The hearth of a home

With a new location, new contestants and a new direction, it’s game on for The Block once again! Based in a former holiday resort on Victoria’s Phillip Island,

The Blockheads were challenged to use the latest design trends, architectural ideas and their own imaginations to create their dream homes… and hopefully win big. And a highlight of the homes, all agree, have been fireplaces from Stoke Fireplace Studio. Stoke is a premium fireplace retailer with gallery-style studios located in Melbourne, Sydney, and Adelaide. Stoke offers the full range of Escea’s gas, wood and electric fireplace range alongside the luxury MODE gas range exclusively.

These fireplaces are designed for modern construction homes – perfect for The Block! – having supplied and installed since 2020, a relationship the contestants were only too happy to continue for The Block Island.

Sydney sisters Maddy and Charlotte’s House 1, Victorian besties Ricky and Haydn’s House 3 and Queensland parents Kylie and Brad’s House 4, featured New Zealand made next-generation wood fireplaces from Stoke Fireplace Studio bringing warmth, comfort and a sense of home that simply can’t be found elsewhere, says Block judge and real-estate icon Marty Fox.

“A good fireplace is probably one of the biggest differences you can make to a living dining area,” Marty says.

“You walk into a space and there’s a fire going and you’re just drawn to it immediately, there’s that instant feeling of being cosy and at home.”

And there’s a good reason for that, he adds. “What have people been doing for thousands of years? They’ve been sitting around a fire being together! And what do you want to do in your home? You want to be together, to entertain, to have a discussion so if you don’t have a fireplace in your home, you'e ignoring something that has been part of humanity from the beginning!”

And yes, he admits, the efficient heating these fireplaces brings is important.

“You’re killing two birds with one stone,” he says.

“Of course, a major part of why you want a fireplace is to heat a room, but with an Escea fireplace you do that and still retain the aesthetic and ambience and all the emotion that comes with that.

“It’s win/win.”

For House 1 and 4, the fireplace of choice for Maddy, Charlotte, Kylie and Brad was the minimalists’ dream, the Escea TC950 Wood Fireplace.

Featuring a large firebox for maximum efficiency, this in-built masterpiece has a matching large-scale viewing window for maximised flame viewing. In House 3, taking centre stage in the boys’ living room was the free-standing Escea TFS1000 Wood Fireplace, a modern take on the classic living room fireplace.

Both selections are design masterpieces, minimalist and modern to maximise the visual impact of the fire itself plus Escea’s Direct Vent Technology, an innovation based on two decades of experience, which heats the room more efficiently and eliminates pesky cold draughts, for better overall home performance.

The result says Haydn, “are fireplaces that not only look great but provide an even warmth throughout the spaces they star in.” “I’m from Victoria and know that area of the State well so I knew what a difference a fireplace would make to the house,” Haydn says, “and it really has!

“It's the centrepiece of our living and dining area no doubt. It’s just such a statement piece, then there’s the wood stacker next to it that just makes it the absolute ultimate focus of the room.”

And best of all, adds Haydn, is that the Escea TFS1000 is as user-friendly as it is beautiful.

And he should know – within minutes of having their fireplace installed, he and Ricky put it to very effective use.

“The Stoke installers walked us through how to get a fire going and make the best use of the fan and it was so simple,” he says.

“We had wood and fire starters ready to go before they even finished putting it in and straight away, we gave it a test run to make sure the house would be nice and toasty for the judges at room reveal… and it sure was.”

“Escea’s TFS1000 distributes the heat evenly so you can feel the warmth from the sofa through to the dining table or the kitchen bench… and that’s no small space, the whole area is about 17 metres by 8 metres!” he said.

“But that’s thanks to the Direct Vent technology, which the Stoke team did explain to us how it all works but to me it was just like magic… it just works wonders in that room!”

To bring the fireplace magic to your new build or renovation, contact the Stoke Fireplace Studio experts for advice on what will best suit your needs, and shop online through The Block Shop.