Fireplace Guide: Choosing a Fireplace for Your Media Wall
Creative Custom Carpentry of Southwest Florida (CCCofSWFL)
Many of the media walls and built-ins we design include an electric fireplace. Choosing the right one makes a big difference in how the finished wall looks and how much you enjoy using it. This page gathers what we’ve learned in one place, so you can compare your options before we design around your fireplace.
The main types of electric fireplaces
Linear built-in (recessed)
A long, wide unit set into the wall so the glass sits flush with the finished surface. The most popular choice for media walls.
Pros:
- Clean, modern, built-in look
- Many widths, from about 30 to over 70 inches
- Most heat from the front or bottom, which is friendlier to a TV above
Cons:
- Needs a framed opening and wall depth (some models are only about 4 inches deep)
- Usually needs its own electrical circuit
Wall-mount (surface)
Hangs on the wall like a TV and plugs in.
Pros:
- Lowest cost and easiest install
- Some models can be recessed later
Cons:
- Sticks out from the wall, so it looks less built-in
- Some older or low-cost models blow heat out the top, which is not good under a TV
Insert (for an existing fireplace)
Slides into an existing fireplace opening.
Pros:
- Turns an unused old fireplace into a working one
- Often just plugs in
Cons:
- Sized for traditional openings, so not a fit for most new media walls
Three-sided or see-through
Glass on the front and sides, or on both faces, for peninsulas and room dividers.
Pros:
- Flame visible from several angles
- A real showpiece
Cons:
- More complex framing and finishing, so a higher installed cost
Water vapor (“mist”)
Uses light and a fine water mist to make flames and smoke that look remarkably real.
Pros:
- The most realistic flame up close
Cons:
- Gives off little or no heat
- Needs water added and occasional cleaning
- Usually costs more
What to watch for when you choose
- Flame and ember colors. See our color warning below. It’s the feature people most often regret not checking.
- How you control it. See our controls tip below: buttons on the unit, a phone app, a remote and voice control each have their place.
- The front: thin trim vs. frameless glass. See our tip below. This choice matters most when the wall around the fireplace has a texture.
- Heat and where it comes out. Electric fireplaces give supplemental heat (a standard 120-volt unit warms roughly a 400 sq. ft. room). If a TV will hang above, choose a model that sends heat out the front or bottom, not the top. Many units also have a flame-only mode with no heat, which is perfect for Florida evenings.
- Plug-in or hardwired. A 120-volt plug-in unit is simpler; a hardwired 240-volt unit can put out about twice the heat. Your electrician will confirm what your home needs.
- Size and depth. Match the width to the wall and the TV. Depth is just as important: see our depth warning below. We design the wall around the exact model you choose.
- Brightness and noise. Look for a dimmer for the flame and a quiet heater fan, especially in a bedroom or a quiet living room.
- Warranty and delivery. The glass fronts are large and can be damaged in shipping. Inspect the box and the glass when it arrives, and keep the warranty paperwork.
Color warning: “12 colors” may still mean only red, orange and yellow
Most fireplaces light up in three places: the ember bed (the glowing base), the flames in the background, and top or accent lights. Advertised color counts often just multiply those places together. Three choices in each spot is “9 color combinations,” but if every choice is red, orange or yellow, you really only have three looks, and they can feel bland.
In our experience, the most eye-catching fireplaces add blues, greens and purples and offer more choices in each spot. Five choices in the bed, five in the flames and five on top gives you a much wider range. The best ones also let the ember bed show several colors at once (for example a patch of blue, a patch of orange and a patch of red) instead of one flat color all the way across. That’s our opinion; your taste is what matters most.
How to check: ask exactly which colors are available in the bed, the flames and the top lights, and whether the bed can mix colors.
Depth warning: make sure it fits your wall
Fireplaces come in different depths: some are about 3 inches deep, many are about 5 inches, and some are deeper. Before you buy, check that the fireplace fits inside the wall space you have.
- No build-out wanted? Choose a fireplace thin enough to fit inside your existing wall.
- Building the wall out? Know the exact depth of your fireplace first, so the build-out comes out far enough to hold it, plus room for the wiring.
Our tip: choosing the controls
- Buttons on the fireplace itself: a must-have. On good models they stay black and blend into the glass, and only light up when you use them. If the remote or your phone goes missing, you can still turn the fireplace on and off.
