Sure-fire warmth

Building to face the north will ensure your home is warm on summer days and evenings, but a good architect will also carefully consider the best heating methods for the rest of the year.

In the new Herne Bay villas, developer Hemisphere Group and architect Darren Jessop opted to heat the formal living room with a Jetmaster 850 open gas fire from The Fireplace.

This fireplace offers the ambience of a traditional open fire, but with the convenience and efficiency of gas. Its firebox is robust, and the fire offers both high radiant and convected heat, which is optimised by the villas' masonry construction.

"This fireplace provides a focal point in the formal living area and adds to the comfort and warmth of the space," says Bastiaan Struyck of Hemisphere Group.

The Fireplace specialises in gas and wood-burning fires from manufacturers Jetmaster and Heat-n-Glo, and stocks the Gazco fireplace range from Europe.

For more information, contact The Fireplace Ltd, Auckland: 12 Tawari St, phone (09) 623 6990; Hamilton: cnr Alexandra and Hood Sts, phone (07) 839 7146; Wellington: Capital Gateway Retail Centre, Upper Level, 34-56 Thorndon Quay, phone (04) 473 7207; Christchurch: 54 Mandeville St, phone (03) 348 8011; Dunedin: phone (03) 479 0041; or for your nearest agent, phone 0800 843 347. Website: www.thefireplace.co.nz.

Story by: Trendsideas