Nesting, An Ageless Urge - a story from a customer

Nesting, An Ageless Urge

A recent conversation with a friend reminded me that home nesting is a strong urge that can happen at any age.

Sarah’s parents were downsizing from their three-bedroom, suburban house to a smaller flat in the city. Comfortable in their retirement, James and Lucy realised that the beloved family home was turning into a bother.

“We all loved the old house. My sisters and I grew up there, but Mum and Dad have an active lifestyle with lots of travel. The house upkeep was becoming challenging, so they started looking at newer and smaller places near the centre,” said my friend.

Sarah explained that James and Lucy brainstormed the layout, furniture, and décor in a new house that would support their current busy retirement and a gradual slowdown due to age. A master bedroom with walk-in shower. An open kitchen with an island. An office converting to a second bedroom for the visiting grandson. One level and no stairs.

Additionally, James and Lucy wanted a wood-burning fireplace to complete their retirement nest.  Sarah knew that her parents enjoyed a roaring fire during family holidays and they would often build a fire for themselves.

“So many important family events happened with a crackling fireplace in the background, and my parents did not want to give that up.” Unfortunately, they had to scrap the idea after seeing several open houses. 

“Many newer developments or flats don’t offer the big, wood-burning fireplaces. They can be messy and smoky in smaller living rooms. We said goodbye to our old house and its fireplace.”

Despite that disappointment, Sarah said her mum settled into nesting mode as the new flat move-in construction neared completion. She relished creating a comfortable space that would support her and her husband’s active lifestyle.

“Everything was coming together nicely, and Mum was passionate about making this as reflective of their lives as possible. She felt, however, that something was missing in the living room along one wall. She and dad did not need a large entertainment system, since they are pretty comfortable with streaming stuff. And they did not want to build their new nest with a TV smack in the middle.”

So Lucy decided to research alternatives to wood-burning fireplaces in modern homes and discovered bio-ethanol fireplaces offered by Bio Fires company. Self-contained, real-flame fires burning from eco-friendly ethanol fuel, Bio Fires fireplaces require no gas connection or power supply. 
Sarah explained while some bio-ethanol fireplaces can be free-standing, her parents chose a model that hung on the bare wall in the living room, instantly making the house feel complete.  

Contemporary Living Room by London Fireplaces & Stoves Bio Fires

Traditional Living Room by London Fireplaces & Stoves Bio Fires

The low maintenance and self-containment of the Bio Fire fireplace were all attractive to Sarah’s parents, but the real fire flame sealed the deal.

James and Lucy also liked having an “on demand” fireplace easily lit with a long match, allowing them to recharge by the fire after a long flight home or at the end of a normal day.

“Mum and dad are healthy right now, but we know that over time carrying and lifting logs would become impossible. This kind of fireplace allows them to enjoy their nest regardless of their age. ”

My friend said her parents continue to enjoy the perfect final piece for their retirement nest.

Modern Living Room by Atlanta Architects & Building Designers Peace Design

People buy people. Why we encourage bio ethanol fires reviews and opinions.

People buy people. Why we encourage bio ethanol fires reviews and opinions.

There is an old marketing saying that is as true today as it ever was, and that is that 'people buy people'. What this means in terms of retail marketing is that any reputable business will supply a good product that looks and works as it is described, and do so courteously and efficiently, but it is often the endorsements of previous customers that can make – or break – a sale, as this 2013 report from North America testifies. We are good people to do business with and our customers agree.

This is one of the great advantages of the internet. It is now very easy for customers to leave their comments and observations on products and service for other potential customers to read. It is something we are very keen on for two reasons: if you like the products and service, we like to hear about it and so do other customers; if something goes wrong, we need to know how to improve what we do so that it doesn't happen again. This latter aspect is particularly important. There is another marketing adage that says 'if you can't measure it, you can't change it'. Feedback on when things don't go so well is useful to us and to future customers.

Most customer comments are reviews of particular products, such as this example from  the page for our Serenity Flame unit: 

“we purchased this wall hanging/mount bio fire after seeing so many on the internet. It was out of the box and hanging in 30 mins.” 

We like reviews like this because they give good information about the product itself and how easy it is to use.

A fireplace is an important feature of your living space. As these spaces come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, it is always useful to hear how customers have made best use of the space they have available, as this comment proves: 

“the style and shape of the living room was such that could not utilise a gas or traditional fire which would require all the correct ventilation fittings ... The biofuel fires provided the perfect solution to our longing for a real burning flame and authentic heat without the huge expense of electric or gas."

We don't edit our reviews, in fact they are handled entirely by a third party software integrated with our site, so what you see is as real as it gets. We are, of course, very happy to hear that we are doing a good job (“the personal service and advice we were given both over the phone initially and then on our visit was excellent”). Value for money is also a key factor, so comments such as 

“bought this good value tabletop to see how good they were before we invested in a larger fire. We were not disappointed and are now considering which larger standalone to buy” 

are really helpful to potential purchasers too.

We read every comment that comes in – we can't publish every negative remark because they usually refer to individual matters. But we do act on every one. In the spirit of making our website a friendly and welcoming place to do business, we encourage reviews and comments and this mechanism is built-in to all of our product pages. If you want to know anything at all about the products or the level of service you can expect from us, don't take our word for it – take a moment to read what our customers are saying!

Keeping things simple. A reflection about having a choice in life.