- A phone app: highly suggested. Many people worry about losing the remote, and most of us keep track of our phones much better than our remotes. An app turns your phone into the remote.
- A remote is still handy for guests and family.
- Voice control (such as Alexa) is one more easy way to turn it on and off.
Look into each option, decide which ones you’ll really use, and weigh them against the cost. Happy hunting!
Our tip: watch the video before you buy
Most good fireplace listings include a video, a photo slideshow or an image slider you can drag back and forth. Watch them. They usually show the real flame colors, where the light comes from, the different settings, how the controls work and the exact measurements. Makers put their most impressive color options in the video because it sells the fireplace. If a fireplace has no video at all, be cautious: it may be hiding a plain or lower-quality flame.
Our tip: thin trim vs. frameless glass
Frameless, edge-to-edge glass looks sleek in pictures, but in a finished wall a fireplace with a thin metal trim around the glass is usually the better choice, especially when the surround has a texture (stone, stacked tile, plaster or a micro-cement look). The trim gives the finish a clean, straight edge to stop against and hides small gaps where the wall material meets the fireplace. With frameless glass, the textured surface has to meet the glass edge perfectly, and any small unevenness shows.
Our suggestion: give the fireplace and TV room to breathe
After building a great many media walls and accent walls, we’ve found that a wall usually looks its best when the beautiful surface you choose (shiplap, stone, wood, panels) continues evenly all the way around the fireplace and the TV, with about 10 inches or more on each side. An even, symmetrical frame of wall face tends to look better than a tiny strip on just the left or the right.
This is a suggestion, not a rule: some walls look great with less. As you look through our project photos, compare the spacing around each fireplace and TV and notice what you like. Our notes on each project point out why the spacing works, or how a little more (or less) room might have looked even better. We plan the wall width, the fireplace size and the TV size together to find the balance that suits your room.
Our design tips
- Pick the fireplace before the final drawings. Every model has its own framing size, depth and clearances in the installation manual. We draw your wall around the exact model, so it fits the first time.
- TV above? Plan at least 12 inches between the top of the fireplace and the bottom of the TV (or more if the manual says so), and choose front- or bottom-venting heat.
- Electrical. Fireplace wiring and any new circuit are done by your licensed electrician, and we coordinate the location with them.
- Leave access. We plan the wall so the fireplace can be serviced or replaced later without tearing out finished work.
See the whole media wall
This page focuses on the fireplace. To see our complete media walls, including the shelves, lighting, cabinets and TV walls built around each fireplace, visit the Media Walls page of our website.
Fireplaces from our projects
Here are fireplaces we have built into our clients’ media walls, with what each type does well, what to watch for, and roughly what that fireplace cost. We describe the features instead of naming brands, because models change often.
Every photo on this page is our own work. No stock photos. These are real media walls and fireplace walls built by Creative Custom Carpentry of Southwest Florida. We believe stock photos give customers a false picture of what a company can really do, so we only show images of our own work, so you can see exactly what we do. You won’t find stock photos anywhere on our website.
Want a fireplace media wall or a fireplace feature wall? Give us a call or text at 239-898-6162.
Notes on each of these projects (the type of fireplace, why it was chosen, how we built it in and roughly what it cost) are coming soon.
A courtesy from us to you. We research fireplaces and update this page from time to time. Models are sometimes discontinued, and companies sometimes go out of business, so a fireplace listed here may no longer be available. We apologize if that happens. This page is simply a courtesy to help you: it gathers useful information and the pros and cons of each option in one place, so you don’t have to search all over. You are always welcome to do your own research too. Happy searching!
We design it, then we build it
CCCofSWFL has designers on our team. We don’t just build media walls and fireplace walls, we design them. Many companies only install what someone else has drawn on a schematic. CCCofSWFL creates the schematic with you, drawn to scale on photos of your own room, and then takes your project all the way to completion.
Call CCCofSWFL for a consultation and see what we can design for your fireplace wall.
Planning a media wall or built-in with a fireplace?
Call or text Frank at 239-898-6162 (8 AM to 8 PM, any day) or email cccofswfl@gmail.com.
CCCofSWFL serves Southwest Florida.
General information only; always follow the fireplace maker’s installation instructions and local codes. Updated October 2026.