Homeowners Warm Up
To Fake Fireplaces

John Keprios now has three remote controls at his Minnesota home: one for the TV, another for the VCR -- and then there's the one for the fireplace. Press "auto" and flames burst from his hearth of ceramic wood. "It's the nicest piece of furniture in the family room," says the 50-year-old parks and recreation director who lives in Eagan, Minn. "And very realistic."

Here's a hot tip: Faux fireplaces have somehow turned into a cool home accessory. Thanks to high-tech enhancements like artificial embers (they glow like the real thing), digital soundtracks (yes, you'll hear a recording of a blaze) and even flame-free "holographic" fires, these fake hearths are finally getting some respect. Of the 1.3 million fireplaces sold last year, almost 60% were fueled by gas, and sales were up 15% in the first half of this year. And while electric fireplaces and heating stoves still only account for a small part of the business, they're the fastest growing segment, up 22% this year from the first half of 2001.

But aren't they, well, fake? Maybe so, but owners of these things -- and even some purists -- say that, like everything from Ultrasuede couches to "pleather" pants, a fake fireplace is no longer an embarrassment. Indeed, the pricier and fancier these things get, the more they become a status symbol for the homeowner who wants everything. A few models cost almost as much as a Sub-Zero refrigerator now, such as the top model in the electric "Symphony Encore" line, which goes for $5,300 (extension cord not included).

"People can't believe that it's not real," says Susan White, who shelled out about $3,500 for a new gas fireplace in her den in a suburb of Tulsa, Okla. Never mind that she's decorated the rest of her home with an authentic look, from the Oriental rugs and European antiques to the professional Dacor stove in the kitchen. "I'm sold on them," she says.

Not long ago, of course, imitation fireplaces were right up there with pink flamingos, ridiculed for their bright blue flames and conspicuously phony cement "logs." But that was before the advent of things like Ember Fyre, a patented system with hidden tubes that colors the fire a realistic yellow by mixing air with the gas. This new generation also lets owners pick which kind of fake log they prefer ("twisted pine" or "royal English designer oak?"), control the amount of heat and even dial in the right mood, from a ski-lodge roar to a romantic flicker. "There have been huge improvements," says Brian Herzfeld, product manager at Heat-N-Glo, based in Lakeville, Minn., which builds an auto-shutoff "sleep" timer into some of its remote controls.

Even electric models, which once looked like glorified lightbulbs, have come a long way. Jeff Haas, a building contractor in Cincinnati, went with electric because he was worried about his four-year-old son burning himself. He got a model that lets you turn the heat off while keeping the three-dimensional "flame" on. Now Mr. Haas runs the fire even when it's sweltering outside and he's got the air conditioner running full blast. "I'm an outdoorsy kind of guy," he says. "I run a fire anytime I can."

For Lazy People

Travis Industries

Then there's the question of aesthetics, sure to ignite a debate among traditionalists. Some complain that the hearths still look tacky and that the "cracklers," $70 battery-operated gadgets that make popping noises, sound like "rattling pipes." When Faith Catlin and her husband needed a new fireplace for their Lyme, N.H., home, they didn't even consider a gas hearth. Fake fires "are for lazy people," says Ms. Catlin, a 53-year-old theatrical director. "I'd be embarrassed to have one in my house."

Try telling that to legions of boomers, whose backs get more fragile every year. Connie Sublett was tired of hauling wood and cleaning up soot, so she opted for not one but two imitation fires -- a 4-foot gas model for the living room and an electric hearth in oak for her Victorian-style dining room. "My husband thought I was crazy at first," says Mrs. Sublett, a 51-year-old freight broker in Elkland, Mo. But now even he's a convert. "He loves the remote control."

Heat-N-Glo

Postmodern Fire

More fake fires are on the way, with some manufacturers even building them into pieces of furniture. At Travis Industries, based in Kirkland, Wash., they're coming out with a $2,800 "Bed & Breakfast" model, which comes installed in a china cubby with a blaze in the cabinet area. ("It's a whole new way to put fire in the house," says Kurt Rumens, president of Travis.) And get ready for postmodern fire, courtesy of Goppa Fireplaces' new "Moods Collection," designed with interchangeable blue, red or pink flames that sprout from glowing glass pebbles that look like ice cubes.

For Joan Petersen, a 40-year-old dental hygienist in St. Anthony, Minn., the cooler nights mean she'll be depending more than ever on her gas fire, which she enjoys with a "Crackling Accents" CD soundtrack and some wood-scented incense burning on the mantle. "When it's 10 below zero," she says, "it's the only thing that gets the chill out of the bone."

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