Interior Design Trends For 2012 - Victoriana

In our second entry on design trends for 2012 we look at Victoriana. Family life revolved around the fireplace, hot water would come from the stove, almost all heat came exclusively from the fireplace with the Cast Iron "Victorian" radiator not becoming commonplace until the very late 19th Century.
No Victorian style living room would be complete without the traditional fireplace, so in this entry we shall suggest some of the very best ideas to complete that Victoriana finish. Forget the over-furnished rooms and heavy drapes. While traditional and would give the Victorian finish, they are a little bit over the top for our liking.
Our first suggestion is part of the Premier range from Cast Tec, The Cast Tec Dublin Cast Iron Insert with  the Harton Cast Iron Surround. The traditional Victorian finish is displayed in the quality antique finish and complements the matt black and highlight polished areas of the Harton fireplace surround.
Available with either gas, electric or solid fuel means this fire is suitable for anyone, whether you have a chimney or not:

• Gas fire with a maximum heat input of 6.9kW with natural gas as standard and is suitable for class 1 or 2 flues
• Electric fire that comes with two heat settings of 900W & 1800W which is controlled by a remote control as standard, top venting fire with LED effect and adjustable height
• Solid fuel kit which comes complete with fret, ashpan, grate and operating tool. Capable of burning wood peat, and other smokeless fuels

The Dublin & Harton could be used just to give that Victorian highlight and a focal point, or, as pictured in conjunction with other furniture in the room to create a stunning theme that can be the basis for a beautiful home.

Our next suggestion is another cast-iron combination, This time from Carron. The Lambourn Cast-Iron Combination features traditional Victorian styling, that just like the Cast Tec Dublin would create an ideal talking point in any room. The detailing on the mantle and the canopy both add to the effect, while the choice of solid fuel, natural gas or LPG mean that you can have that stunning center-piece, while the choice of tiles means that you can cater the apperaance to your existing decor.

Both of the above fireplaces would create that a stunning Victorian feel to any room, rarely was any piece of furniture not adorned with accessories, pieces were carefully positioned for maximum impact.  Pick lighting, throws and cushions with needlepoint detailing, lampshades with intricate patterns; mini statuettes and even faux stuffed animals to complete that Victoriana look.

CastTec Fireplaces

Cast Tec provide a wide range of cast iron surrounds as well as a variety of different options that can be selected on each product. Each product can be customized to suit the user so that they can choose the colour, the surround, the hearth and also what type of fire they want to go into the fireplace.

On some of the Cast Tec products the customer is able to select optional extras such as a canopy, tile inserts and fireback’s. The fireback’s have been provided as an optional extra on most of the products and will be specific to the fire that has been chosen. The tile inserts come in a range of different styles and finishes so that there is always something that the customer will like. The canopy’s can be added to a couple of products and provide a different design to what the customer would usually get.

One of Cast Tec’s ranges is the Integra collections which offers the fireplace as one whole piece but it can still be altered to the liking of the customer. The Integra collection also offers a wide range of fires that can be chosen for each fireplace such as a powerflue and a balanced flue along with an electric fire and a solid fuel option. Cast Tec also produce some individual fires and stoves so that customers can just buy a fire and not have to purchase the whole cast iron insert. The fires that are available individually are the Multiflue, Convector, Powerflue and the High Efficiency fire which produces a 4Kw heat output with an efficiency rating of 80%. The two multifuel stoves that Cast Tec offer are the Newark 5 and the Oregon 7 which are both capable of burning wood, peat and other smokeless fuels. The surrounds that are provided by Cast Tec come in an array of different styles and finishes such as Limestone, Carrara Marble, Solid Pine, Solid Oak and Granite which will all be accompanied by a black granite hearth available in different shapes and sizes.

One of the best fire options that Cast Tec offer is the balanced flue because it produces a maximum heat output of 4.3KW and also has an efficiency rating of 94% which is the highest available in the range. The balanced flue is also available in the majority of the fires from the Premier collection and would be ideal for anyone without a chimney. The Premier and the Classic are the other two collections from Cast Tec and they provide a wide range of products in different designs and styles. Each product also comes with a lot of different options to make sure that the customer can customize their fire to how they want it. The Premier and Classic collections both offer very similar fire options in terms of Gas, Electric and Solid Fuel, the main differences are the designs of the cast iron inserts and mantels that are available to choose from.

Along with cast iron inserts the Premier collection also offers a couple of stoves called the Newark 5 and the Oregon 7 which are both multifuel stoves that are capable of burning wood, peat and other smokeless fuels. Cast Tec also provides a gas and multifuel basket option called the Lions Basket which comes with a variety of back panel options from a reeded back to the decorative Adam panel.

Another unique product that Cast Tec offers is the combinations that include the cast iron insert and the mantel all in one product which makes it a lot easier to install and also makes it more compact to fit into smaller rooms. A good example of the cast iron combination is the Ashfield which comes a in a variety of finishes and also available in gas, electric or solid fuel. A unique surround that Cast Tec offers is the Tulip Solid Pine which incorporates two tulips into the design of the surround and would make it a real talking point for any room.

Along with the different surrounds that can be chosen, the customer is also able to select from a range of tile and cast iron sleeves on some of the products. The tile sleeves are available with a variety of different patterns in bright colours that really add to the design of the fireplace. The customer could also choose to have Cast Iron Sleeves that would give the fire a more traditional look, with the matt black and polished finish. A few of these sleeves can be selected at once so that the user can change them as and when they want.

All hearths that are provided with the fireplaces are Black Granite and come with the option of being a slabbed or tongued hearth to make sure that the user really gets to choose how they want it to look. The slabbed hearth option is for solid fuel fires only but all the rest are available in different sizes to fit with the size of the mantel chosen. Overall Cast Tec are a very good company that offer a very wide range of products to make sure that there is something for everyone and so that the customer can also choose how they want the fire to look and perform. Cast Tec at Fireplace Megastore