Choosing from the many fireplace designs for our family's new home was quite difficult. While my husband wanted brick or something rugged-looking, I envisioned something that was classic and elegant. I could just picture what it would look like with my bows and greenery for the holidays.

So after some civilized discussion that involved hair pulling and a knocked out tooth, we picked the perfect design. But here are some things you'll want to think about BEFORE you settle on a design rather than after, which was what we did!

Budget:

Determining a budget for your fireplace is very important. You'll then be looking at all the fireplace designs that fit in your budget. We ended up looking at a lot of designs that were out of our budget, but we eventually decided on a fireplace that both of us loved. We thought it looked amazing. Your first priority should be staying within your budget.

Placement:

Because of the way your house is built, it may not be able to accommodate certain fireplace designs. We didn't think about this before we started shopping for fireplaces. There were a few that we really liked, but even so we couldn't use them because they wouldn't be able to fit in the space we had set aside for a fireplace. Even though aesthetics are important, you need to take shape and size into account.

Use:

Do you just want a fireplace for show, or do you plan on using it as well? There are lots of different for-show fireplace designs for you to choose from if you want your fireplace to be purely decorational. However, if you will be using it, you want to think about the materials that are used, the shape, and of course the safety of the fireplace.

Choosing the perfect design may get frustrating for you, but if you follow these tips, it should be a piece of cake!

Visit How To Build a Fire and discover what you need to know before you buy, build or choose your fireplace designs so you can turn your fireplace into a real conversation piece.