My Box of Burning Love: Fireplace Romance UWS Style

One thing that I absolutely love in a home is a fireplace. I am not talking about just one in a family or living room. I am talking at least 4 or 5 throughout a home. From the kitchen to the bedroom, I go nuts for a fireplace. Living in NYC in the winter has only increased my love for them. Since I live in a high rise building, a traditional fireplace is completely out of the question. Sure if I was in a upper east side or west village pre-war walk up or brownstone, then perhaps I may get one or two. However, on the the UWS (Upper West Side) – that is out of the question. I knew that if I was going to get a fireplace I would have to be creative and resourceful. So I turned to my good friend google and began my hunt.

The funny thing about fireplaces is that I find that most people who have them don’t use them. Both my parents and in-laws have them and have never used them. In fact Barrack ended up chewing my parents firewood from last year because it was just sitting there for months and I guess the temptation finally got the best of the little guy (it’s a long story). I think it’s sad to waist such a precious asset. We don’t appreciate the power of this little box of burning love. In the good old days the fireplace was in the main room of a home providing heat to the whole family.

There was no such thing as a child or teen going to their room or dad retreating to the computer room. If you did you would halfway freeze because all the heat was in the heart (hearth) of the home. Nope, in the G-O-D your fondest memories would be built around the twinkle and crackling a of the family fireplace. Now day, the twinkle and crackle has been replaced by buzz and glow of the TV. Of course there are those who gather around it for holidays or special occasions, but more often than not a family and a couple will be glued to the TV or computer. This includes in the bedroom!

The only thing a TV and a fireplace have in common is that they both glow.

I never wanted to become one of those couples who falls asleep to the TV every night. While it’s OK to do that occasionally I think it odes a world of damage to a family and to a marriage. When I saw Chris and I starting to develop that habit I knew there was time for some change. I need something to break up our routine and inject some occasional romance into our evening routine (not that there isn’t enough of it already…lol).

I want the twinkle of the fireplace to be in my bedroom, not the glow of CNN.

Well, after much research and cohercing my bathroom contractor to install it; I finally have my fireplace. Of course it doesn’t burn wood and doesn’t have a chimney, but it snaps, crackles, and pops with the best of them. It will never be able to compete with it’s suburban and country counterparts, but it gets the job done…and quite beautifully if I do say so myself.