If you’re considering a three-sided fireplace for your home, you’re not alone. Multi-sided fireplaces have never been more popular and it’s a growing category among electric fireplace manufacturers. With electric fires, a three-sided fireplace is easy to design and install, with tons of options for size, viewing area and overall depth. Because electric fireplaces are zero-clearance, we don’t have to worry about limiting our designs to fire-rated materials. Plus, heating is consistent from size to size, so a smaller electric fireplace will heat up the same amount of space as a larger one, and a larger one won’t overheat the room. If you have kids or pets in your home, you will also be happy to note that the glass on an electric fireplace won’t be hot to the touch, even when the heater is on, so there’s no risk of burns. With more glass to touch, safety is not something you want to worry about!
When designing a three-sided fireplace, you can choose to make the wall width the same as the fireplace width, so that the sides of the fireplace line up with the corners of the wall. Or, you can set the three-sided fireplace into the wall, so that the sides are recessed slightly from the corners of the wall. There is no right or wrong. You can also choose to block one end, to create an L-shaped fireplace, or you can block both ends to create a frameless single-sided fireplace. Electric three-sided fireplaces are super-easy to work with and very flexible.
To simplify your search for a three-sided electric fireplace, we’re taking the best of them and dividing them into categories, so you can compare models that have something in common. We hope this will help you to narrow down your options more quickly.
Three-sided fireplaces with video flames
Electric fireplaces with LCD (video) flames are still less prevalent than regular LED electric fires. For some homeowners and designers, this is the ultimate in realism, because it is literally a video of real fire. Not all manufacturers are working with LCD flames yet, but a few have risen to the top.
Modern Flames Orion Multi – OR52-MULTI, OR60-MULTI, OR76-MULTI, OR100-MULTI, OR120-MULTI
Orion offers 3 different flame styles, and you can personalize each one with coloured accent lighting from above or below the ember bed. With a framing depth of just 9-inches, this is one of the slimmest three-sided fireplaces available. It is also one of the most flexible, because it can be installed fully-flush with the wall, partially into the wall, or it may be hung on the wall surface. This is not true of most three-sided electric fireplaces.
Napoleon Luminex – NEFL65LCD-3SV
Luminex has a completely different flame style than Orion, with a bolder orange wood fire and a vibrant yellow gas fire. You can switch between the two video flames, depending on your preference. It comes with gorgeous natural-looking logs and tinted glass embers. It’s slightly deeper than Orion Multi, with a framing depth of 12.5-inches. It is also dual-voltage, so it may be connected to either 120 or 240 volts, with maximum heating capacity of up to 800 square feet on 240 volts.
Three-sided fireplaces with water vapour flames
Amantii Signature – TRV-55-SIG, TRV-75-SIG
Fireplaces that can turn tap water into mist ‘flames’ are built on Dimplex Optimyst technology, which has been around for over a decade. Amantii has recently incorporated Optimyst cassettes into their own LED fireplaces, including a three-sided fireplace modelled on their TRV-Bespoke series. The Signature fireplaces have an extra-tall 22-inch viewing window, and require 21.5-inches of framing depth. They also need to be connected to a water line, to keep the water reservoirs filled. In addition to natural-looking flames that respond to air movement like a candle flame, Amantii Signature also has crackling sound effects.
Extra-tall LED Three-sided fireplaces
Amantii Tru-View Xtra-Tall — 40-TRV-XT-XL, 50-TRV-XT-XL, 60-TRV-XT-XL, 72-TRV-XT-XL, 88-TRV-XT-XL
If you like the idea of an extra-tall viewing window, Amantii also makes their regular LED three-sided electric fireplace in an extra-tall profile with 22-inch viewing area. Flames are yellow, orange and red. Framing depth is 14.25-inches. The regular-height Amantii Tru-View-XL series has the same framing depth, if you prefer this depth without the additional height.
Deep LED Three-sided fireplaces
Dimplex Ignite Ultra – ULT50, ULT60, ULT74, ULT88, ULT100
Ignite is known for linear fireplaces with realistic flames and an industry-leading 5-year parts and 5-year service warranty. Ignite Ultra is the deepest Dimplex three-sided fireplace, with a framing depth of 15-inches. The extra depth accommodates illuminated logs that glow from within, as if they are burning. This adds authenticity to the flame effects. Ignite Ultra is dual-voltage, so heat output maxes out around 10,000 BTUs on 240 volts.
Slim LED Three-sided fireplaces
Dimplex Ignite Bold – XLF5017-XD, XLF6017-XD, XLF7417-XD, XLF8817-XD, XLF10017-XD
Ignite Bold has realistic flame effects in a framing depth of just 11.625-inches. Driftwood logs complement the flame effects without the internal illumination of the Ignite Ultra. Like all other Ignite models, this one is dual-voltage and has a 5-year parts and labour warranty.
Amantii Tru-View Slim — 30-TRV-SLIM, 40-TRV-SLIM, 50-TRV-SLIM, 60-TRV-SLIM, 72-TRV-SLIM
Amantii’s slimmest three-sided fireplace has a framing depth of just 11.125-inches. It features the same yellow, orange and red flames as other Tru-View models, with smaller logs and less glass at the sides. It is 120-volt only.
Wall-mounted Three-sided fireplaces
Napoleon Astound Flexmount – NEFL50AB, NEFL62AB, NEFL74AB
With an overall depth of just 7.125-inches, the Flexmount three-sided fireplace may be hung on the wall surface, or mounted fully-flush or semi-flush in the wall. Because it is so shallow, there is just 2.75-inches of glass at the side, but the logs have been designed to look larger than you will find in other slim electric fireplaces. It is dual-voltage and has the same flames and features as the deeper built-in Astound. Unlike other wall-hung three-sided fireplaces noted below, this one is designed to be wall-mounted, so there’s no need to cover the framework.
Amantii LumaForest – LF48, LF63
LumaForest may be built-in to the wall, either fully or partially. It may also be mounted on the wall. However, it has an overall depth of about 12.25-inches, and you will need to find a way to cover the metal framework of the fireplace, as it’s not designed to be exposed. It is also dual-voltage.
Modern Flames Landscape Pro Multi – LPM-4416, LPM-5616, LPM-6816, LPM-8016, LPM-9616, LPM-12016
Modern Flames is known for having some of the best coloured flames and accent lighting in the industry. The unique colour-wheel remote allows you to independently adjust the colours of the flames, downlighting and ember-bed lighting. This is a dual-voltage unit that may connect to either 120 or 240 volts. It may be installed flush with the wall, semi-flush into the wall or on the wall surface. Overall depth is 11.5-inches, and it must be covered up with a cabinet as it’s not designed to be exposed.
Summary
There are many ways to incorporate an electric three-sided fireplace into your home design, in a range of sizes and installation options.