The fireplace is the most consequential specification decision in any media wall build. Get the size wrong and it looks like an afterthought beneath the television. Get the type wrong and you are living with the consequences for years. Here is how we think about the choice.
Fire Type: Electric, Bio-Ethanol or Gas
The first decision is the fuel type, and it is largely determined by what is available in the room rather than personal preference.
Electric fires are by far the most common choice for media walls, and for good reason. They require no flue, no gas supply and no structural works beyond a standard electrical connection. They are the simplest to install, the safest in enclosed joinery builds, and modern cassette-style electric fires produce a convincing flame effect at a wide range of sizes. They are the default recommendation for any media wall project.
Bio-ethanol fires produce a real flame without a flue, which some clients prefer for authenticity. The trade-off is ventilation: a bio-ethanol fire in a joinery enclosure requires considered airflow design to prevent heat build-up. They also require refuelling and produce a small amount of water vapour. We install them regularly, but they require more careful detailing.
Gas fires are less common in media wall builds because they require a gas supply to the wall position and a flue, which in many living rooms means structural work. In properties where a chimney breast already exists and the gas supply is present, a gas fire can be the right choice. Otherwise, electric is simpler and the visual result is comparable.
Fire Width: Size It to the Television, Not the Wall
This is the dimension most people get wrong. The instinct is to fill the width of the cabinet below the television. That produces a fire that is often too wide or too narrow in relation to the screen, which makes both feel unresolved.
The proportion that reads well in most rooms is a fire at 60 to 80 percent of the television width. For a 65" screen (144cm wide), that suggests a fire in the 90 to 115cm range. For a 75" screen (167cm wide), we typically specify between 110 and 130cm. The fire should read as a companion to the screen rather than competing with it or shrinking beneath it.
A narrow fire on a wide screen — say a 60cm insert beneath a 75" television — looks like a pilot light. It draws the eye down to the wrong place and makes the overall composition feel unbalanced. Width is the dimension that matters most.
Flame Depth and Heat Output
Electric fires vary significantly in the depth of flame effect they produce. Budget cassette fires produce a flat, two-dimensional flame that reads as obviously artificial at close range. Better fires use multiple flame layers — typically three or four — to produce a convincing depth. At 2 to 3 metres viewing distance, a three-layer flame effect is difficult to distinguish from real fire.
Heat output matters less than most people assume. An electric fire in a media wall is primarily decorative in most homes — the room is already heated by the central heating system. We typically recommend fires with at least 1.5kW output as a minimum, but the flame quality is a more important spec than the kilowatt rating.
A Recent Project: Sizing the Fire to the Screen
A client in a Home Counties detached home wanted a media wall with a 75" television and an integrated fire. The room had no gas supply and a chimney breast that had been removed in a previous renovation, leaving a flat wall.
We specified a 120cm wide-format linear electric cassette fire. At 120cm against a 167cm screen, the ratio is 72 percent — within the range that reads proportionally. The fire sits in a recessed stone panel below the television, framed by cabinetry on each side.
The original brief included a 90cm fire from a shortlisted product. We advised against it. At 54 percent of the screen width, it would have drawn the eye but in the wrong way — the mismatch between screen and fire would have been noticeable every time someone sat in the room. The 120cm fire cost more, but the proportional result was worth it.
Summary: What to Specify
- Type: electric unless you have a specific reason for bio-ethanol or gas
- Width: 60 to 80 percent of your television width
- Flame depth: three-layer minimum for a convincing effect
- Heat output: 1.5kW minimum, but treat heat as secondary to flame quality
- Install: always within the joinery build, never surface-mounted as an afterthought