Club Fenders .us  

This page is for YOUR IDEAS and COMMENTS. Contributions from designers, architects, fireplace professionals and homeowners will be added as received. 

 

YOUR PICTURES: Send me a picture showing a club fender. I would love to see it and with your permission share it on this website. 

 

Relevance: As a seat the club fender immediately adds relevance to a fireplace. It emotes "This is a place to sit and enjoy a fire!" Literally and figuratively the bench celebrates the fireplace for its historical function in daily life (warmth, food and comfort) and as the centerpoint for socialization &/or reflection. 

 

Tending Fire: For tending the fire, making it, adding logs, stoking, cleaning, etc. it's a real comfort to do so from a seated position. Ladies may not think this a great feature, but the man in the house will.  

 

Is your hearthstone slightly raised? A club fender avoids tripping incidents near the hearth. It's adds an element of safety for children near the fire.

 

Consider the mantel-work. Whether plain or bespoke, consider the added artistry and function of a club fender to add interest and importance to the surrounding features of the firebox. Almost universally, a bench makes a major design impact when the fireplace is set into a masonry wall without mantel.

 

Added seating in small rooms: It adds extra seats without taking space. It'll also serve as an ottoman or coffee table. Wonderful for library or a quiet sitting room, den, etc.

 

Added seating in a large room: It lends proportion and makes for a more intamtely arranged conversation area. With the typical placement of chairs and sofas either side of the fireplace, the bench allows for the converstaion to be among two or three on one side, anothe small grouping on the other and for all-in-one participation as the topic directs. This feature is particularly leveraged to advantage in club settings and when entertaining large numbers/social events. 

 

Orphaned Fireplaces: These are the fireplaces oddly situated in a corner or end wall of a large room, etc. A club fender adds relevance and function by creating a natural extra conversation section. 

 

Dining Room: In wonderful homes a fireplace is often part of the dining room but rarely used. With a formal dining table, chairs, buffet, etc. the room proportion is too tight to add altenative seating. The club fender can do so, as well a provide an artistic and relevant element for the fireplace.   

 

Master Suite: Perhaps most overlooked (and under-served) is the fireplace in the master bedroom suite. The bench adds wonderful functionality as an occaissional seating era and table of sort. It adds artistry, interest and relevance. The children will love it! Consider upholstering the seat in a mod-leather, hide with hair on it, or a fabric complementary to overall room decor.