Tips Designer fireplaces are the hot new pandemic amenity

 

As the world awaits Santa’s annual stopover (his sleigh isn’t subject to pandemic restrictions), all eyes are on the chimney.

But for some New Yorkers, that fixation on the fireplace is a burning obsession, year-round.

“Growing up, my family — my parents, grandparents — all their houses had [a fireplace],” said 49-year-old tech executive Valerie Bordelanne. “It’s a place of warmth and joy. It’s around the fireplace that you can have deep discussions about any subject.

Born in Bordeaux, France, Bordelanne has spent the last 20 years living around the world with her husband, Gregoire Maes. Then, two years ago, the family decided to settle in Manhattan. They toured roughly 60 apartments, but one stood out among them — a condo with a statement fireplace created by Noam Dvir and Daniel Rauchwerger of the New York-based design firm BoND.

“To be honest, it was twice the budget we were predicting,” Bordelanne said of their one-bedroom apartment in Chelsea just off Eighth Avenue.

Dvir and Rauchwerger — who previously owned the condo — clad the existing traditional fireplace in 100 percent stainless steel, in a nod to the New York subway, that was hand-fabricated in Chinatown for $1,200. They then designed the rest of the home around that shining centerpiece.

“In old buildings, the bricks can be very damaged, so the architects hid them behind a nice modern piece,” Bordelanne said of the redesign Dvir and Rauchwerger gave the working hearth. “In the summertime, we put candles in there to pretend there is fire, and the reflection on the stainless steel is really, really nice at night.”

just one example of a trend that’s setting the city’s luxury developments ablaze. Modern mantels — from glitzy marble showstoppers to artsier interpretations — that offer warmth during the winter lockdown, as well as places to gather with your pod, have become coveted amenities this season.

“Gazing into a fire while seated with a partner or cuddling with your kids somehow takes the angst out of uncomfortable conversations, so I use them both indoors and outdoors in modern buildings,” said Irish-born interiors guru Clodagh, who is known for her focus on natural materials. “Fire is one of the five elements in feng shui along with water, wood and metal, so it should always be represented in a room.”