Blocking off a fireplace

[Pilsy]

How did you block off your fireplace when your son or daughter became mobile?  We were going to just use a play yard in the living room, but we got it and I don't like it, so I'm scrambling to take care of a big bookshelf, our TV area, and the fireplace.  


Some of the gates I see online (like this) seem like overkill, as we don't have a raised hearth.  Is there an easier solution I'm overlooking? 


She does well if I tell her, "No," but I'd like to be able to leave the room for a few minutes here and there over the next couple years.  



ETA: Should mention I would never leave her in the room if we were using the fireplace.  But we've lived here 4.5 years and used the fireplace once.  LOL

[anna7602]

We moved a big coffee table in front of the fireplace. And we put all the tools between a large armchair and the wall, where DS can't reach. The firewood is wrapped in plastic because that's how we city folk buy it at the 7-11.

[Deleted]

We have the hearth gate you linked, we love it. Very good quality, blends in with the decor, strong and functional. Even without a raised hearth (which we have), fireplace stone is obviously very hard if LO trips and falls on it.

[game blouses]

We never use it so I cut a black foam presentation board to fit in the fireplace, and secured it with tape behind it to keep it in place. I used the soft edging baby proofing stuff on the brick.

[bowies]

My H and I were just discussing it this morning and he showed me the exact same gate. Right now we have the adhesive bumpers along the edges and have moved everything off the bottom bookshelves. The media cabinet has been anchored to the wall (the doors lock). I'm ok with this set up for now, but we have a play yard that we can put in front of the fireplace if need be.

[karinothing]

We haven't done anything with ours since DS is 3 (moved in when he was 2) and we just told him not to bother it. Ours has glass doors so when not in use with the new baby I think we will just keep them closed and not worry about it. When it is in use, I think we will get a nice fireplace screen, that is heavy enough that the kid can't rush over to it. I would not leave a young kid alone with an actual fire I don't think, but I am not worried about DS at this point.

ETA:We do not have a raised hearth, so I am not worried about the kid falling and hitting head. The glass doors keep kid out of soot. So, my only concern would be the actual fire..unless there is something I am missing!

[anna7602]

Mar 14, 2015 9:35:29 GMT -5 karinothing said:

ETA:We do not have a raised hearth, so I am not worried about the kid falling and hitting head. The glass doors keep kid out of soot. So, my only concern would be the actual fire..unless there is something I am missing!

By the time DD was 3 or so, she knew better than to try to reach for the fire. With DS, our concern is actually crawling into the soot. Our screen is a chain-link curtain kind of thing that can be parted by a willful enough child. Hence my current coffee table system. The hearth-type gates seem like they would take up too much space given the size of our LR.

[mlt]

We didn't block it off. We only use it on weekends when we are all home and could have one of us supervising at all times. We taught him he wasn't allowed near it.

[karinothing]

Mar 14, 2015 9:53:16 GMT -5 anna7602 said:

Mar 14, 2015 9:35:29 GMT -5 karinothing said:

ETA:We do not have a raised hearth, so I am not worried about the kid falling and hitting head. The glass doors keep kid out of soot. So, my only concern would be the actual fire..unless there is something I am missing!

By the time DD was 3 or so, she knew better than to try to reach for the fire. With DS, our concern is actually crawling into the soot. Our screen is a chain-link curtain kind of thing that can be parted by a willful enough child. Hence my current coffee table system. The hearth-type gates seem like they would take up too much space given the size of our LR.

Ah yeah, that makes sense. Since ours has the glass doors that eliminates that problem. We wouldn't have enough room for a hearth gate either. Although I kind of want this set up eventually

[browneyedgirl9]

We put our large leather storage bench in front of it for now. We dont really use our fireplace either.

[Pilsy]

Mar 14, 2015 9:30:22 GMT -5 @supergreen said:

We have the hearth gate you linked, we love it. Very good quality, blends in with the decor, strong and functional. Even without a raised hearth (which we have), fireplace stone is obviously very hard if LO trips and falls on it.

Ok, good to hear a good review of the gate.  


We use the fireplace very rarely (really, it's laughable), but I'd like to keep the option open, so this is probably the route we'll go.  

[anna7602]

Rare fireplace users- fires are awesome, start using yours more! One of the only good things about winter is the chance to sit in front of the fireplace at the end of the day.

[carolinagirl831]

We didn't really. I lined it with foam so not hard edges. She doesn't climb on it. She uses the hearth for putting books and toys.

[carolinagirl831]

It looks like this, dd is two and we've never felt the need to do more

[carolinagirl831]

Oops pic

[namasteak]

Mar 14, 2015 10:29:07 GMT -5 anna7602 said:

Rare fireplace users- fires are awesome, start using yours more! One of the only good things about winter is the chance to sit in front of the fireplace at the end of the day.

We will finally have a fireplace after years of renting apartments without them and I am so excited to do this! 

[savan]

We bought a sheet of plexiglass and just set it up over the opening. Our problem wasn't so much the kids getting into the fireplace as it was the cats.

[tealblue]

Ours isn't raised so we didn't do anything or buy anything. We have a (moveable) screen in front but he never really bothers it. We don't leave him alone with a fire but I don't feel the need to block it off if there's nothing going on.

[Deleted]

Mar 14, 2015 10:19:18 GMT -5 Pilsy said:

Mar 14, 2015 9:30:22 GMT -5 @supergreen said:

We have the hearth gate you linked, we love it. Very good quality, blends in with the decor, strong and functional. Even without a raised hearth (which we have), fireplace stone is obviously very hard if LO trips and falls on it.

Ok, good to hear a good review of the gate.  


We use the fireplace very rarely (really, it's laughable), but I'd like to keep the option open, so this is probably the route we'll go.  

We have a wood stove that we use daily, so a solid, openable gate was very important. Here's a pic of the gate at our house. The part that connects to the wall has feet you can raise to go over baseboards, we really liked that feature. The gate swings out and auto closes. DS is 3 and can't figure out the latch at all. It's plenty tall enough, and he's a huge 3yo at 38" tall. It's a great gate. I think we have 1 main gate and 4 extensions, but i didn't assemble it so I could be wrong. DH measured very carefully.