If an apartment does not have a fireplace, then in Ireland it will not be in demand

Ireland is an island surrounded by over 12 thousand lakes. The island climate leaves a certain mark on its inhabitants. Many Irish people can easily endure strong winds, walking in rather cold weather with their jackets unbuttoned and without a headdress. There is also an explanation for this in the arrangement of Irish homes - often the temperature inside and outside is not very different.

The fact is that there is no central heating in Ireland. Each house is heated in its own way - be it gas or electricity. Since ancient times, it has become a tradition in these parts to have a fireplace at home. As in Russia, for example, it is believed that "a hut begins with a stove", so in Ireland, a fireplace is a central place in the house and a "point" for gathering the whole family.

The fireplace has a number of advantages - it is both an aesthetic detail in the house that gives comfort, and a really good way of heating, and a certain central point in the living room. The Irish love to gather the whole family together by the fireplace and discuss pressing matters.

And how the living room with a fireplace is transformed on Christmas Eve! The Irish have a strong respect for tradition, and they look forward to the holiday of Christmas with great impatience. Usually, gifts are placed on the top shelf above the fireplace.

However, the fireplace also has a number of disadvantages. For example, it is difficult to clean it from soot. You have to call a specially trained person, and this is an additional cost. If the fireplace has a common outlet pipe, then insufficient cleaning of the area by the owner of the apartment is considered disrespectful to the neighbors. In addition, the disadvantage can be considered a deterioration in sound insulation - often through the chimney you can hear all the sounds of the street, or the "conversations" of birds on the roof.

Despite this, the Irish are very fond of fireplaces.

It comes to the point that apartments where there is no fireplace are more difficult to rent out - there is simply much less demand for them. In order to rent out an apartment, resourceful landlords sometimes resort to tricks - they make an "artificial fireplace" (of course, indicating this). Now there are many different ways to simulate a fireplace - this is an electric fireplace, and just a drawing on the wall.

If this is not the case, an ordinary radiator can become a kind of center of the living room.