Skip to main content

Cool Crafted Fireplace Screens

It’s about that time for the ultimate winter man task in every home, building a fire! This is also the time of year when carpets get burnt, animals get singed and kids have to be seat belted into the sofa so as not to get near said fire. One way to reduce risks in all fields is to use a fire screen.

Sure you can get one at Home Depot, but if you want something that is going to stand out, work with a blacksmith and see what they have in the oven. Here are three we are fond of:

Recommended Videos

At Oak Hill Iron Works in Morganton, N.C., owner/blacksmith Dean Curfman and his staff perform the brutal work necessary to create screens sure to become conversation pieces in the homes of their owners.

“Every piece is hand forged,” says Curfman, as he watches a worker heat an iron rod to an orange glow. He then uses a machine to hammer the hot iron into the shape of a leaf. It’s grueling work and when they are working in the summer time, the heat can reach 115 degrees in the studio.

The best part about the offerings at Oak Hill Iron Works is they are basically unlimited. They’ll tackle any project that comes through the door. You’re really limited only by your own imagination.

“You bring us your concept and we’ll make something you’ll love,” says Curfman. “If we can’t make it, you don’t need it.”

Fireplace screens crafted by Whit Hanschka are just as intricate. He opened his shop in 1996 on Martha’s Vineyard and has been creating elaborate pieces since. He’s created many impressive screens including one that’s wrought iron with a copper eel design, a bronze and copper model, and fish swimming over waves made from wrought iron, stainless steel and bronze.

In Chagrin Falls, Ohio, Village Blacksmith, Inc. is the forge and shop of artist/blacksmith Ken Roby. He offers hand forged screens and fireplace accessories, as well as a variety of other items. You can see an example of his work here.

Marla Milling
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Marla Hardee Milling is a full-time freelance writer living in a place often called the Paris of the South, Sante Fe of the…
7 incredible shows like Black Mirror to stream next
Watch these science fiction series next
Paul Giamatti in Black Mirror

Black Mirror started its life as a niche science fiction anthology show on Netflix, but the British series expanded its reach and popularity as the episodes started to blend into contemporary world issues more and more. It's no secret that the world we live in keeps getting scarier, whether that be due to the upheaval in politics or the uncertainty of artificial intelligence and climate change altering our world forever. Good TV's ability to mirror real life makes it culturally relevant, and it leaves fans craving even more of it.

With fans waiting patiently to find out if Black Mirror season 8 will be greenlit at Netflix, there are several alternatives that you can check out after finishing season 7. Not all of these series are as daring about social issues or crafted in the same way as Black Mirror, but all of them have the same sci-fi principles that make the storytelling unique. These are the best shows like Black Mirror to stream next.

Read more
One of the newest movies on Netflix is from an action movie master
Havoc is the ideal movie for anyone hankering for more John Wick.
Tom Hardy in Havoc

Not every movie on Netflix is worth your time, but the streaming service definitely makes plenty of movies that are worth seeking out. Havoc, which hit the streamer on Friday, is one such movie, and part of the reason it's worth seeking out is the extraordinary talent both in front of and behind the camera.

Directed by Gareth Edwards, the movie follows a detective who must track down a politician's son in the aftermath of a drug deal gone wrong. As he climbs deeper and deeper into the criminal underworld, he begins to appreciate just how much corruption he's facing and kills a lot of people along the way.

Read more
A Miami Vice remake is coming from the director of Top Gun: Maverick
Kosinski will next direct F1 with Brad Pitt
Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas in Miami Vice.

Miami Vice is coming back to the big screen. Almost 20 years after Michael Mann adapted the '80s series to the big screen, Joseph Kosinski is set to direct a new adaptation of the film. Universal Pictures will produce the film, which is being adapted by Dan Gilroy.

Plot details for the movie are not yet available, but the original series follows a pair of detectives who work undercover in South Florida. Mann was involved in both the original series and the first theatrical adaptation, which starred Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx. That movie was a box office bomb and received mixed reviews at the time, but has since become something of a cult film in certain circles.

Read more