Property: 8 cosy homes with real fireplaces
Nothing says cosy quite like an open fire or wood burning stove.
As well as heating up the room and creating a welcoming ambience, it’ll help to reduce your energy bills, particularly if you have your own supply of logs.
Don’t forget to get the chimney swept once a year, fit a carbon monoxide detector and avoid hanging festive decorations too close.
Read more: The most stunning properties of 2022
"It may seem an obvious reminder cautioning people to keep flammable decorations a safe distance from the fireplace, but some will fail to identify how far an ember or spark can travel," says Alan Young, compliance manager for HETAS, the not-for-profit solid fuel safety standards organization.
All these properties for sale have atmospheric real fires or stoves, so why not take a look?
1. Kirkliston, Edinburgh, offers over £250,000
A modern inset wood burner creates a striking focal point in the reception room of this upgraded three-bedroom semi-detached house west of Edinburgh.
Other improvements include a refitted kitchen with a breakfast bar, space for a dining table and underfloor heating, and a contemporary fully tiled bathroom with a built-in TV, also with underfloor heating. Available through Neilsons via ESPC.
2. Collyweston, Northamptonshire, £425,000
This well-maintained grade II listed cottage nestles in a corner of the village high street.
It has two bedrooms, a first floor bathroom, a walled garden and is brimming with period features such as mullioned windows and exposed timber beams and stonework.
The most striking of all is the inglenook fireplace in the sitting room at the front, fitted with a multi-fuel stove and the perfect place to warm up after a bracing walk. For more information, contact Knight Partnership.
3. Totnes, Devon, £695,000
Much bigger than it looks, this grade II listed Georgian townhouse enjoys views of Totnes castle and the surrounding countryside.
The ground floor comprises a kitchen/dining room opening out to the south-facing patio via bifold doors, and there are wood burners in both the living room and the separate sitting room.
Four bedrooms and two bathrooms are arranged over two upper floors, and a large summerhouse at the end of the garden could be converted into extra accommodation, an office or workshop. Contact Marchand Petit.
4. Over Compton, Sherborne, Dorset, £1m
East Wing is part of Compton House, a manor house with 11th century roots that was sympathetically converted into four properties in 2007.
Behind the imposing crenellated façade you’ll find a comfortable family home packed with period features and providing plenty of space for socialising and unwinding.
Extending to a mighty 7,000 square feet, it includes six bedrooms, five bathrooms and two rather grand reception rooms.
The sitting/dining room has two huge windows, French doors and a carved, central open fireplace, and there’s another open fireplace in the adjacent drawing room. Through Jackson-Stops.
5. Felton, Morpeth, Northumberland, offers over £1.25m
Sitting in nearly five acres of land, Shothaugh High Cottage is an extended and remodelled stone-built country house with five bedrooms, three bathrooms and fantastic countryside views.
Its hub is a huge open-plan, farmhouse-style kitchen/dining room, separated by a double-sided log burner from a garden room where floor-to-ceiling windows gaze down the wooded Coquet Valley. Available through Finest Properties.
6. Winchester, Hampshire, £1.45m
With a beamed ceiling and exposed brick inglenook fireplace complete with a blazing stove in the drawing room, this 15th century cottage could hardly be more inviting.
It’s believed to have once been occupied by the master stonemason of nearby Winchester cathedral and is surprisingly spacious, also featuring an open plan kitchen/dining room, a sitting room, four bedrooms, two bathrooms plus a 140 foot garden with a swimming pool. For more details contact Knight Frank.
7. Over Dinsdale, Darlington, County Durham, offers over £1.85m
The Grange would make a fantastic forever home as it’s designed for family living and lavish entertaining inside and out.
Along with six bedrooms and four bathrooms, the main house has a study, library and three south-facing reception rooms, all with period fireplaces.
It’s connected to a converted barn kitted out with a games room, bar and gym, and comes with a cottage, treehouse, stable block, football training pitch, playpark and fishing rights on the River Tees. Through Blenkin & Co.
8. Sinalunga, Siena, Italy, €5m (£4,375,708)
Heating might not be high on your wish list when hunting for a luxury Tuscan retreat but it’s worth bearing in mind as the nights can get pretty chilly at this time of year.
This renovated historic villa — now divided into three apartments — should be as warm as toast as wood-burning stoves are fitted throughout.
Running costs are kept low as it generates its own electricity and you can look forward to using the swimming pool, sun terrace and tennis court once the weather improves. For sale through Sotheby’s International Realty.