Our thoughts after three years with our Ortal Wilderness Stand Alone Three Sided 25H fireplace. We can’t believe how big of an impact it had on our home.
In This Post
A House Designed Around a Fireplace
When we purchased the Red House in 2023, we knew it would eventually have a fireplace. We planned for it. We measured down to the 1/4″ to ensure proper clearances around it for the big sliding door. We adjusted walls, cabinets and future furniture layouts for it. In short, we considered the fireplace in every single decision we made until it was installed. Three years ago, it went in and our dreams were realized.
The Three-Sided Focal Point
Since the entire space was planned around the fireplace, it was only fair that you could see the flames from every point in the room. The main reason that we selected the Ortal Wilderness Stand Alone Three Sided 25H is that (as the name suggests) it offers unobstructed views of the flames from three sides. The common living room/dining room/kitchen in the Red House is long and narrow, so it was the perfect application for this simple, understated beauty.
Unique Features
Another reason we chose Ortal is the Wilderness Collection’s flame-through-log technology. The gas flames actually flow through the logs for the most realistic-looking gas fireplaces we’ve ever seen. Multiple visitors have asked if it’s real wood and it’s honestly hard to tell!
The fireplace also features a handy remote. It turns the fireplace on and off, adjusts the flames from high to low and can even control the unit if the power goes out. Thankfully, we haven’t had to take advantage of that feature yet, but in the case of a power outage, this gas-powered beauty should be able to heat the entire house!
Three Years of Flawless Performance
After we posted this reel last week, we got a lot of comments and messages asking about the fireplace. What brand is it? Who installed it? Do we still like it? We covered most of that in the original blog post, but it’s been three years. How are we feeling about it now? Honestly, the fireplace has performed so flawlessly that we don’t even think about it. It feels like it simply belongs in the home. Because it does. It was designed to be there. We walk in, turn it on with the press of a button and forget about it.
We’ve had exactly one issue with the unit since we installed it and it had nothing to do with the fireplace. We arrived one weekend after a particularly rainy week and the fireplace simply wouldn’t turn on. We tried everything. Ortal’s helpful customer service line walked us through every trouble shooting step to no avail. Eventually, we realized that the GFCI circuit on a nearby outdoor outlet had been left uncovered and had tripped the breaker. Duh. Sometimes the simplest answer is the least obvious one.
The Future
We’ve loved this fireplace so much for the last three years that we’ve been plotting all of the different ways we could incorporate a similar one into our adjacent Tree House. We’re a little more restricted on space over there, but Ortal recently released a more compact Three Sided model that just might be able to fit.
This fireplace has been a dream come true for everyone in our family. Including our resident dog and all of the silly fosters that have spent time in this home. It’s warm and inviting and has truly become the home’s centerpiece, just as we imagined. Now we just need to find a way to squeeze one in next door.
Ready-to-Ship Standalone Fireplaces
If you’re in the market for a similar fireplace for your home, we’ve rounded up a few ready-to-ship options below. They’re slightly less customizable, but if time is of the essence, they just might be the right fit for your home.
1. metal heating fireplace with three windows | 2. mf fire nova 2 wood stove | 3. kingsman fdv451 gas stove | 4. majestic trilliant 30 free standing gas fireplace
Looking for more Red House content? See where it all began here, follow along room-by-room here, and shop all the home sources here!
Planning the clearances to the quarter inch around the big sliding door before the fireplace even went in explains why it looks so settled in that long, narrow room. The tripped GFCI on the outdoor outlet is a good reminder to check the boring things first. In a room that long, does the three-sided unit warm the kitchen end as well as the seating area, or does the heat mostly stay around the sofa?
Thanks Henry! If we leave the fireplace on full power, it’ll have us sweating in the common areas in about an hour. Having the fireplace on with the windows open to keep a breeze flowing is one of our favorite things in the world.