We’ve been in our new home since April 2025. So quick maths, that’s six months at the time of writing this blog post. It feels like we’ve been here for a long time, and it’s crazy how quickly a new property purchase can become like home in such a short space of time. There were many loves that we discovered when viewing our property the first time, and one of them was this log-burning fireplace that the previous owners had constantly burning whilst we were there.
It warmed a lot of the house, and just the aesthetic it created within the space was perhaps one of the many factors that made us put in an offer.
Coming from London, from a two-bed flat, we fell in love with that rustic, country-living vibe that our semi-detached offered to us. There are so many wonderful touches that I’ll be sharing on my blog, as well as other things that we’re going to do ourselves to make the house our own over the next several years.
But back to the log-burning fire. We got this cleaned out when we moved in because I wanted to make sure that it was sorted out and ready for use by the time we started using it. We used a great service locally to us, which mentioned it hadn’t been cleaned out for some time. I’ve cleaned it once since using it, which involves removing all of the charred remains from the bottom tray.
I’ve also attempted to use some of the charred remains to clean the glass on the outside, which I plan to do again and more vigorously next time. It’s a bit messy, but worth it to keep the glass clean.
One of the first things we bought was a custom fireguard. Although it cost us over £100, it’s a really sturdy guard that comes with a gate at the front so that it can be easily opened and shut. That has helped when we need access to the fire without having to lean over the fireguard.
We also got these brass-style log and kindling holders, which I’m in love with. I really want gold/brass touches to the space to go with the clock and the rustic wood that we have on our windowsill and above the fireplace itself. The only drawback I’d say is that the Kindling one has a dip at the front that’s a little too low, so you can’t fill it up as much as the log one.
Before we started using the fireplace and before it got cleaned, I’d asked the guy who serviced it for us what we needed to keep it maintained and to use it effectively.
He suggested we get a fireplace companion set. This consists of a brush, which helps clear out all of the remaining ash without needing to touch it. You’ve got the shovel, which helps greatly for shoveling out the charred remains. There’s a poker, which is a classic tool used with a log-burning fire, and a set of tongs, which is somewhat helpful for moving and rotating logs as and where needed.
If you’re looking to purchase any of these, you can find them below:
Surprisingly, when it came to shopping for the wood, we found that Home Bargains offers some great bags of wood for around £4 per bag. I’d say you get about 3-4 fire-burning sessions with each bag, and while we use the log-burning fire regularly, we don’t use it all of the time, every day.
I think at some point further down the line, we’ll want to get a woodfire storage so that we can order it in bulk to save money and have the ability to use the log-burner more often.
We are certainly enjoying using our log-burning fire, and we can’t wait to get it burning over the festive period to keep us warm and cosy. Do you have a log-burning fire? Let me know in the comments below.
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