the heatless flame setting on an electric fire will work too.
Regardless of whether your tiffany glass fire screen is designed for use with real flames or not, you will probably want to use those tricks during the summer months and warmed periods anyway, as otherwise you are not going to get the real beauty out of your screen.
Choose The Right Kind Of Glass Hearth Screen
Choosing between a decorative or functional etched glass fireplace screen is really a simple matter of whether you intend to light up some logs or not. For many of us, the hearth is a nice decorative feature of the room which serves no other function other than being an attractive focal point. In this case, it doesn't need to be tempered glass suitable for withstanding high heat temperatures as it will not be exposed to real heat.
For others, the fireplace offers additional warmth to our homes and we love the romance of flickering flames and smell of burning pine logs. We know however, that popping sap and embers can damage carpeting and flooring and cause a hazard and that's why we use a fire guard to protect ourselves and our property. We need a fully functional tiffany styled glass or metal firescreen capable of withstanding high temperature to protect our homes and our families.
Measure For The Right Size Fire Guard
It is important to ensure your choice of fireplace screen is the right size to fit your hearth, especially if it looks likely that your particular hearth is either very wide or very narrow. You will be able to find a stained artglass firescreen to fit as they come in all shapes and sizes, but it's best to measure before you buy.
Be sure to measure both the width and the height of your hearth opening. You want to ensure you cover the whole opening or it's going to look a little odd. You should also take into consideration that folding hinge hearth screens feature two hinged side panels which angle inwards to protect the side of the fire and hold the screen upright. This reduces the width when folded so measure a couple of inches wider than the hearth opening to compensate for this.
Also remember that some ornate fireplace screen covers feature scrollwork and domed glass paneling to the top which will add to the overall height but may not cover the entire height of the hearth in the lower portions. In these cases, measure a little higher than the overall height of the aperture.
