Fireplaces are a heartwarming addition to any space, although the logistics of the traditional fireplace deter a lot of people from having one in their modern home. If you are located in a city, purchasing real wood can be a pain as well as irritatingly expensive. Not to mention the hazards of lighting a real fire and real logs with the side effects of real smoke and the sacrifice of the Sunday Times. The electric fireplace is a solution to this, but there is something unsatisfying about flipping a switch to see some fake logs “lit” by a small flame.

Prometheus. Designed by Safretti.

For apartment dwellers, fireplaces become even more inaccessible, as the supply of fresh air and a flue become difficult to come by. I’ve seen flue-less fireplaces before, although burning perfectly good fuel for a little visual stimuli seems wasteful in this age of eco-consciousness. Thankfully, Safretti is making eco-friendly flue-less fireplaces that burn potato-infused bio-alcohol. Their cradle-to-cradle concept, a first for the industry, makes sure that fuel and materials used in product and packaging are officially sustainable.

Double Vision. Designed by Safretti.

Prometheus. Designed by Safretti.

Curva. Designed by Safretti.

Aside from sustainable, Safretti fireplaces are gorgeous. The newest line, Double-Vision by designer Jan des Bouvrie, combines the eco-flame, in a cerebral move, with a flat screen TV. A statement about the visual art pieces that fireplaces have become, Double-Vision also solves the problem of how to hang your television over the fireplace without fear of an electric meltdown. True irony would be playing a dvd of a fireplace while watching your own potato-burning fireplace below. Other lines of Safretti fireplaces include the Curva, the Gaya and the Nemo, to name a few. Each line is unique and modern, and truly pushes the concept of a fireplace as combustion art.