Swedish company Vauni is rethinking fire: “the fundamental nature of what fire brings about—warmth, harmony, joy—must never be overlooked.” The company admits the difficulty inherent in the design process: “Designing a fireplace that paraphrases the profound tradition of wood-burning represents a great challenge.” With Markus Grip at the helm, Vauni has succeeded in designing bio-fueled fireplaces that “harmonize with the value of fire.”

Cupola Fireplace. Designed by Vauni.

The Vauni fireplaces house fire as if the element were itself an art piece, framing the flame. In addition to the beauty of the Vauni line, the fireplaces are chimney-free and ethanol-powered—hence, a great option for all manner of living conditions and spaces. Another great feature is that the Vauni fireplaces are all manufactured in Sweden, Scandinavia, ensuring high standards of quality “as well as ethical working conditions.”

Cupola, their wall-mounted fireplace, takes its cue from Vauni’s Globe, an orb-shaped design that sits on the floor. Cut in half and stripped of its feet, Globe becomes a streamlined option that doesn’t take up valuable floor space. In black or white, Cupola’s lightweight aluminum body “makes an impressive yet slender wall-ornament.” At approximately 59 pounds, Cupola is no feather, but it’s no monolith either: it’s comparable to the weight of a 55” flat screen television—and Vauni claims Cupola is as easy to install. Holding 2 liters of fuel, Cupola stays lit for five hours of burn time. It’s certainly true that even unlit the Cupola is interesting, although its sculptural form works better in certain interiors. Unfortunately, “the world’s only hemisphere-shaped biofueled fireplace” is not distributed globally. Vauni has not yet crossed the oceans. Hopefully, a savvy North American company can remedy that soon.