Country Life Top 10: Fireplaces – The best hearths and chimneypieces you can buy

Giles Kime casts his eye over the finest fireplaces in the land.

Country Life Top 10: Chimneypieces
When a mantelpiece becomes a minefield...
(Image credit: Country Life Top 10: Chimneypieces)

Chimney pieces are as varied as Britain’s rich architectural heritage, from Medieval and Georgian through to Victorian and cutting edge contemporary.

But where should you turn for advice and inspiration? Country Life's interiors editor Giles Kime has thirty years' experience in the design industry.

He has used that wealth of knowledge to put together a list of the finest companies in Britain – every one of whom offers a range of beautiful designs as well as the expertise to help you make the right choice for your home.

Country Life’s definitive list offers designs that will suit any style of interior.


Country Life Top 10: Fireplaces

Architectural Heritage

01386 584414; www.architectural-heritage.co.uk

Bespoke stone fireplaces.

. Life Top 10s


CVO

01325 301020; www.cvo.co.uk

Striking contemporary designs.

. Life Top 10s


Chesney's

020 7627 1410; www.chesneys.co.uk

Awide range of both new and antique.

. Life Top 10s


Haddonstone

01604 770711; www.haddonstone.com

Cast stone designs.

. Life Top 10s


J. Rotherham

01430 861047; www.jrotherham.co.uk

Stone and marble fireplaces.

. Life Top 10s


Jamb

020 7730 2122; www.jamb.co.uk

From rare chimney pieces to historically inspired.

. Life Top 10s


Renaissance

020 7251 8844; www.renaissancelondon.com

From classic to quirky.

. Life Top 10s


English Fireplaces

01730 887198; www.englishfireplaces.co.uk

Classic good looks.

. Life Top 10s


Marble Hill

020 8892 1488www.marblehill.co.uk

A good source of ornate, period styles.

. Life Top 10s


Acquisitions

020 3432 0838, www.acquisitions.co.uk

Classic to contemporary.

. Life Top 10s


Throughout 2017, Country Life will be drawing on years of expertise and insight to bring you definitive top 10 lists to help you turn your house into the home you've always dreamt of.

It doesn't matter if you're after a modern fireplace or one to fit into a 16th century cottage, or whether you're lighting a loft space in Battersea or a seaside escape in Dorset, we'll have you covered.

More Country Life Top 10s:

Country Life Top 10: Lighting – The best lamps, chandeliers and lights you can buy

Country Life's Top 10: Beds – The best night's sleep you can buy

Giles Kime
Giles Kime is Country Life's Executive and Interiors Editor, an expert in interior design with decades of experience since starting his career at The World of Interiors magazine. Giles joined Country Life in 2016, introducing new weekly interiors features, bridging the gap between our coverage of architecture and gardening. He previously launched a design section in The Telegraph and spent over a decade at Homes & Gardens magazine (launched by Country Life's founder Edward Hudson in 1919). A regular host of events at London Craft Week, Focus, Decorex and the V&A, he has interviewed leading design figures, including Kit Kemp, Tricia Guild, Mary Fox Linton, Chester Jones, Barbara Barry and Lord Snowdon. He has written a number of books on interior design, property and wine, the most recent of which is on the legendary interior designer Nina Campbell who last year celebrated her fiftieth year in business. This Autumn sees the publication of his book on the work of the interior designer, Emma Sims-Hilditch. He has also written widely on wine and at 26, was the youngest ever editor of Decanter Magazine. Having spent ten years restoring an Arts & Crafts house on the banks of the Itchen, he and his wife, Kate, are breathing life into a 16th-century cottage near Alresford that has remained untouched for almost half a century.