Entertainment Center Fireplaces: A Modern Convenience
From Swiss army knives to smart phones, we love packing the most utility into a single space. As this trend has progressed over the years, we’ve witnessed the consolidation of our home entertainment into an entertainment center. While we love our televisions, gaming console and DVD collections, the fireplace is still the natural gathering point in the home. This competition for the room’s focal point can make furniture arrangement difficult. However, entertainment center fireplaces allow for your electronic entertainment and your fireplace to share the spotlight in your living room.
An entertainment center fireplace consists of an electric fireplace surrounded by a mantle that functions as an entertainment center. The mantles are usually integrated into shelves on each side, with or without cabinet doors. This space is great for DVDs, videogames, books and decorative pieces. Some mantles provide storage above the fireplace for DVD players, game consoles and other auxiliary devices. The top surface of the mantle is large enough to support a modern television and possibly a set of speakers depending on the size of the unit.
Entertainment center fireplaces are electric which allows for more versatility and a smaller profile than traditional fireplaces, which require bulky, fixed masonry. This means you can move and place it like you would any other entertainment center or shelving unit. Fireplaces and entertainment centers create similar room arrangements, so it’s convenient to combine them. With only one furniture piece, there’s no competition for seating orientation, extra floor space, wall space and an unobstructed view. Also, they are a great solution for people living in apartments or other smaller living spaces who may not otherwise be able to have both a fireplace and an entertainment center.
With a variety of styles, finding the right entertainment center fireplace is as easy as finding any other style of furniture. Wooden mantles are classically handsome, while black with glass surfaces creates a purely modern look. They’re not only good looking entertainment centers, they’re good looking fireplaces. Considering their physical convenience as well as their stylistic variety, entertainment center fireplaces meet the needs of the modern home.