Lindsay Blair takes a closer look at how you can add instant character to your living spaces by rediscovering an original heating feature

The Morso 3112 5kW stove (from £1,800) features a classic design combined with the latest combustion technology, including a tertiary air supply, to achieve great performance. It can heat areas of up to 75m3

If there’s one sure-fire way to add a charm to a home, it’s by utilising a fireplace as a focal point. If you’re renovating a property built in the 1950s or earlier, there is a high likelihood that there will be an opening for a fire at the base of any chimneybreast, or an opening for a back boiler, gas or electric fire on later properties.

It might be that you’ve got a covered up fireplace that you didn’t even know was there. Telltale signs that there could be one tucked away include the presence of a chimneybreast, a chimney on the roof or a stone hearth on the floor (which can be raised or flush, so check under the carpet). Also look in the loft for the presence of a chimney and how many flues run into it. If you suspect an opening behind a wall, a knock test is a good, basic starting point. Simply knock on the wall and listen for a hollow sound which indicates a void for a potential fireplace.

“On homes which have been replastered, it’s usually pretty easy to find the vertical opening sides by looking at signs like skirting widths or where the floor tiles of the hearth are positioned,” says property renovation expert and founder of Make It Moregeous, Sian Astley. “To find the opening height, look at the wall from the side and run your hand over the wall. Often the ridge of where new meets old plaster can be seen or felt. This line can even tell you whether there’s a straight horizontal top, or an arch.”