Sideboard with fireplace RAVENNA F 147 cm, artisan oak with black

RAVENNA 147: a chest with a built-in electric fire

A chest 147 cm long with a built-in electric fire. The insert sits in the centre at the eye level of a seated person, with closed compartments behind fluted doors at either side. The flame here is simulated: no flue and no fuel are needed, and the piece plugs into an ordinary socket.

An artisan oak carcase with black mat fronts: rib and groove share a colour, so the pattern lives on shadow alone. The support is four turned black metal legs, barely visible on a dark floor.

Who it suits

For a living room with no real fireplace, and for a rented flat where a flue is out of the question. The chest covers two jobs at once: it gives the room a living picture and takes things into two side compartments.

What you will like

• the electric fire is built into the centre of the carcase
• the flame is simulated: no flue and no fuel are needed
• it plugs into an ordinary socket
• closed compartments behind fluted doors at either side
• 147 by 42 cm at a height of 86 cm

Overall size: 147 cm along the wall, 42 cm deep, 86 cm high. At least half a metre in front of the fire is best left clear: the insert warms up, and an armchair does not belong right against it.

What it stands with

A chest with a fire goes against the wall opposite the sofa, where people look anyway. It lives happily with a television unit from the same range on adjacent walls, but better not on the same one: two centres of attention in a row argue. If television and fire are wanted together, the range has a 177 cm unit where both are gathered in one piece. Oak with a black front is chosen where timber is already present - a floor, a table, a shelf - and the piece picks up its tone.

Does the electric fire in the RAVENNA chest heat the room? The insert has a heating mode and its own control panel, but it should not be counted on as the main heating: it is an addition to the flame picture rather than a replacement for an air conditioner.

Can the flame be switched off and the chest left as a chest? Yes, the insert switches off independently. Switched off it reads as dark glass in the centre of the front and does not draw attention.

Materials and finish

A laminated chipboard carcase, milled MDF fronts. Finish: artisan oak with black mat front. Support: black legs. Warranty 12 months. Factory BIM Furniture, Poland.