As the leading contemporary manufacturer of contemporary fireplace design, Ortal is excited to share new designs at the upcoming Hearth, Patio and Barbecue HPBEXPO 2017, to be held March 2-4 in Atlanta.

When looking for a new home, most people worry about the structure of the house, how many bedrooms it has, or what kind of neighborhood the house is in. There is always a laundry list of must-haves for new homeowners. There is a way to get your perfect dream house and have everything on your new homeowner checklist list crossed off. Build as you go, nothing’s better than a making a house a home. Making a house into your home is even more special than buying it with everything you want. One hot button item that people mark as a must on their laundry list of must-haves would be a fireplace.

The new year is here. 2016 is gone. Let’s be honest, you probably ended 2016 with a messy room. It’s understandable, all those holiday parties and new year parties. Now we are at the tail end of the winter season. Depending on where you live, this could mean snow, rain or even sunshine. Sorry sunshine states, we are going to focus on the cold weather states. 2017 should start off on the right foot. Let’s just clean that room already. Put away that sparkly dress or that suit and tie you were forced to wear.

When we envision our fireplace at home we mostly think of it as the center of warmth for the household; an area everyone comes together, converses, and feels at home. An area in the center of the living room comes to mind because it is often an inviting space, and how better to invite a family member or guest inside then a warm fireplace welcoming them? With this in mind, it may seem like the traditional area for the fireplace would be an obvious choice and not something to question. However, if you’re considering installing a fireplace or even a second one, take the time to think about the location in both aesthetic and functional appeal. These home fireplace tips will unlock the interior design sensibilities in anyone looking to warm up their home.

The kitchen is the most used room in the average home (a quick Google search confirms this). It’s no surprise, really. Food brings us together, and for the culinarily-gifted among us, cooking is often much more than a necessary chore—it’s an enjoyable, creative outlet, and even a stress reliever. Make this important space all your own with a look that captures your style and personality. We present three unique design ideas below.

LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is a green building certification program developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) to promote more sustainable building. The aim of LEED is to promote energy savings, improve indoor air quality, reduce carbon emissions, improve water efficiency, reduce waste sent to landfills, protect natural resources, and develop environmentally and socially-responsible sites for new buildings.

With the dual opening of IBS and KBIS last week in Orlando, global design and manufacturing brands showcased the latest in high technology materials, appliances and lifestyle products.

How you arrange your furniture around an existing fireplace or design a room with a fireplace from the ground up depends largely on how you want to use the space. Below we present five ideas for creating an inviting seating arrangement around a fireplace.

Not only have modern innovations greatly expanded where fireplaces can be installed, cutting-edge technology has dramatically enhanced the aesthetics and design possibilities for today’s contemporary fireplace. Once considered a “cozy” feature of a home or even a necessity for living (e.g. cooking hearths), fireplaces today are constructed to be visually-arresting design elements that help define a space.

The New Year is an exciting time for many reasons, not the least of which is the highly-anticipated home décor and color trend predictions for the coming year.