Keeping things simple

We recently got inspired by a guy called Barry Schwartz who is the Dorwin Cartwright Professor of Social Theory and Social Action at Swarthmore College. He is a psychologist by discipline and he speaks and writes very eloquently on what he calls the 'paradox of choice'. His argument is simple: the more choice we have, the more difficult it is to feel happy with our choices, or indeed make a choice in the first place. You can watch his insightful – and funny – presentation to the Technology Entertainment Design (TED) conference in 2007 here:

                   

In summary, Barry's theory is that choice in itself is not a liberating force but that on the contrary, it paralyses. That is the paradox. This theory is supported by lots of scientific data about how the ability to choose decreases as the amount of choice increases. We have all done it, haven't we, when presented with too much to choose from? We choose the thing we know the best, or the thing at the top of the list. The best and most frequent example of the paradox is what we have all faced when eating out in a restaurant: menu anxiety.

Choosing a fireplace might seem a long stretch from menu anxiety but the underlying principles are the same. There is no shortage of options when you are considering how to heat or decorate your living area. How do you make sense of them all, particularly when this is a choice you are probably not going to make very often? The solution you choose has to be the right one, because once you have made that choice, you're kind of stuck with it!

It's not even a single choice. You have to choose what fuel you wish to use, with all the attendant supply and regulation issues. You have to choose a style – do you want a traditional or modern fireplace? Do you have to alter or adapt your fireplace, or even build a new one to accommodate your heating choices? The deeper you get into the problem, the more complex it becomes. And this feeds your paralysis of choice, doesn't it?

One easy way of avoiding this paralysis is to keep things as simple as possible. Bio Ethanol Fires are an ideal solution to your fireplace dilemma in so many ways. A Bio Fire can stand pretty much anywhere in your room, so you are not limited to having to decide how best to use your existing fireplace. A Bio Fire doesn't need a chimney. It is low maintenance – all you have to do is wipe it from time to time. They come in a terrific range of sizes and traditional and modern styles (uh oh – choices!). Best of all, no pipes, no meters, no servicing and no dirty fuel to lug about. In fact, the fuel is an environmentally-friendly biofuel, so as well as the warm glow you will get from your Bio Fire, you know that you are using a fuel that is much less harmful to the environment. And if you choose to move house (more choices!), your Bio Fire can come with you. What could be simpler?

 

Can a bio fire add value to your home?

House prices may be on the rise again but as a seller, you can still be sure that it is a ‘buyers' market. And while prices remain relatively low, those buyers can afford to be a bit more discerning about their choices – there is still a lot more home available for their money than there was before the slump.

As a seller, you will want to be looking at all possible ways to make your house more attractive to potential buyers. Your fireplace can play a vital role in that first impression. It is the focal point of your living space, the warm heart of your home. It is usually the centrepiece of your family room too and the first place a visitor's eyes will wander to. You want to make sure that that first impression is of welcoming warmth and style.

Fireplaces, of course, come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, depending on the age of your house and the purpose for which they were originally installed. With the emphasis on the efficiency of home heating these days, it's unlikely that you are reliant on a traditional open fire to heat your home. In fact, open chimneys can be responsible for substantial heat loss in the winter. The prevalence of central heating often means that fireplaces no longer serve any useful purpose in a house these days and they are often blocked or removed.

Sterling Flame II wall hanging fireplace

If you want to rediscover the homely magic of a real fire and have that as a feature in your home, the ideal answer is a Bio Fire. Not only are Bio Fires available in a fantastic range of contemporary and traditional designs, they are a real fire that will warm your room and don't need a draughty chimney for ventilation. They add a homely atmosphere to any room without any of the drawbacks of a traditional fire. They are clean and stylish, burn with a clean, real flame and while they are odourless, you can even add fragrance to the fuel to give your room a seasonal ambience. Bio Fires come in a range of sizes, from table top conversation pieces to full fireplaces. This gives you the opportunity to open up that discarded fireplace to make a feature in a room that was lacking one before or to add a visual feature to your room. Bio Fires are endlessly adaptable too. If you don't have a fireplace to open up and simply want to add character to any room, a Bio Fire can be free-standing or wall-mounted to add an eye-catching talking point that is also a practical and attractive way of heating your room.



In a competitive marketplace, it is the attention to detail and the homeliness of your house that will sway a buyer. Bio Fires are modern and easy to maintain, they tell buyers that you have given thought to the aesthetic appeal and ambience of your home in a way that will make it stand out – which could be the difference it takes to help them make up their mind.

 Photo: © Alamy

Bio fire burner - customer review

A while back we were really surprised by one of our customers, Michael, who sent us a video review of a burner he purchased from us. He has bought our table top bio burner Cube II and created an ethusiastic video review!

Michael normally reviews electronic equipment but when he bought his Cube (on a very good sale price - lucky!) he liked it so much that he spend his time and energy sharing his thought with others!

We were delighted to see it and hear his positive comments and thoughts, we have then rewarded him with another burner and got another brilliant review! The second table top burner, Bow, showed beautifully on photographs as well, and Michael was very happy with the product.

Many of our customers wonder:

- are bio fires as good as they say?
- how easy is it to set up a table bio fire?
- how to fill it up and light table top burner?
- how is a glass bio fire packed?

Michael Thornber provides some answers to those and many more questions. The value of the unbiased, private and spontaneously shared opinion of a neutral customer, buying a product online as everybody else is huge!! We are very pleased.

Have a look for yourself:

Picture courtesy of Michael Thornbear

Picture of top of Bow Burner courtesy of Michael Thornbear