When your ancestors installed a fireplace, they were looking for one thing: heat. When your great-grandparents built theirs, they not only wanted warmth, they also hoped to create a cozy, homelike atmosphere. Over the past few generations, fireplaces have lost none of their age-old appeal. Modern fireplaces still bring warmth and cheer. They still act as focal points around which we can gather, but, these days, they also impart a little something else: style. Nothing exemplifies that trend better than the floating hearth.